It’s been a busy month for Dr. Marta Cronin, the new president at Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC): She’s moved across the U.S., from Port St. Lucie, Fla., to The Dalles, which included a road trip of 3,100 miles. A month on the job, she has settled in, found a place to call home, and attended her first board meeting.
Cronin was hired by the board of education in March with a unanimous vote by the seven members.
At the time, Cronin was vice president of academic affairs at Indian River State College, Port St. Lucie, Fla. She received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Sarosota, Fla.
“I’ve felt welcome, from the time I got here,” she said. Settling in The Dalles is a big change from her life in Florida. “There are 399,000 people in the city, people seemed to always be in a rush,” she said of her former home. “Here, people have time for the common courtesies. They have more ‘Zen’ here.”
Now that she is settled in, her husband, Mike, will be joining her, along with their two shelter dogs, Chica and Twiggy. (“They were named by the shelter,” she chuckled. “Twiggy was thin, but she is pretty chunky now.” Her two step-daughters are off to college on their own adventures, but she expects to see them as well.
“I’m sure they’ll come visit, and when they do, they’ll want to come stay,” she predicted.
“There has been a lot of information gathering in my month here,” she said. “I think there are a lot of great things going on.”
She has been busy getting to know her staff and the community as well.
“I’d like the community to know that we are here for them, and we would like to know more of what they need,” she said.
She is looking at a time of change, but is confident she can make the college a first-rate educational institution. “I’m coming from a top 10, nationally- recognized college. I’ve had a lot of experience with these things. The things they (the board) wanted to work on, I’ve done them.”
Cronin doesn’t just bring her experience to the table. “I’m a loyal person, I’m all in,” she said. “I’m a low-key person, a regular person in the community.” She is still getting to know her new community. “I don’t know all the opportunities yet. Anywhere I’ve been invited, I’ve gone.”
She is also in it for the long haul, she said, pointing to her 17-year tenure at her previous job.
“You make it your home, it’s your home and you don’t want to leave home,” she explained.
Cronin is focused on adjusting and building college programs, and increasing funding and resources, to meet the needs of a broad range of the community and also provide a destination college that draws from outside the region as well.
“We would like to be a place where people come to study,” she said.
The college is looking at building a new skill center at The Dalles campus, and is involved with internship and apprentice programs with local businesses.
This will help with planned expansion of job and skills development programs, and perhaps customized training to meet specific needs of area industries and businesses.
The college is also looking to expand their geographic reach, both within the region and online.
“We are reaching out to rural Gilliam and Sherman counties, and would like to expand our virtual presence, with a virtual campus and an expanded social media presence,” she said. “We want to expand our presence everywhere.”
Online virtual learning programs with on-campus class and lab offerings will allow the college to have a robust presence that meets the needs of a wide variety of students.
The two approaches — on campus and online — can work well together.
“Some students don’t learn well online, and some occupations need hands-on experience and training,” Cronin said. “Nursing, labor and mechanics, those all need to be hands on.
For other students, it is much harder to study on campus.
“Perhaps they have children, or are working,” she explained. “Coming in for two classes is easier than coming in for a whole program.”
She will begin with programs already offered by the college.
Her plan is to start with an increase in community education offerings, which will meet the needs and interests of the community at large and bring in additional revenue.
Cronin also wants to improve the college’s connection with the Latino community, a goal emphasized by the board prior to her hiring on.
As a first-generation immigrant — her father is from Cuba, her mother Spain — Cronin looks forward to the opportunity.
“I know what it’s like to be a Latino student in college, I’ve been there,” she said.
Another focus is better serving high school students with opportunities to earn college credit while still in high school, she said.
After several years of budget cuts, Cronin said that financially, the college is stable. “We are okay, but we need to grow,” she said.
To that end, the college will be focused on grant writing and increasing enrollment, in addition to expanded programs and creating a virtual campus.
Beyond that, understanding the needs of the community will be key. “We need to learn better the needs of local employers and businesses.”
Cronin will have the time to find those answers.
“I’m a very stable person, I’m coming here to retire here,” she said.
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