University Business - November 2006 - (Page 58)

Rising Stars Shirley Reed joined Spoon River College Ill. , where she was tasked with creat- 20,000 students within 20 years. People chuckled, says William ing a learning resources center. Many know it as the library, she Serrata, the college's vice president for Student Services. says, poking fun at the jargon of the day. They gave me a vacant Since then, South Texas College has been one of the nation's bakery and wished me luck. fastest-growing community colleges. Today it serves some 18,000 From that community college, she moved on to another one: students at three campuses. A recent building binge has brought 16 Northland Pioneer College, which serves the poverty-stricken new structures in 16 months. STC has 90 degree programs and is population comprising Arizona's Navajo, Hopi, and White Moun- one of three community colleges in Texas to offer baccalaureate de- tain Apache tribes. Reed was instrumental in creating a distance grees. Three accreditation visits by the Southern Association of Col- education program that, relying on microwave technology, deliv- leges and Schools, Serrata says, have been passed at full muster. ered instruction to students at 22 locations across two sprawling Reed's story is a classic one of what can happen when a presi- counties. She managed the fiscal, administrative, and campus op- dent's abilities are commensurate with institutional challenges. She erations of four campuses and six satellite centers. It seems that had a clear idea of what the college would look like, and the ability I've always been a pioneer, she says. to get other people to see it, too. In South Texas, the consensus is that Reed was the right person at the right time. V I TA L STATS: Spotting a Lone Star South Texas College is the state's only two-year Reaching the President's Post Shirley A. Reed institution conceived by statute. When the Texas Shirley Reed wasn't born to be president of anything. legislature passed a law, in 1993, to create it, She grew up in a modest north Canadian household. Title: President, South Texas McAllen and its environs were home to about Her father, a nickel miner, performed very danger- College, 1994 to present 600,000 overwhelmingly Hispanic residents. It ous, dirty work to support the family, she says. Prior Positions: Northland Pio- was the largest metropolitan area in the state not At 5, Reed realized that there was not another neer College Ariz. , district VP for Administrative Services, associ- served by a community college. little girl living within 50 miles. It was clear to me ate dean for learning resources; The region was poor. Congress's passage of the that if you are going to make it in this world, you Spoon River College Ill. , director North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 have to be the fastest runner, climb the highest trees, of learning resources resulted in an increased importation of Mexican be the bravest, and work the hardest just to com- Education: St. Petersburg Junior produce, further decimating the region's withering pete, she says, adding that it's an important part College, associate's degree in agrarian economy. At the time, Hidalgo County, of of how I have built the college. I was on a mission. I liberal arts; University of South which McAllen is the seat, had an unemployment was going to get it done no matter what. Florida, bachelor's degree in Eng- rate of about 24 percent. In neighboring Starr Her parents moved the family to Florida to pro- lish; University of Hawaii, Hono- lulu, master's in library science; County, which is included in the community col- vide better opportunities for their daughter. Illinois State University, Ph.D. in lege district, unemployment eclipsed 40 percent. Her advancement to a better life took a detour education; Western International Reed calls it criminal neglect on the state's when, at 16, she married, as she describes, an al- University Ariz. , MBA part ot have a region with 600,000 people but no coholic, abusive husband who was not going to let Family: Met her current husband, access to a community college. me get ahead. A decade passed before she got back a retired car dealer, on a golf A stipulation of South Texas College's creation: on track. At 26, divorced and determined to make course; She says, He takes care Local residents would pay for it. Reed's challenge something of herself, Reed enrolled at St. Petersburg of me full time; he does the gro- cery shopping and everything. was to convince Latinos to endorse the institution Junior College and began working toward a degree. at the polls, pass a bond referendum, and create A hospital lab technician at night, she says she Favorite electronic device: A gadget used on the golf course to a taxing district. It was a tall order for a blond, would go to school by day and sleep when I could. estimate driving distances non-Spanish speaking, non-Hispanic woman It took six years for her to earn an associate's de- Last book read: If Harry Potter from the Canadian hinterland, says Michael gree in liberal arts, but by then she was on a roll. She Ran General Electric: Leadership Metke, a prot http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - November 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
People Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Wireless: The "n" is Near
TECH Central
Rising Stars
Coming Back from Katrina
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - November 2006