Blue Mountain Community College will reach an important milestone on Sept. 7, when we will welcome our new president, Mark Browning, to our Eastern Oregon community.

Having had the opportunity to connect with Mark since the BMCC Board of Education approved his hiring in July, I am excited for the community to meet him and for the future of BMCC. Mark has boundless energy, vision, a passion for education, and the unique ability to create, cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships. I believe the BMCC Board has made a smart and wonderful selection in Mark to lead the college into its next chapter.

But before I hand over the reins to Mark, I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon my time as interim president at Blue Mountain for the past six months.

As many know, this is my second stint as interim president at BMCC in the past three years. I have come to love the college, appreciate and value its faculty and staff, and am grateful to the students who choose to come to BMCC and to the community members who have given so much support to us over the years.

BMCC has definitely been through its share of challenges over the past few years, but I am humbled by the resiliency of the college’s faculty and staff through it all. To me, their dedication to the college shows this community just how much they value BMCC and the work they do to support students. It is not always easy, to be sure, but it is certainly rewarding work when we see our students and communities succeed.

Our classified employees deserve a thank you for being the voice of care for BMCC. They take time to listen to our students and to their colleagues. Thank you to our faculty, who assist all students to learn, achieve and grow in confidence. Their passion for their content areas empowers students every day to become passionate for their own new careers. A huge amount of gratitude is extended to our exempt technical employees who asked for more inclusion, who supported all other staff during times of change, and who continued to find ways to keep their areas functioning.

Thank you to our leadership team, who assisted me and all our employees, and believe in our right size, right direction and right growth of the college. You are all superheroes in my book.