June 05, 2019 at 06:59AM
Published: 6/4/2019 11:20:30 AM
A college president's job is part educator, part administrator, part visionary, part politician, part cheerleader and probably lots of other roles far less obvious to outsiders. The community college president's job is all this and more because a region's economy and the aspirations of its residents rest in its office. It's a daunting charge for the newly installed president of Greenfield Community College, whose path is made both easier and harder by the legacy of retired President Robert L. Pura, GCC's longest-serving president (18 years). Easier because Pura shaped GCC into the best community college in the commonwealth; harder because he was not just popular, but beloved.
Everybody said that Pura would be a tough act to follow, akin to being the act that followed The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (who remembers them?). But last Thursday, Pura's successor, Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández, ceremonially donned the gold medallion of her office to the acclaim of an audience that included state legislators, town and city leaders and business leaders from across the county and beyond, and education leaders from across the state, including Pura. "Yves, you belong here," said Pura as he symbolically handed over the keys. "She's the real deal," he told the audience.
Like Pura, who is the son of an immigrant, Salomon-Fernández brings an immigrant's appreciation of opportunity. "I grew up in Haiti," said Salomon-Fernández. "I come from generations of plantain farmers who also kept a few goats. My father is the only one in his family to have received beyond a third-grade education." Similarly, many GCC students are the first in their families to attend college, so Salomon-Fernández knows what these students need in order to feel like they belong here.
"You belong here" is a campus mantra. Salomon-Fernández called it "a lived reality," describing GCC as a place "where our students can imagine what it could be to fulfill their potential for themselves and for their varied communities." When that happens, lives, families and communities are transformed.
In her address, Salomon-Fernández places GCC in both a personal and a global context, sprinkling her remarks with the names and personalities of professors, staff and students and envisioning their roles in solving global challenges including climate change, reliance on fossil fuels, depletion of our natural resources, and limited access to basic human necessities. "We are preparing our graduates to steward and lead with courage and conviction. We are preparing them to contribute to discoveries in science, technology, to contribute to better race relations in our country, to help close race-based, gender-based and income-based inequalities."
Salomon-Fernández pledged to build on GCC's strength in the liberal arts, an area where GCC has long distinguished itself; she affirmed her commitment to the college's renowned Sustainable Agriculture, Green Energy and Outdoor Leadership Programs; to supporting the Opioids Task Force, the Gender and Women's Study program, and programs that support local entrepreneurs. "Rural communities thrive because of small businesses. We will work together to raise our local economic prosperity."
Everybody said, Salomon-Fernández has big shoes to fill. But now everybody is saying to her, "You belong here."
Published: 6/4/2019 11:20:30 AM
A college president's job is part educator, part administrator, part visionary, part politician, part cheerleader and probably lots of other roles far less obvious to outsiders. The community college president's job is all this and more because a region's economy and the aspirations of its residents rest in its office. It's a daunting charge for the newly installed president of Greenfield Community College, whose path is made both easier and harder by the legacy of retired President Robert L. Pura, GCC's longest-serving president (18 years). Easier because Pura shaped GCC into the best community college in the commonwealth; harder because he was not just popular, but beloved.
Everybody said that Pura would be a tough act to follow, akin to being the act that followed The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (who remembers them?). But last Thursday, Pura's successor, Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández, ceremonially donned the gold medallion of her office to the acclaim of an audience that included state legislators, town and city leaders and business leaders from across the county and beyond, and education leaders from across the state, including Pura. "Yves, you belong here," said Pura as he symbolically handed over the keys. "She's the real deal," he told the audience.
Like Pura, who is the son of an immigrant, Salomon-Fernández brings an immigrant's appreciation of opportunity. "I grew up in Haiti," said Salomon-Fernández. "I come from generations of plantain farmers who also kept a few goats. My father is the only one in his family to have received beyond a third-grade education." Similarly, many GCC students are the first in their families to attend college, so Salomon-Fernández knows what these students need in order to feel like they belong here.
"You belong here" is a campus mantra. Salomon-Fernández called it "a lived reality," describing GCC as a place "where our students can imagine what it could be to fulfill their potential for themselves and for their varied communities." When that happens, lives, families and communities are transformed.
In her address, Salomon-Fernández places GCC in both a personal and a global context, sprinkling her remarks with the names and personalities of professors, staff and students and envisioning their roles in solving global challenges including climate change, reliance on fossil fuels, depletion of our natural resources, and limited access to basic human necessities. "We are preparing our graduates to steward and lead with courage and conviction. We are preparing them to contribute to discoveries in science, technology, to contribute to better race relations in our country, to help close race-based, gender-based and income-based inequalities."
Salomon-Fernández pledged to build on GCC's strength in the liberal arts, an area where GCC has long distinguished itself; she affirmed her commitment to the college's renowned Sustainable Agriculture, Green Energy and Outdoor Leadership Programs; to supporting the Opioids Task Force, the Gender and Women's Study program, and programs that support local entrepreneurs. "Rural communities thrive because of small businesses. We will work together to raise our local economic prosperity."
Everybody said, Salomon-Fernández has big shoes to fill. But now everybody is saying to her, "You belong here."
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