President Hughes’ goal for CCRI, 'best community college by 2020'

By John Howell
Posted 2/9/16

Meghan Hughes is looking to make investments in students and faculty with the goal of making CCRI the best community college in the northeast by 2020.

With only five days on the job, Hughes …

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President Hughes’ goal for CCRI, 'best community college by 2020'

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Meghan Hughes is looking to make investments in students and faculty with the goal of making CCRI the best community college in the northeast by 2020.

With only five days on the job, Hughes addressed the college’s trustees Friday morning. The room wasn’t as full as it might have been if heavy wet snow wasn’t coming down and had already coated the roads in slush. But then, trustees were interested to meet the college’s new president and learn of her vision for the institution. They weren’t disappointed.

Hughes said she was drawn to the job because 40 percent of high school graduates get their start to higher education at a community college, and it presents “the best bet for our students.” And what she looks for in a community college is commitment and values. She said she is finding both with the faculty and staff at CCRI.

Describing herself as a keen observer, she related an incident between a staff member and a student, describing it as respectful and generous. Those are qualities indicative of the values she is looking for.

“The way we’re going to make this the best is through values,” she said.

And how does she see this working for students?

Hughes said it is “not the printers and plugs” that a budget can buy, but “our people who go to our students.”

“We’re here to clear all the stones out of the way, to build a clear path,” she said. To do that, she said, there must be honesty, trust and transparency.

Hughes succeeds Ray Di Pasquale, who announced last spring he would not look for an extension of his contract expiring in June of this year. A search committee was formed, and last fall the list of applicants was narrowed down to three finalists, all women. Hughes was elected CCRI president by the Council of Postsecondary Education on Dec. 2. Hughes is no stranger to Rhode Island. She headed the national nonprofit Year Up Providence for six years in addition to teaching art history at Tufts University. She is a graduate of Yale University and holds a PhD in art history from New York University Institute of Fine Arts.

Speaking from notes, Hughes outlined five points starting with engagement of the community. She is looking to engage the college community internally and then expanding externally. She is also looking to “redefine the culture” so CCRI is the institution of choice because of its excellence and what it produces. She is looking for a partnership between academics and students so that they are working together and there is a “really clear path” to meet desired outcomes.

Hughes said she is going to be critical, indicating that she expects she will find “unacceptable outcomes.” By the same token, she said, “We’re going to take some risks.” She didn’t describe what she has in mind, but she said she expects to “start small” and “look at it every day to see if it’s working.”

Fifth on her list is building partnerships. She said the faculty and staff can’t do it all, “there’s not enough of us.” She is looking for opportunities where through partnerships, corporations and institutions committed to quality job opportunities are going to “help grown our students.”

Hughes said Di Pasquale has “been so generous” in not filling a number of key positions – the vice president of academic affairs being on the top of her list – and thereby given her the chance to build her own team.

“I’m overjoyed with the work done in five days,” she said of Rosemary Cositgan, who is interim vice president of academic affairs.

Hughes also spoke of the importance of the college’s relationship with Electric Boat and building a Westerly Campus. The $4.5 million campus will be built with a combination of public and private funds. The campus would focus on meeting EB’s demand for skilled laborers, including pipefitters, electricians, carpenters and sheet metal workers.

“We’ve got to get Westerly right,” she said. “This is a promising example of a private/public partnership.”

“I have a ton to learn,” Hughes told the trustees. She asked for the feedback of trustees and for them to serve as ambassadors for the college.

As for an inauguration that is planned for Sept. 15, Hughes said she wanted to wait so she knows the institution and so that she can “walk out with pride as a team.”

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