Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you, visit our campuses, and begin to truly experience what makes EICC special. From conversations about programs and ideas to chats about cheesecake, golf, and dogs, I’ve appreciated the warm welcome and your willingness to share.

I’m especially grateful to Ann Lawler and the transition team for organizing engaging visits and conversations. These have helped me learn more about EICC’s culture, history, and momentum, and that work continues. I’m looking forward to welcoming our faculty back on Aug. 19 and learning directly from those who are teaching and supporting our students in our classrooms every day.

There’s a lot of excitement, and it’s a direct result of your hard work and commitment to our students and communities. A few recent highlights:

Enrollment Growth: Fiscal year 2025 enrollment is up 2.5% in headcount and 4% in credit hours. Fall enrollment is currently 4% ahead of last year.

Student Support: Thank you to our student development teams who have worked throughout the summer to advise, register, and assist students with financial aid. I also want to recognize the concurrent enrollment team for processing high school registrations earlier this year.

Student Success: Our IPEDS 150% graduation rate hit a record high: 45.4%, an 11.1-point increase over the previous cohort. This is the impact of everything you do to support student progress and completion.

Strategic Projects: Work continues on Bicklehaupt Arboretum and the MITC expansion. Our Continuing Education division has launched a new workforce training survey to gather input on regional training needs. The college also refreshed EICC’s brand identity, making it more readable, relevant, and memorable.

Financial Operations: Our Business Office successfully closed fiscal year 2025 and is having budgeting conversations with department leaders to improve transparency and institutional planning.

We’re also reviewing the Great Colleges to Work For survey results. I appreciate the strong employee participation and thoughtful responses to this question: “If you were to make two recommendations to this institution's incoming Chancellor, what would they be and why?” Your feedback was honest and valuable.

The results show organizational culture has improved and highlight where continued attention is needed. The senior leadership team has identified priority areas for improvement, and we’ll share results, details, and plans this fall.

A healthy, supportive workplace culture is essential. It matters to you, to our students, and to our communities. And it matters to me. I will continue working to earn your trust, to support your work, and bring greater transparency to the work we do.

I am so glad I am here. Again, I appreciate the warm welcome and look forward to all we will accomplish together.

Onward,