At a meeting on Dec. 6, the Yavapai College District Governing Board unanimously selected Lisa Rhine, currently the provost and chief operating officer of the Chesapeake Campus at Tidewater Community College in Virginia, as Yavapai College’s 10th president, after current president Penelope Wills retires at the end of December.
Rhine was selected after a months-long national search by the Association of Community College Trustees, joined by a 17- member Yavapai College Presidential Search Committee comprised of faculty, staff, community members, students, and board members.
“We are extremely excited to have Dr. Rhine as the next President of Yavapai College,” District Governing Board Chair Ray Sigafoos said in a press release. “Rhine brings a strong passion for education and a deep understanding of the community college landscape that will benefit YC’s students, employees and all of Yavapai County.”
Before joining Tidewater, Rhine received a certificate in deaf studies from Sinclair Community College, a bachelor’s in rehabilitation counseling from Wright State University, a master’s in special education from the University of Dayton, and a doctorate in educational administration from Capella University. She had previously worked in administrative and student service positions at Sinclair, University of Dayton, Wittenberg University and Northern Kentucky University.
Rhine sees her experience at a college in Virginia with multiple campuses as perfect training for her new position at Yavapai College.
“In Virginia, I work at a large multi-campus college with four comprehensive campuses and seven regional centers so I am very familiar with the challenges of working with multiple communities in several different regions,” Rhine wrote in an email. “However, YC, geographically, covers a larger area so I look forward to a lot of travel in my future. I want to engage with community leaders, schools, industry partners and our students in each of the Yavapai College communities to learn about their unique needs and how we, together, can make each community better.”
Rhine said that she hopes to ensure that the Verde Valley campus of Yavapai College is given the attention that it deserves.
“[Yavapai College] is the community’s college and we will strive to reach the educational opportunity needs for residents and students on both sides of the county,” Rhine wrote. “I expect all of our college employees to represent the entire county. We will ensure our students achieve their educational goals, we will support our community through economic development strategies, and will make certain our residents have access to social and cultural activities.”
However, she demurred on the issue of whether administrators of the Verde Valley campus must live on this side of the mountains — current Verde Valley Campus Dean James Perey commutes in from Chino Valley.
“Yavapai College’s mission is to serve the entirety of Yavapai County. Regardless of where they live, I expect all of our employees, including those in leadership positions, to effectively work with all residents to benefit our community, whether that be for a specific campus, program, department, or the college as a whole.”
Rhine sees her goals as improving students’ ability to complete their academic goals, while improving access and outcomes for underrepresented student populations. She sees partnerships with industry and other educational institutions as “mutually beneficial to the college and the communities that we serve.”
“Companies moving into a region seek strong educational partners to provide a pipeline of qualified entry-level workers and training for the existing workforce so they can upgrade skills,” Rhine wrote. “The college remains agile in responding to industry needs and can deliver new programs as necessary that lead to jobs that are in high demand. The college must work very closely with each community and their economic development staff to seek out opportunities for growth of both existing and new industries.”
“What attracted me to [Yavapai College] is the vast array of quality academic programs, both transfer and career/technical. It is outstanding that YC transfer students are top 10 nationally when compared on first year grade point average.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
