VP of Student Services Hired
A new face is on campus this week. Joyce Coleman, the new vice president of Student Services, started her first day as a UCC employee Oct. 30.
Coleman says she was drawn to UCC after reading information from Olson on the college website; three words resonated with her personal values: equality, equity and education.
The vice president position has been vacant since Rick Aman’s July retirement. The initial hiring process began during spring term but was not successful. The hiring committee, after going through the extensive process a second time, was able to recommend Coleman to Olson for the final decision.
After the initial interviews of the second hiring process, three candidates were introduced to the campus: Coleman, UCC’s current Dean of Academic Support Ali McGeehan, Phd; and Terry Bloom, vice president of enrollment and student services at the College of Western Idaho. All three went through forums with students, faculty, staff and administration.
Coleman has expressed dedication to student success and hopes to see students set goals to meet their unique needs. “I define student success as students reaching the goals they set. It might be a degree, a certificate or just a couple of classes for professional growth. Different people come to college for different goals,” Coleman said.
Coleman has an extensive background in cultural competency, student services and working with nontraditional students. “It should be illegal to send a student to college and not give them the resources to be successful,” Coleman said.
“I plan to spend the next 90 days doing a lot of listening and building relationships one at a time,” Coleman said. Coleman plans to get more involved with the community by reaching out to middle schools and high schools in the community. “People join people, not organizations,” Coleman said.
Coleman recognizes that she can be task focused and is often impatient. She plans to combat her weakness by coming in early and leaving late to allow for more time in her hectic schedule to meet with students.
She began her career working in a women’s correctional facility, but changed her focus to student services. “I want to work with people before they make the mistakes that land them in prison,” she said. As dean of students at Bakersfield College, Coleman helped create a student hearing process that added structure, creative sanctioning, student learning outcomes, and training for the hearing panel. She also expanded student activities and services by more than 50 percent.
Coleman also worked as dean of instruction at Mt. Hood Community College and as assistant dean at Palo Verde Community College.
Coleman has repeatedly expressed that she is very excited to work with student government and is already making arrangements to attend weekly student leadership team meetings.
Coleman received her education from Sam Houston State University with a B.S in Criminology and Corrections and her masters from University of Houston in Community Practice Concentration.