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EGCC president Meeks to retire next year
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
After 15 years at the helm of Eastern Gateway Community College, Laura Meeks still finds student-success stories the most satisfying part of her job.
She announced this week to the college and its trustees her plans to retire next July.
“I know it should be something big, but it really is the student stories,” said Meeks, 66.
Those stories narrate how graduates find jobs and how their lives were affected by their education at Eastern Gateway.
“The biggest reason I don’t get tired and I keep my energy up is that I know we are absolutely helping those students have a better life, and better lives for their kids,” Meeks said.
She has a drawer of notes, cards and letters from students that she dips into when she has a bad day.
Meeks said she’s not sure what she’ll do upon retirement, but she’s always felt a calling. When she was a girl she wanted to be a missionary and expects she’ll choose something that involves helping others.
Meeks, a Minnesota native, came to then-Jefferson Community College in 1999 from Fort Scott Community College in Kansas where she served eight years as president and four years as a dean. Before that she spent three years as a vice president at a community college in Seattle and before that, she taught at the high-school level.
“Time goes by fast when you love what you do,” Meeks said.
The college’s board of trustees is expected to begin the process to assemble a search committee to find Meeks’ replacement. The Association of Community College Trustees will assist in the process.
John Gilmore, trustees’ chairman, said the board is going to be looking for someone with the retiring president’s energy level.
“That’s not going to be an easy thing to fill,” he said.
He pointed to the expansion of the college during her tenure. In 2009, the college expanded into Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties to become Eastern Gateway.
Meeks’ biggest strength though, is her emphasis on student success, Gilmore said. She dedicated herself to helping students prepare and find placement after graduation.
“That’s why it’s going to be so hard to replace her,” Gilmore said. “She’s so community-oriented.”
During her last year, Meeks plans to focus on three things: the completion agenda, making the online-degree program the best it can be, and filling the needs of manufacturers in the region who are in need of qualified workers.
“The hardest year I ever work will be the last year I work,” she said. “We have a lot to do. It’s going to be a great year.”