| Board Names Harrison as President |
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May 27, 2009 BENTON TOWNSHIP, MI – At its May meeting, the Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees offered the position of president to current Interim President Dr. Robert Harrison. Harrison and the Board will enter into contract negotiations in the immediate future. Harrison was named interim president in January of this year.Since assuming that role, Harrison has implemented a streamlined operational model for College administration to better capitalize on opportunities and to be more nimble in responding to challenges. Additionally under Harrison’s leadership, the College is in the process of submitting a grant proposal for capacity building dollars to support a lineman program in cooperation with AEP. He has also led the development of a series of goals that will guide the College in the coming year. Among those are initiatives to move the College forward in the areas of energy production training and environmental stewardship, an expanded online distance education program, and new outreach initiatives in the district. He has also initiated a series of meetings with people and businesses from throughout the College district, as well as faculty and staff, to seek their input about the College and how it can best address the educational and training needs of the region. “In January, when the Board appointed Bob as interim president, we asked him to do what he thought needed to be done to move the College forward and prepare for the road ahead,” stated LMC Board Chairman Pat Moody. “He took that direction to heart and was not a caretaker president, but one who understood the challenges and opportunities ahead and began the work of leading this College. The Board could not be more pleased with his leadership and we believe it is time to appoint him as the ninth president of Lake Michigan College.” Harrison joined LMC in 1999 as dean of Community and Business Services. In 2003, he took on the additional responsibility as dean of Occupational Studies. In 2006, he was named as executive dean of LMC’s Bertrand Crossing Campus in Niles, and took over administrative oversight of the College’s workforce contracts with the Berrien-Cass-Van Buren and Kalamazoo/St. Joseph County Michigan Works agencies. Prior to LMC, Harrison worked in the health care industry for over 30 years. He was chief operating officer at Lakeland Regional Health System, and was also president and chief executive officer of Harrison holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Organizational Analysis from In 2007, Harrison has also served on the boards of the YMCA of Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Southwest Michigan Economic Growth Alliance (past president) and United Way of Southwest Michigan. He resides in Stevensville with his wife Janine, and he has three children. |
