Dear Alumni,

It is with purpose and enthusiasm that I have accepted the position as president of Mesa Community College. I have had the pleasure of meeting with our dynamic Alumni Advisory Board. It was wonderful to learn about our former students’ personal paths to success. I am so impressed at the levels of participation. Similarly, the alumni scholarships being awarded also come with a mentor who assists to foster each recipient towards their academic goals. Alumni and college events are being planned to creatively contribute to alumni engagement as well as student success. I hope you will join me in honoring our college’s outstanding alumni and employees at the Hall of Fame celebration on October 27, 2022.

Alumni and friends who participate in our weekly email list, received a message from me in August 2022. For those who only receive our print newsletter or may have missed my previous message, I’d like to take this moment to introduce myself. My knowledge and understanding of the work to be done at MCC is informed by 25 years of higher education experience. I proudly began as an adjunct instructor and then became a tenured faculty member in English. I served in this role for several years. This was followed by a decade devoted to administrative positions including serving as a vice president, dean, and athletic director, and other executive leadership roles.

Most recently, I was Vice President of Instruction at Cañada College in Redwood City, California, which is located near San Francisco. I also served as the Vice President and President-elect of the California Community College Chief Instructional Officers’ Executive Board. In 2020, I received the Carter Doren Leadership Award, which is an honor bestowed on CIOs by our peers.

I am a first-generation, community college graduate, as are so many pursuing higher education at MCC. This speaks to the power of achieving an education that, in one generation, my family went from not completing high school to a daughter becoming a college president. I hope that others are motivated by this personal foundation that aspires to shape higher education as a beacon of hope for the students who often don’t even dare to dream of a secure, sustainable future.

Among the many reasons I was drawn to this position is MCC’s authentic pursuit of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Acknowledging, understanding, and removing barriers to higher education are vital to meeting the needs of the burdensome challenges so many students face. I am so proud to lead a college that, with a long-standing partnership with the City of Mesa, became the first higher education institution in the state to offer a College Promise Program. This is a phenomenal economic engine for the college, the state, and the region.

I also take pride in serving and collaborating on national boards such as the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Workforce Development Commission for the American Association of Community Colleges. From that experience, I bring focus to expand MCC’s national reputation for long-established partnerships with business and industry. I have seen how these connections uplift students and energize the economy by educating those in the community to fill in-demand, 21st century jobs.

I am an involved and accessible President. I look forward to meeting you at college and public events to listen to and learn from your experiences. Go Thunderbirds!

With great aspirations,

Tammy Robinson, Ed.D.
President, Mesa Community College