CGCC President resigned 10 days ago; public just now learning about it
Dr. Marta Yera Cronin will remain president of Columbia Gorge Community College through June 20, 2023
By Tom Peterson
In an email notice on Jan. 10 - 10 days ago - to faculty and students, Dr. Marta Yera Cronin, president of Columbia Gorge Community College announced her resignation effective effective June 30, 2023.
CCCNews learned of the resignation earlier this week through rumors and a screencapture of the emailed announcement to staff. We requested an interview with Dr. Cronin to discuss her departure and the current status of the college in regards to enrollment as well as finances.
Click to enlarge. Resignation email from Dr. Marta Yera Cronin to Faculty on Jan. 10.
Had CCCNews not inquired about the situation, it is not known how long it would have taken for the announcement of her resignation to the general community.
Dr. Cronin has not returned phone calls and instead the college sent a mass email to local media in regard to her departure this morning, Jan. 20, which outlined her successes.
The following is directly from the CGCC email:
“Dr. Cronin, who was previously vice president of academic affairs at Indian River State College in Florida, became the third president since CGCC was established in 1977. During her tenure at CGCC, the college completed the Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center and Chinook Student Residence Hall, launched new career-technical programs in advanced manufacturing, construction trades and aviation technician training, and secured federal funding to expand the college’s nursing simulation lab and acquire state-of-the-art additive manufacturing equipment. Approval for an innovative, accelerated model for preparing medical assistants is also nearing regulatory approval, augmenting the college’s longstanding medical assistant program while helping address a critical shortage of healthcare staff in the Columbia River Gorge.“
More from CCCNews:
CGCC staff contacted CCCNews earlier this week. They did not want to be identified for fear of retribution but stated the roll out of Dr. Cronin’s departure has been unsettling as other administration has left the school in recent months and an executive session - a meeting without general public access - was held earlier this week.
Whether the meeting had anything to do with the current resignation is unknown by CCCNews at this time.
It is the lack of transparency that has some faculty rattled.
On a more pragmatic note, faculty said that the college’s student administration software, Campus Nexus, which organizes student enrollment, classes and financial aid rolled out earlier this year. They said the software sold by the company Anthology was riddled with bugs leading to some students not being able to register for classes. Anecdotally, they said enrollment was down.
CCCNews is attempting to dig deeper into this topic through an Oregon Public Records Request to the College.
However, there are several stories in regard to Anthology software being used at other colleges and similar problems occurring. Read them here and here.
Here is the remainder of the email from CGCC’s Dan Spatz:
“Dr. Cronin, who was previously vice president of academic affairs at Indian River State College in Florida, became the third president since CGCC was established in 1977. During her tenure at CGCC, the college completed the Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center and Chinook Student Residence Hall, launched new career-technical programs in advanced manufacturing, construction trades and aviation technician training, and secured federal funding to expand the college’s nursing simulation lab and acquire state-of-the-art additive manufacturing equipment.
Dr. Cronin serves on the board of the Rural Community College Association and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and University, the accrediting authority for institutions of higher education across the Pacific Northwest.
“All of us on the board have confidence in the leadership team, and staff at the college, that the transition will be smooth and Dr. Cronin's legacy will endure,” said Tim Arbogast, board chair.
Coincidentally, last week also marked an announcement of departure by Wendy Patton, executive director of Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation. Patton, who joined the college two years ago, has accepted a position with Central Oregon Community College Foundation in Bend.
Patton will be leaving CGCC next month.
CGCC board members will schedule a special meeting this month to determine next steps in selecting a successor for Dr. Cronin. The board expressed its appreciation to Dr. Cronin at Tuesday’s board meeting for her extended notice of departure. A search will also be under way for the foundation director.”
Editors Note -
It has been a hard week.
It became apparent on Monday that the President of Columbia Gorge Community College had tendered her resignation.
Her last day will be June 30, 2023.
What is so hard about this is the fact that CCCNews was not on the front of this story, but rather the tail.
Had we a reporter to staff CGCC Board of Education meetings, to develop good sources and to understand the successes and struggles the college is going through, we well could have been proactive in reporting this story and so many others.
Rather, ours thus far is a reactive story. We are, of course, working toward a more detailed piece in days to come with a look at finances, enrollment and other concerns of faculty.
But the point here is we had no clue about this story. And that’s not good for the college or the community. Transparency and communication are key to understanding and breaking down the concerns and issues that confront us all.
Hard facts trump rumors and lead to well-reasoned solutions. Many hands lighten the load - solutions are often the collaboration of vastly different and unique minds. That is the confluence we intend to create here at CCCNews.
But that’s not possible when we are not staffed well enough to even show up.
On any given day, there are numerous government and nonprofit boards making decisions on behalf of our community.
And we’re not there. Boards and administrators are left to their own to decide whether to make decisions public or not. Out of sight.
It often takes a whistle-blower to put light on an unhealthy decision - but that’s after the damage is done. Wouldn’t it be great to expose a bad idea or strategy or management practice and replace it with a good one before harm is inflicted?
There are Fire Boards, Hospital Boards, School Boards, City Councils, County Governments, Electric Utility Boards and Commissions with little to no local reporters watching them conduct their business.
We’re not alone in the Mid-Columbia in this struggle as Democracy is losing its local watchdogs. The Mail Tribune in Medford just shuttered its doors, home to 233,000 people.
It’s jarring.
CCCNews is financially sound, no doubt. In fact, a recent donation drive at Christmas brought more than $4,000 in donations which are earmarked for adding another reporter.
That’s awesome. Thank you so much.
Even so, we are still small in our abilities to be proactive and produce solution-based reporting - reporting that leads to solutions before things get bad.
Cole Goodwin and myself with assistance from Robin Denning are the hard news team currently when it comes to reporting.
So, I end this diatribe with three thoughts to deliver hope from this overwhelming mental struggle.
Our community is filled with good people who are willing to speak up when they see something they feel is wrong or odd. I ask you all to keep up the good work.
I see hope for the CCCNews business model which is the most efficient and trackable in the industry. We are reaching 50,000 readers a month. And with some additional hard work, staff will be added.
Balance must be restored to maintain Democracy, and the citizens of the U.S. will recognize this eventually and pay for it. Because Democracy can not stand without watchdogs. Democracy’s erosion will eventually start the pendulum swinging toward a healthier ecosystem of news gathering that will push for equity, inclusion and giving marginalized people a voice.
Tom Peterson
