Progress community
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Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Mary Davenport are spearheading the college into the future, laying forth their goals for the twoyear school. Eric Johnson/AlbErt lEA tribunE
The
Riverland Community College strides into the future with five-year plan
college r was ready to go and the pace was set.”
By Jenae Hackensmith news@albertleatribune.com
iverland Community College hit its 75th anniversary in 2015, but nobody is slowing down. In fact, things are speeding up. Since Riverland released its strategic plan in the middle of 2014, leaders have been excited about the future. Vice President of Academic Affairs Mary Davenport said it is unusual for a new president to step in and start a project like this right away. But that’s what Adenuga Atewologun did after starting as president in July 2013. “The college was ready to go and the pace was set; the expectations were set, and I think that’s what’s making this strategic planning successful,” she said. Atewologun noted the five-year plan was not made solely by Riverland staff at it’s three locations in Austin, Albert Lea and Owatonna. Many people gave input, including faculty, students and community members. “We had town hall meetings, so we collected very detailed input from our three communities,” Atewologun said. Davenport said the plan has many goals, but overall it asks one main question: How can organizers elevate excellence as one of the older learning institutions in the region? One of the first things leaders did was identify a focus for each of the campuses. “We tried to leverage the strengths that are already existing so we’re not duplicating,” Davenport said. Austin’s east campus will be the liberal arts education village and precision agriculture center; Austin’s west campus will be the science and health center; the Albert Lea campus will be the transportation, green energy and industrial technologies center; and the Owatonna campus will be the allied health, business, information systems and micro-manufacturing center. “We realize that we cannot really duplicate, or replicate every equipment and facility in every one of these three campuses, so we decided we’re going to focus on the existing strengths in each of the three communities,” Atewologun said. Organizers hope to gain funding from the state over the next few years to escalate the excellence in each focus area. A second goal is to increase and maintain enrollment.
The focus for the Albert Lea campus moving ahead will be the transportation, green energy and industrial technologies center. sArAh stultz/AlbErt lEA tribunE
DOOR DOOR by
This is the door at 411 S. Broadway, the historic entrance to the Freeborn County Courthouse. It houses multiple departments for Freeborn County government.
5,000
Students Riverland Community College serves in Albert Lea, Austin and Owatonna.
“We want to maintain the students, and help them complete their goals because we want to be true to our mission, inspiring personal success to education,” he said. Leaders hope to make up 4 percent of Minnesota State College and Universities System total enrollment by 2020. In 2014, Riverland accounted for 2.4 percent of MnSCU’s enrollment, but it was 2.7 percent in 2010 and 3.4 percent in 2004. College leaders hope the focused campuses will help attract students, along with partnerships with business and industrial partners to help with funding and tools to reach student goals. Davenport pointed out one main thing businesses look for when coming to a town is the workforce that area has, and Riverland works to ensure its students leave with skills coveted by businesses. “We are looking at new programs and always want to hear from the employers in the area what their needs are,” Davenport said. Atewologun said those are only two of the many goals of the college’s strategic plan. Riverland has reached out to the local high schools to help them gain a better idea of the available resources. The college has also set other plans in motion, such as its partnerships with other universities. Riverland joined the Minnesota Alliance for Nursing Education to create opportunities for students to get a four-year degree at Riverland. “Now we’re expanding the opportunities for the students to complete the BS in nursing right here; they don’t even have to relocate,” Atewologun said. The college also has students who take classes through Metropolitan State University, and there is a partnership with Minnesota State University, Mankato to help Iowa students pay instate tuition instead of outof-state tuition. Davenport said many of the classes have a hands-on focus to help students get a better idea of what they career will be going into. One program even has students interested in teaching work with children at a local elementary school. “Students learn what it’s really like when they go on the job,” Davenport said. “They’ve had more of a taste of it from their classroom See RIVERLAND, Page A7
75
Years of operation for Riverland Community College. The college serves students in three locations.
2.4
Percentage of students Riverland provides of the Minnesota State College and Universities System.
ide? What’s ins
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