President’s Message

MESSAGE FROM DR. STEVE NUNEZ

As I near the end of my first year as President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, I already have a lot to reflect upon. My moving truck from Illinois pulled away from my new home in Windber at 12:00 midnight New Year’s Day, marking a new chapter for me and for the College. A few months later, COVID-19 spread through our communities. Life, as we knew it, changed quickly and drastically. Some local businesses closed. Many of us were sequestered in our homes. And Penn Highlands moved to teaching classes fully online with most of our staff working from home -- all accomplished with short notice. It is not the way I imagined my first few months would be as President of this great institution.

You learn a lot about an organization, about a team, when under a crisis. I can tell you this, the work that was done to deal with COVID-19 was difficult, but we pulled together as one family, found new efficiencies, learned innovative technology, and became more adept at working and teaching remotely. Additionally, the Board of Trustees have been incredibly supportive to me and this College during this challenging time. I am proud of how we collectively handled this crisis and we are stronger because of it.

And let us not forget our students who had to make the transition to fully online learning with our faculty. It could not have been easy, but our faculty, staff, and students worked together to solve novel problems to the best of their abilities.

I am proud and excited to be the fifth President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, where I am surrounded by professional staff, faculty, and College and Foundation Board members who are in the education business for the right reasons. We believe that education is one of the best ways to positively influence someone’s life – to raise their income earning potential and provide opportunities for personal or professional growth.

And while the world around us may have changed, Penn Highlands will continue to focus on its mission of supplying quality education to our communities at an affordable price.

I look forward to many more years of serving this community and this College.

Sincerely,

Steve Nunez President