blue water woman--spring 2018--FINAL for yumpu

achieving
goals
dr. deborah snyder
10 SPRING 2018 BlueWaterWoman.com
by patti samar
When Dr. Deborah Snyder was just six years old, she stood in front of
childhood friends and used a miniature chalkboard to teach lessons.
As an adult, she finally fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an
educator by following a less-than-linear path that eventually led to her first
official classrooms as a collegiate adjunct instructor on weekends while
holding down a “day job” in another industry during the week.
Now the president of St. Clair County Community College, Snyder – a
native of St. Clair County – leads the institution where she first attended
college. During her two years in the president’s office at SC4, she has been
very efficient, having tackled a number of difficult projects that would
have been a challenge for even a much more tenured administrator at any
institution.
It is because of her strong leadership skills and her dedication to helping
students achieve their educational goals that Snyder has been named Blue
Water Woman Educator of the Year. She was nominated by Pete Lacey,
vice president of student services and communications at SC4.
“Under her direction, the college has implemented a variety of successful
initiatives and has completed several significant projects,” said Lacey in his
nomination. “Her visionary leadership has helped transform our campus
and it has improved our community.”
Snyder understands the importance and impact a community college
makes on a student’s life because she once was that student at SC4. “I was
just trying to hold down a full time job at the telephone company and
go to school at night,” she said. “I came here and I had some of the best
teachers. Janet Kelly, who was a sociology teacher here, was the first person
who said to me, ‘Have you thought about getting a Ph.d?’
“She was the most important person in my SC4 life. She inspired me. It
was a time when girls were secretaries, telephone operators and cashiers.
Most women did not go on to get their doctorate.”
Before all was said and done, Snyder had gone on to earn a bachelor’s
degree, a master’s degree and a doctorate.
Prior to becoming president at SC4, Snyder served in a variety of
administrative capacities on several different college campuses. She last
served as president and chief academic officer at Cogswell College in
northern California.
A pioneer in producing online classes for colleges – she taught herself
HTML and put together the very first online class taught by Walsh
College – she went on to do consulting work for colleges across the country,
teaching them how to build successful online courses.
An author of two published books – one that came about as a result of
her early comfort level with the internet, e-Marketing Basics – she is about
to publish her third book, Old School, New School, No School, about the
value of higher education.
Snyder is proud of the work she has done during her short time at SC4.
“When I arrived, getting the faculty contract settled and getting everyone
back to work and doing what they do best was in the best interest of
everyone,” she said. “The faculty deliver our service. I value the job the
faculty does on our campus.”
Under Snyder’s leadership, the college has also received a 10-year
accreditation – the highest possible recognition – from the Higher Learning
Commission. A number of major construction and renovation projects
have also been undertaken during Snyder’s tenure:
--The renovation and transformation of the old McMorran Pavilion into
the new SC4 Fieldhouse.
--The college recently received approval of funding to move forward
with the renovation of the A.J. Theisen building. Once the renovation is
complete, the building will be home to expanded health science programs.
--Through collaboration with the Community Foundation of St. Clair
County, SC4 is constructing new student housing.
Snyder notes that she has not done her job alone.
“People here are open to good ideas,” she said. “The community is open
to partnerships. People are cheerleaders here because they want what is
best for the community.”