President to leave NCC

By David Iversen and Ashley Reid

Dr. Kathi Hiyane-Brown has accepted the president’s job at Whatcom Community College, in Bellingham, Wash. She will leave NCC this summer.

Hiyane-Brown became NCC's president in July 2004.

“During the time I have remaining as your president, I am committed to going forward with the strategic initiatives we have developed together,” Hyane-Brown wrote in an e-mail Thursday evening. “Be assured I will continue to support all of you in our goal of providing the very best education to our students.”

Hiyane-Brown also wrote that during her remaining time at NCC she will work to continue the school’s tradition of excellence.

She told the Lions' Roar last month she served as vice-president to Tacoma Community College, also in Washington, for 13 years before coming to NCC.

As vice-president of student affairs at Tacoma Community College, she was described as providing “dedicated leadership” and was known as a “trusted colleague and adviser” by the president of TCC, Pamela Transue.

Whatcom Community College selected Hiyane-Brown as one of four finalists in its search for a new president.

Whatcom serves about 7,000 students each quarter. It is a public community college, much like NCC, and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Hiyane-Brown admits that she was interested in the offer at Whatcom because the job would place her closer to much of her family on the West Coast.

NCC was appealing initially to Hiyane-Brown “because of its excellent reputation as the “flagship” community college in Minnesota and its preparation of students for transfer to baccalaureate granting institutions and professional careers.”
She also said, “Normandale is a welcoming place, and an institution where many people are energized and poised for the future.”

She said the things she enjoys most about the presidency here include the faculty and staff she works with on a daily basis and the people in the neighboring communities
which NCC serves. She describes her coworkers as “passionate about their work in the support of student learning.”

A major accomplishment on behalf of the college during her presidency was the development of the college’s strategic plan. It involved a lot of communication throughout the campus between faculty, staff and community supporters. This plan highlighted major priorities on the campus “to-do” list and mapped out the processes for accomplishing these goals.
Whatcom began their nationwide search to replace Dr. Harold Heiner, who is retiring after 23 years.

Prior to her three year presidency at NCC and her 13 years at Tacoma, Hiyane-Brown also served community colleges in Hawaii and Iowa. She was the dean of instruction at Leeward Community College in Hawaii for four years. She also served as associate dean of instruction and staff development coordinator at Muscatine Community College in Iowa for ten years.

Hiyane-Brown received her doctorate in education from the Oregon State University Community College Leadership program, a master’s in instructional design
and technology from the University of Iowa and a bachelor’s in anthropology from Grinnell College in Iowa.

She would like to assure the staff and students of NCC that she will continue to fulfill her duties as the president and that she is committed to this institution. She said she is honored to have been nominated for the presidency at Whatcom, but there are still many goals to work toward accomplishing at NCC and that is what she plans to do.