Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — Just weeks from now, Rick MacLennan will begin a 2,600-mile journey across the United States, from Washington state to his new home in Garrett County.
MacLennan, the incoming president of Garrett College, will officially step into the position in July. The job means moving out of his family’s home of 12 years and relocating to an unfamiliar place, but MacLennan said he looks forward to the challenge.
“The logistics of the relocation are a little daunting,” he said. “But Garrett County is an absolutely beautiful area.”
The college board of trustees unanimously selected MacLennan for the job, after narrowing down a pool of more than 50 candidates.
MacLennan is leaving a position as vice president for student services at Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash., which he has held since 1998.
Much of his career has been spent as an administrator in student services areas, and MacLennan said student success will remain a main focus of his work.
“I want every single student who chooses to be a part of Garrett College to be successful,” he said. “And all of my programs and what I want to do is centered on that. My sense is that’s what Garrett College is about, and that’s one of the things that attracted me to the school.”
MacLennan will take the reins from interim college president Jeanne Neff, who has served in that role since May 2009.
The two are meeting weekly to orient MacLennan to current issues at the college, he said.
“First and foremost is for me to learn the college and get to know the people who are there, and the community,” MacLennan said. “I’ve heard quite a lot about economic development and regional interest in some of the things that are happening. I need to work with the board initially to get a clear idea of their priorities.”
He feels the college is in “very good shape” from the groundwork laid by Neff and the administrative team.
“They’ve really done some very good work, around accreditation, around policy development, and making some real improvements and changes to the college governance process,” he said.
This will be MacLennan’s first time at the top of the administrative hierarchy, and he acknowledged that it will be a learning process. But as a part of other administrative teams, he’s dealt with many aspects of the president’s work, including budget issues and lately, state funding cuts.
Olympic College was forced by funding reductions to cut nearly $2.5 million from its $35 million budget last year, and will likely cut at least $1 million more this year, he said.
But MacLennan views Maryland colleges, particularly Garrett, as being in a more stable position because they also receive funding support at the county level, whereas schools in Washington state do not.
“I think Garrett College is a little unique, from what I can tell, because they’ve had very strong county support and county commitment,” he said. “That seems to be affording Garrett some stability.”
And he’s interested in maintaining the relationship of community, county government and the college.
“I hope to lend myself and the college to issues that are important to the community … whether it be economic development or other issues around the work force,” he said. “The college is already a part of that, and it’s something I want to continue.”
MacLennan holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Portland State University, a master’s degree in college student services administration from Oregon State University, and a doctor of education degree in educational innovation and leadership from Wilmington University.
He will be moving to Garrett County with his wife, Theresa, and two of their four children, who will be attending local high school.
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