In my new role as President of Riverland Community College, I frequently encounter the question of why I moved more than 1,500 miles to take this job. It is an appropriate question, the answer to which reveals something about me, about the college, and why the two of us are a good match.

More than 30 years’ experience as an educator convinces me that education is the sure social elevator by which people can improve the quality of their lives. My experience includes teaching social sciences to seventh and eighth-grade students in a Georgia public school for nine years, teaching and administering at private Thomas College in Georgia for eight years, teaching the law of higher education to master’s and doctoral students for a year at Florida State University, and teaching and administering at public Yakima Valley Community College in Washington state for thirteen years.

With successful experience at the K-12, community college and university levels, I am most comfortable with the open-door philosophy of the American community college, where education is for everyone, not just the privileged few. One key to the success of the community college model is access, and a multi-campus district like Riverland brings educational services to the people by reducing barriers of time, distance and cost.

Why Riverland? Your local community college has much to attract someone from great distances. As I researched the college in preparation and went through the interview process, I found at least five major attractive features.

First, the people at the college illustrated the student-centered focus that makes the American community college the institution of choice to anyone with the ability to benefit from its programs. Riverland’s faculty and staff members impressed me with their warm, friendly manner and their unswerving commitment to serving students.

Second, I liked Riverland’s comprehensive nature. Your community college offers a wide range of programs to meet almost anyone’s needs. Students may prepare to transfer to a four-year college or university, complete programs of study in two years or less to obtain a job in a professional or technical career, take customized courses for professional development or personal enrichment, and build literacy and other academic skills.

Third, community support for the college is strong. The Riverland Foundation illustrates how different communities have joined to help financially needy students, to help college employees develop professionally, and to provide student housing that is conducive to effective learning.

Fourth, the Minnesota system of higher education (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) is respected nationwide. People in higher education acknowledge Chancellor Jim McCormick as among the best in the country when it comes to establishing an effective and efficient system of higher education.

Finally, the communities that Riverland serves, Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, are delightful communities in which to live and work! Southern Minnesota has so many pleasant qualities that my family and I are grateful for this opportunity to join you as residents.

Why Riverland? With so much going for it, I must respond, “Why not Riverland?”

(Terrence Leas is president of Riverland Community College.)