After a 31-year career at Southeast Community College,
Bob Morgan has decided to retire from his position as Beatrice Campus
Director/Vice President for Program Development. During that time, he started
out as a business instructor at the Lincoln Campus and ended being in charge of
the Beatrice Campus.
He’s seen the College change and evolve over the years
and finishes his career with one of the most challenging times for any college
administrator. He looks back over the years at his accomplishments and what he
will miss when he finally closes the door for good.
How
would you sum up your career at SCC? The one thing I will always take away
is knowing that for 31 years I have been able to have a part in making
students’ lives better. Our mission is critical and our task, no matter what we
do for SCC, impacts so many students and employers across the state of Nebraska
and beyond. I look back with pride with all we have done the past 31 years, and
am so blessed to have been a part of the SCC family.
What are some of the highlights
during your career?
In 1998, a handful of entrepreneurial instructors made the move to put classes
online. I taught the first online class (Intro to Business) with another
instructor that fall. That program grew from eight students to the success it
is today.
Under the
encouragement and direction of President Dr. Paul Illich, I was instrumental in
opening up six learning centers across our 15-county area and giving our rural
constituents access to SCC.
I also
helped lead the process to transform an old 1965 (Pershing) college in Beatrice
to the beginnings of a state-of-the-art educational campus.
What have been some of the
challenges? Distance
learning was a moving target with the number of different learning management
systems we used. Those changes were hard on the faculty and the students.
However, now under the direction of Virtual Learning staff, Canvas is helping
SCC lead the way.
COVID-19: It
was a hard year as the world went through something that most of us hope to
never see again. That said, the silver lining was to see the unsung heroes SCC
has. We saw so many employees become true rock stars to help staff and students
through an unprecedented year.
What will you miss most? I will miss all of the great people I
have served with over the past 31 years. We all had the purpose to help
students improve their lives.
What will be your legacy? I hope I will be remembered as a
leader who was fair, and that I recognized and respected the extreme importance
of every employee and every job position within the College.
What will you do in retirement? I am sure I will enjoy my hobbies of
golf and boating. However, as someone who poured 100% into their job, there
were times family did not come first. I will be spending time with my wonderful
kids and awesome grandkids.
Anything else you’d like to add? I am fortunate my mother and father
were my mentors and supporters. My mom was the one who saw the (help wanted) ad
in the newspaper and passed it on, encouraging me to apply (she was a K-12
teacher). My father taught me early in life that we are all important and we
all put our pants on one leg at a time. If you remember that and treat people
fairly, you will be successful in life.
We wish Bob the best as he and his
wife, Kelly Morgan, both retire from SCC!