SWOCC release – Coos Bay, OR – The Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) announced Dr. Patty Scott, President of Southwestern Oregon Community College, is its Howard Cherry Award for Outstanding Community College Administrator of the year. Oregon’s community colleges honored Dr. Scott on Nov. 7 at the annual OCCA conference at the Salishan Resort in Gleneden Beach, OR. “Patty is invested in Oregon and its community colleges in a way that is personal, all-consuming and lasting. She’s more than one of 17 presidents. She is our collective champion,” Chemeketa Community College President Jessica Howard said, while announcing the award. During the ceremony, the group lauded Dr. Scott for being a mentor to other community college presidents. Her leadership with national Achieving the Dream program also brought accolades for Southwestern. “We must have done something right at Southwestern, with a 29% increase in the graduation rate over the last 15 years. We have the highest student success rate, that’s students who graduate, stay enrolled or transfer, and the lowest time to completion in the state,” Dr. Scott said, in accepting the award. She went on to say no one person accomplishes this alone, and credited the employees at Southwestern for caring about students and helping them be successful. Dr. Scott has been at Southwestern since 1993. She started out splitting her time as director of Student Support Services (Trio) and Counseling Faculty. She was named director of Educational Support Programs in 2002 and served as dean of Students beginning February of 2006, until being named as interim president in October 2008.
