EUGENE, Ore. — Rosie Pryor, member of the Lane Community College Board of Education since 2012, has been named winner of the Howard Cherry Award for Outstanding Board Member by the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA). The award will be presented at the organization's annual conference, which has been rescheduled to next spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Howard Cherry Award is given annually to an outstanding administrator, advocate, and board member. The awards are named for the late Dr. Howard Cherry, a lifelong advocate and leader in the community college movement. Dr. Cherry was also a founding member of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and was a trustee of the American Association of Community & Junior Colleges.
“Rosie has shown courage and vision in addressing the challenges of funding shortfalls, enrollment decline, rapid enrollment growth, massive changes in learning technology, and broad growth in the cultural richness of community college welfare in Oregon,” said LCC President Margaret Hamilton. “I’m thrilled for Rosie. Recognition is long overdue for her enduring and tireless service on behalf of students, their communities, and the state.”
“Rosie is a high-profile trusted leader in the community, and her credibility and the confidence placed in her by other community members has served LCC ” said Mike Eyster, who has served alongside Pryor on the LCC Board for nine years. “Rosie has been a stellar member of the LCC Board of Education.”
Pryor was elected to the LCC Board in 2012 and reelected in 2016 and 2020. She serves in the At-Large Position 6. Pryor retired as Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Oregon Community Credit Union in 2014 and has over 40 years of experience in marketing, communications, and strategic business planning. During her career, she has served on numerous community boards including Eugene Hearing and Speech, Looking Glass Youth and Family Services, and the Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation. Rosie served 11 years on the Lane Workforce Partnership Board of Directors. In June 2010, she was appointed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to the Oregon Workforce Investment Board. A year later, Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed her Chair of the Board.
Rosie was instrumental in the passing of the 2020 Lane Community College Bond Measure. In addition to months of board consideration and work on the bond, she stepped up as Political Action Committee Coordinator and held weekly meetings in her home and then virtually until the May election. She spent countless hours informing the community about the bond, often accompanying the president to community presentations. These efforts led to the voters approving a $121.5 million bond to fund safety and security updates, seismic retrofitting, expanded Health Professions and Workforce Training Programs, and modernization of classroom technology throughout the district.
As board members have come and gone during her tenure, her colleagues have respected Rosie and looked to her for guidance and leadership. She has embraced challenges with candor and strength and used her natural gifts of communication and an understanding of the human spirit to bridge divides and forge solutions. She has raised the profile of Lane Community College locally, statewide, and nationally, all with the singular goal of helping students transform their lives through education and training.
Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.