Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) President Cam Preus has announced she will leave the college in October to become the executive director of the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) in Salem.
Preus has served as president at BMCC since 2013. Her last day at the college will be Oct. 31.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve as President of BMCC these past five years,” Preus said. “Every BMCC employee is dedicated to putting ‘Students First’, and seeing the work they do each day to support our students achieve their goals is inspiring. I will cherish the many memories I have made at the college and in Eastern Oregon.”
As executive director of the OCCA, Preus will represent all 17 of Oregon’s community colleges as the primary voice on legislative and regulatory issues at the state and federal level, advocate state-level leadership for student success efforts, and fosters partnership to further community college interests.
As president of BMCC, Preus led the effort to a voter-approved $23 million capital construction bond in 2015, and oversaw the construction of three new buildings and renovation of others to expand student programs and improve safety. Among her accomplishments was the expansion of Career-Technical Education (CTE) programs in Morrow County and Hermiston. She represented the college on numerous local, state and national boards and committees, and formed partnerships with numerous organizations and businesses to support college efforts.
Prior to coming to BMCC, Preus was the director of the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, and while in the position, served as the commissioner of community colleges.
“The board now faces a significant challenge to replace one of the most outstanding presidents BMCC has ever known,” said Chris Brown, chair of the BMCC Board of Education.
College officials said the Board of Education will soon name an interim president, and will secure a search firm to conduct a national search to replace Preus. Opportunities for employees, students and community members to provide feedback will be announced later this year as the search narrows down the finalists.
