On Friday, March 8, Kimberlee Messina was announced as SFCC’s new president in a official news release just two days after the final presidential forum.

CCS Chancellor Christine Johnson announced that she had selected Messina as president after conducting two nationwide searches over the past year.

“Spokane Falls Community College is a dynamic college with an outstanding faculty and staff and strong partnerships within the community,” Messina said. “I am honored to be selected as the president of SFCC.”

Messina is a passionate supporter of student success and equity. She has served in the community college system for over 27 years and is a self proclaimed “freeway flyer.”

“I want to provide students with what they need to be on the same playing field.” Messina said in her open forum on Feb. 20 on SFCC’s campus.

Messina is a native of Sacramento, California, and is a first-generation college graduate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a master’s degree in Spanish from CSU Sacramento and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC Davis.

Before being hired at SFCC, she was the instructional dean of STEM at Santa Rosa Junior College and served as the vice president of instruction and institutional research as well as interim president at Foothill College.

“I believe that this bodes very well with our department,” said Gabriel Valenzuela, lead Spanish instructor at SFCC. “It feels good to have someone who’s had a background in foreign language and knows the value of foreign language teaching.”

Messina has a background in STEM and also the humanities.

“Especially at a time where across the country we hear that there are humanities programs are getting cut back,” Valenzuela said. “It’s nice to have someone who has a humanities background in office, who can speak to, advocate, and know the value of humanities.”

SFCC English professor Connie Scott said it is important for graduates, no matter their degree, to be creative.

“We want to equip our students with the ability to be flexible, think on their feet and think outside of the box,” Scott said.

After two years of searching for a new permanent president, SFCC faculty is relieved to have a solid foundation once again.

Messina even has a personal connection to the Spokane area.

“My husband and I are excited to explore our new city and the beautiful surroundings of Spokane,” Messina said. “This move will bring us closer to our family in Washington.”

In her open forum, Messina talked about her blog “Life Is Better On The Road.” The blog served as a journal for Messina, her husband and their cat, Dr. Picasso, as they took a semester sabbatical in fall 2018 to tour the country, with an emphasis on identifying colleges and communities where they would like to relocate.

“I love to cook,” said Messina at her forum. Her ‘About’ section on the blog elaborates further and describes her as: “Kimberlee Messina, Strategic Planner, Chef and content editor. Kimberlee is taking a semester sabbatical from higher education to get to know the USA, state by state and bite by bite.”

In the news release about Messina’s hiring, Chancellor Christine Johnson touched on why Messina was chosen.

“Dr. Messina has the qualifications, experience, and proven reputation to lead SFCC,” Johnson said. “She is absolutely committed to the mission of the community colleges and to our abilities to open the doors to new opportunities for people seeking affordable high-quality education in our region.”

And with that, Messina received the Sasquatch seal of approval and will start at SFCC in June.

The Communicator plans to do a full interview with Messina in spring quarter.