Cavin Retiring

At a Glance


Who: Rita Cavin, LBCC president
What: Retiring from office
When: Effective Jan. 31

What people should remember: "Nothing--no one remembers past presidents."

Rita Cavin expects to join the ranks of forgotten former presidents when she retires on Jan. 31 because "no one remembers past presidents."

At least, that's what she says.

A president who worked so hard to establish connections between LBCC and the community, who led multi-million-dollar fund-raising campaigns that stimulated campus development, built and furnished new buildings, and renovated existing buildings or who touched lives in personal, unseen ways will be hard to forget.

Many people on campus say they never knew her, rarely saw her or met her once or twice. She was a rather unseen president.

However, Lori Fluge-Brunker said, "Every president has his or her own management style." Some govern by walking around and talking with people on campus, but that was not her way. (Cavin) seemed to be more involved in community relations and legislation--getting projects completed."

And, there were at least four major projects Cavin hoped to accomplish when she became president.

She said she "wanted to make governance more participatory, for everyone to know how the budget was put together, for women to have more responsibility and to improve the facilities."

Today, Cavin says "there is more participation in governing the college, people are more aware of how the budget is put together, there are more women in positions of responsibility, the library/learning center remodel is completed and other facility improvements are in progress.

She accomplished her goals, and those are contributions that could make a president worth remembering.

One of Cavin's greatest concerns, however, was about the students--that they would be exposed to a broader world than the Willamette Valley.

"The international experience is the biggest gap for students," she said.

She was concerned that LBCC students were missing the diversity she'd observed students enjoying on other campuses because many local students come from families who "have been in this area for 150 years, and (some) students have never left this county--never been to Salem," and therefore, their view of the world is limited.

She believes a broader world is vital to education, which is why she says she worked so hard on the international project.

As a result of her efforts, the first faculty member (Rob Lewis) will go to China in the spring as part of the exchange program, and the first Chinese students will arrive to take classes on campus this summer. Cavin will not be on campus when the exchange programs begin, but people should remember they began with her.

While she has had many successes, Cavin spoke with a tone of regret about enlarging Takena Hall.

"I feel bad," she said. "Takena was the next scheduled project when I came. I bumped it to get the health sciences building done, but when everything is finished, nursing will go to Lebanon, culinary arts and the transportation hub will go in the enlarged Takena Hall, and there will be more space for students."

Enlarging Takena Hall will again be the next project on the schedule.

The exchange program, the building of the health education building on Lebanon campus at the medical center and the doubling of the size of Takena Hall are all projects Cavin wishes she were still going to be on campus to see completed.

Instead, they are projects she leaves for her successor.

Cavin, however, was not only involved with establishing community connections, fund raising and legislation.

Memories of Cavin will linger in the minds of Roxie Putman, Carla Raymond and Renee Windsor-White because of personal touches.

Early in her presidency, Cavin learned of the death of Putman's husband.

"What stands out in my mind," Putman says, "is I was invited to her office for a private lunch. She just wanted to see how I was doing and to make sure my needs were being met in full. It was a kind and loving thing to do as a human being--not just as the president. It spoke volumes about her character, and it touched me very much."

To Carla Raymond Cavin was "another loving grandma" who sent flowers and shared Raymond's grief over the loss of her grandson three years ago.

Cavin's assistant, Renee Windsor-White, will remember her as "the best boss ever!" An engraved paver bearing that sentiment will remain as her tribute.

That is the legacy of this president.

Right now, Cavin says "it is time for traveling and enjoying a healthy lifestyle."

On Jan. 31 she will retire, completing the chapter she began in September 2003 and closing the book on the educational career she began over four decades ago.

Interestingly, the woman who says she "only wanted to be a teacher and never thought far enough ahead (about her career) to see herself as a college president" became the first woman president of LBCC.

And, of all the things she accomplished at LBCC, the one thing that makes her particularly happy is "knowing that people finally stopped asking, "'What is it like to be a woman president?'"

She can leave as "just Rita Cavin, the sixth president of LBCC."