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Dr. John McGuire:
Changing for the Better
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By
Christine Imbs
Things don’t always go the way we plan.
But sometimes it turns out what we plan isn’t nearly as good
as what we end up with. Just ask John McGuire, president of
St. Charles Community College.
“I was attending the University of Minnesota, and they said
they were looking for someone to teach history at Normandale
Community College in Minneapolis,” he says. “I didn’t even know
what a community college was. But I decided to give it a try.”
It was a decision that changed his course significantly. Up
until his senior year in college, McGuire planned on becoming
an attorney.
“I was always interested in current events, politics and history,
so law seemed a logical profession for me. But through one particularly
inspiring professor, I developed a strong interest in history
and academics,” he explains. “So the decision to go into education
may have been a late one on my part, but it turned out to be
the right one.”
It was so right that he’s remained in education for the past
35 years, teaching and holding various administrative positions
at community colleges in Minnesota, West Virginia, Colorado,
Kentucky and now Missouri. His first role as president was at
Owensboro Community College in Kentucky where he served for
five years. But by 1996 he was ready for a new challenge, and
St. Charles Community College fit the bill perfectly.
“When I started looking for a new assignment I had a pretty
narrow range of criteria,” he says. “St. Charles met all those
criteria. It was a great campus with a strong board of directors,
a faculty and staff dedicated to the success of their students,
and good growth opportunities for the college. I’ve been here
ten years now and have enjoyed every minute of it.”
During those ten years SCC has seen an increase in enrollment
of 79 percent. To accommodate those students, the campus has
added a new Social Sciences Building, Visual Arts Building,
and Café-Bookstore. McGuire credits this growth to the college’s
faculty, staff and word-of-mouth.
“Our students are very proud of their campus. The faculty and
staff are dedicated to their learning and success. There’s also
a great deal of pride on the part of our custodial, maintenance
and grounds crews to create a clean, attractive, and beautiful
environment,” he says. “All of this makes a huge impact on not
only how the students perceive the college, but themselves as
well. So the word gets around.”
McGuire admits that when most people think of college, they
conjure up images of Notre Dame, football in the afternoons
and living in dorms. But, he says, in reality, that’s not the
way most people attend college today.
“How Americans go to college has changed over the last 25 to
30 years. Today, both nationwide and pretty much in Missouri,
right around half of all beginning college students every fall
begin at a community college,” he says. “Community colleges
have made higher education accessible to more people. So most
Americans who have completed a baccalaureate degree have attended
two or more colleges, not just one.”
Although McGuire didn’t plan on a career in higher education,
he says he doesn’t have any regrets about leaving the law profession
behind.
“I really stumbled blindly into this profession,” he comments.
“But having done so, and in particular stepping into community
colleges, I couldn’t have been more fortunate. It’s the most
vibrant, dynamic sector of higher education. It’s transformed
higher education in America, and I’ve been blessed to be a part
of that change.”
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TalkingPOINTS
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BORN:
West Virginia
FAMILY: Wife, Edith; and two grown children, Esther
and Michael.
EDUCATION: B.A. and M.A. in history and economics
from West Virginia University; Ph.D. in higher education
from Florida State University.
HOBBIES: Mainly golf, but some yoga.
FAVORITE READ: Magazines mostly—The New Yorker, Economist
in particular.
FAVORITE MUSIC: All kinds—jazz, bluegrass, traditional
Appalachian mountain music.
FAVORITE MUSICIAN: Wynton Marsalis and Miles Davis
IMPRESSIONS OF ST. LOUIS: Its size and transportation
makes it manageable to get around, yet it has all the urban
and cultural amenities. |
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