Dr. Cathy Kemper-Pelle is President Emeritus of Rogue Community College and a first-generation community college graduate.
During her career in Texas and Oregon, Dr. Kemper-Pelle served as adjunct and full-time faculty, department chair, academic dean, institutional research and accreditation dean, academic vice president, and college president/CEO.
She has been directly involved with Achieving the Dream since 2007. Her achievements include implementation of Guided Pathways, improved gateway English and math completion, significant increases in Hispanic student enrollment and completion, launch of programs to address student homelessness and hunger, improvement of K-12 partnerships, startup of a department of institutional research, and the launches of college-wide data dashboards and a teaching and learning center.
Dr. Kemper-Pelle was recognized by the RCC Board of Education in 2022 with emeritus status for her accomplishments as president. She was recognized in 2019 by Rogue Workforce Partnership as a Workforce Champion and by Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. for co-creating the Southern Oregon Higher Education Consortium. Under her leadership, RCC was a Bellwether Award finalist in 2019 for outstanding work in Adult Basic Skills and in 2021 for moving students out of multigenerational poverty through RCC’s Southern Oregon Health Occupation Poverty Elimination (SOHOPE) work.
Education:
Ed.D.(Educational Administration) | The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
M.S. (Biological Sciences) |Illinois State University, Normal, IL
B.S. (Biological Sciences) | Illinois State University, Normal, IL
A.S. (General Studies) | Illinois Central College, E. Peoria, IL
Past Experience:
President | Rogue Community College, Grants Pass, OR
Vice President of Learning | Lee College, Baytown, TX
Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation | Blinn College, Brenham, TX
Dean of Academic Affairs |Blinn College, Brenham, TX
Interim Vice President for Teaching and Learning Services | Tarrant County College, Arlington, TX
How has education changed your life/your family?
My parents’ dream for me was no college. I dreamed of being an environmental research scientist. Without money or parental support, I attended my local community college, where I found amazing academic support, leadership opportunities, and faculty who believed in my dream. Their support provided a foundation I could build on to succeed, and I graduated from college debt free and gainfully employed in my field. I challenged my children to take this route, and they graduated with bachelor’s degrees and no debt. They tell me regularly how grateful they are for their community college experiences. Our teachers cared.