Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

New Dean Already Making Impact at Rock Creek

Photos and story by James Hill

ROCK CREEK CAMPUS – Craig Kolins is the new dean of student development at the Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College.Kolins has been the associate vice president of enrollment services at Mt. Hood Community College for the last three years. Before coming to Oregon in 1999, he served as community college presidential fellow for Terra Community College and the University of Toledo. In total, Kolins has worked as an enrollment management and student development administrator for 17 years at both two- and four-year institutions in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon, including director of admissions at Western Oregon University in Monmouth."This is an excellent professional opportunity and a promotion that will allow me to further develop my leadership skills as an administrator,"said Kolins, a resident of southeast Portland. "Rock Creek is a great place to work. I have found the students, faculty and staff to be very friendly, creative and willing to work together on campus issues that foster student success."Kolins possesses a doctorate from the University of Toledo and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. At Mt. Hood CC, he helped to implement student retention strategies and automated the registration system that provides students access 24 hours a day. He has already made an impact at PCC-Rock Creek, where along with faculty, students and staff, he has formed a committee that is examining ways to make the transition easier for students from English as a second language to English for non-native learners certificate and degree programs at PCC.