Equity Trust Co. Chairman of the Board Honored for His 30 Year Commitment to Education in Northeast Ohio
Dr. Roy Church, President of Lorain County Community College, and Richard Desich
Press Release: OACC Resolution highlighting Mr. Desich's accomplishments in the area of education
For more than 30 years, Lorain County Community College (LCCC) Trustee Richard Desich has provided leadership in and out of the boardroom in the transformation and growth of LCCC into one of America's most dynamic community colleges. During his remarkable tenure, he has served in every leadership position on the Board, including Chairperson of the Board, as well as chairperson of two critically important committees: the Development Committee and the Finance Committee. Today, as the senior member of the Board, he guides, leads, and mentors newer Board members.
In many ways Richard Desich has been the guiding light, or wind beneath the wings, of LCCC. The college has evolved from a single-focused institution, chartered in 1963 as Ohio's second community college, to the comprehensive community college it is today. It was Richard Desich who lobbied countless hours, while serving as the College's Chairperson of the Board from 1984 to 1986, for LCCC to be designated a comprehensive community college, which would encourage direct leadership and cooperative relationships with businesses, industries, labor unions, school districts, governments, and other entities. He was a leading proponent 30 years ago for the role of community colleges as catalysts of economic development. Those long hours, persistence, and diligence were rewarded, as the designation he sought became a reality for LCCC. The beneficiaries of his success have been the more than 300,000 Lorain County residents who have had access to the education they needed from transfer education to technical programs to training for business and industry.
When he served as Chairperson of the Development Committee, Richard Desich reinvigorated the LCCC Foundation, leading it to become one of the nation's most successful community college foundations for a college this size. During this transition, not only did he serve as Chair of the Development Committee, but also assumed the role as President of the Foundation and Chair of the Search Committee to select an administrator for the Foundation. The Foundation's assets have grown steadily and now surpass $23 million. He continues to serve as a member of the Foundation Board, and by doing so has had a tremendous impact on the Foundation's success since its inception.
As Chairman of the Finance Committee, Richard Desich, through creative leveraging and financing, helped the College build a Cultural and Fine Arts Center nearly 20 years ago. Richard Desich's financial expertise and negotiation skills have been invaluable assets to his service as a member of every Faculty Salary and Benefits Negotiations Committee from the late 1960s to 1990.
He has also helped to chart the future of the College by serving as a member of three Presidential Selection Committees, with the most recent being in 1987, when Dr. Roy Church was selected as LCCC's current President.
Richard Desich's commitment and leadership on the Board have been unparalleled at LCCC. In fact, there are probably few community college trustees nationally that have been active for three decades and have had the phenomenal impact as he has had for LCCC. As one of nine Board members, he has consistently been re-appointed by the Lorain County Commissioners since his first term.
Result of extraordinary leadership throughout the term of his service as a trustee
Richard Desich's service as a member of the LCCC Board of Trustees began with his appointment in 1970 by the Lorain County Commissioners. At the time, LCCC was a little more than five years old, had a six-building campus and enrolled about 4,000 students.
Through those 30 years, Richard Desich has had a phenomenal impact on the phenomenal growth of LCCC. Early in his tenure as a member of the Board, Richard Desich strove for LCCC to be designated a “comprehensive” community college - a designation critically important to those in the Lorain County area seeking higher education and related opportunities. Being the largest county (in terms of population) in Ohio without a public college or university, Lorain County needed to provide its residents with complete and total access to higher education. The designation “comprehensive” allowed LCCC to offer many more higher education opportunities to residents than would have been possible otherwise.
Furthermore, anyone associated with community colleges, especially local, levy-supported community colleges such as LCCC, appreciates and understands the constant concerns about funding and financial matters. Richard Desich has been a mainstay at LCCC ensuring the institution's fiscal stability. His efforts in this area have run the gamut. He has gone door-to-door informing county voters of the importance of local levy support for LCCC. He has been in the halls of the Statehouse lobbying for community colleges to receive their fair share of the higher education budget. He has pushed for LCCC to be financially prudent by introducing creative leveraging and financing techniques. Richard Desich is the one responsible for the creation of the LCCC Foundation, which now has approximately $23 million in assets, an incredibly large amount for an institution the size of LCCC.
Outstanding contributions to his college community
Richard Desich been a part of every innovative initiative undertaken by LCCC, and in many cases, has been the quiet force propelling that effort. The following examples of innovative programs exemplify his leadership and his contributions to LCCC during the past 30 years:
The Nord Advanced Technologies Center - When Trustee Richard Desich lobbied at the State Capitol to change the mission of LCCC in 1984, he promoted the community college's role as an economic development engine to drive a community forward. His quest to change the mission of the College in effect changed the face of Lorain County by providing the resources needed for businesses to grow and flourish. Lorain County, which had once been a thriving manufacturing community, about 20 miles west of Cleveland, succumbed to the rust-belt's demise during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when the county lost more than 18 percent of its revenue and one in four manufacturing jobs. But thanks to the insight and vision of Richard Desich, LCCC was part of the solution of the community's comeback. The College and its Technologies Center have worked with thousands of employers, large and small, and their employees to train, retrain and improve their bottom lines. And the College has moved thousands of people from unemployment to work as dislocated workers and welfare recipients came to their community college to learn the technical skills they needed to become gainfully employed. Since opening its doors as Ohio's first technologies center, LCCC's Nord Advanced Technologies Center has continued to set the standard for innovative workplace training for the region, state and nation. Today, the Nord Advanced Technologies Center is home to the College's non-credit and customized programs in technical specialties, including quality, team building, plastics, welding, automated manufacturing and more.
Stocker Humanities and Fine Arts Center - Cultural arts enhancement, like economic development, was another central theme in Trustee Desich's quest for LCCC to become a comprehensive community college. His belief and mission were the impetus to the financing for the LCCC Humanities and Fine Arts Center, which opened in 1980. Today, it is known as the county's cultural arts jewel. Each year, more than 100,000 patron and school students flock to the performances, which include the Performing Artists Series, which features off-Broadway touring productions, and the award-winning Children's Matinee Series, which has garnered awards as one of the state's best children's series. In addition, an art gallery boasts prominent local and national exhibits and the College's civic chorale, theater and orchestra perform for audiences throughout the year in Stocker Center.
The University Partnership - As Richard Desich worked with the College to develop its Vision 2000 strategic plan in 1990, many issues surfaced, including the low educational attainment level for Lorain County residents. The census data confirmed that among Lorain County's adults 25 years old and older, only 12 percent has completed four or more years of college, making it the lowest of the seven-county Northeast Ohio region. This average was 29 percent below Ohio's average and 40 percent below the national average. To address this issue, Trustee Desich encouraged the College to seek an innovative solution through the creation of a University Partnership to host four-year colleges and universities on LCCC's campus to access to upper-division programs and degrees. Since Lorain County was the largest county in Ohio without a public university or branch campus, Trustee Desich felt it was critical to provide access. From the time he became a trustee, constituents continued to ask when would LCCC become a four-year university. While he knew that the State of Ohio would never invest in another university or branch campus, Trustee Desich felt that the University Partnership provided the answer for what the residents were seeking. A major tax levy campaign was mounted asking residents to approve a new tax of 1.2 mills, and in November 1995, after the first attempt, voters overwhelmingly voted “yes” to a new tax to support this creative initiative. Today, more than 1,300 students have attended classes and a new University Center, which houses the LCCC University Partnership, is a reality. Funding for the University Center utilized the same creative funding modeling that Trustee Desich introduced for the Stocker Center.
Great Lakes Technology Park - One of the College's most unique initiatives is the new Great Lakes Technology Park, of which Richard Desich has provided leadership since its inception. In addition to creating the vision for Tech Park, he has worked relentlessly to turn this dream into reality. It was Trustee Desich who negotiated and secured the first anchor which plans to construct its new world headquarters site in the park, which is located adjacent to the College. LCCC education and training resources, and programs in areas such as computer applications and network communications will provide tenants with a student talent pool and faculty expertise to enhance their operations.
Patsie C. Campana Sr. Engineering and Development Center - The College has recently completed this new facility which will train Lorain County's future workers for jobs in the digital economy, including those enrolled in the new Computer Science and Engineering bachelor's degree programs now offered through the University Partnership. (Richard Desich played an integral role in each of these new and exciting ventures.) The Engineering and Development Center will promote software development through credit programs as well as through offering networking stations, teleconferencing capabilities and Internet capabilities to all businesses. The center will also house an entrepreneurship support office and fiber-optic link to the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce and its Small Business Development Center. And the center will be home of the Great Lakes Incubator for Developing Enterprises (GLIDE). This facility will support digital enterprise development by providing such things as physical space, business development services, professional office services, connections to investors and expert technology assistance.
Outstanding Contributions to Community Colleges as a Whole
When he first was appointed as a Trustee, Ohio's community colleges were in their infancy. Today, they have matured into comprehensive institutions that serve diverse populations. Their comprehensive missions include economic and community development, continuing education, business and industry training, programs for older adults and young children, and cultural arts enhancement. Richard Desich's tenacity and vision were driving forces in the state's decision to adopt a new mission for LCCC. Trustee Desich's actions helped to chart the future of many of Ohio's comprehensive community colleges.
In fact, Richard Desich's drive and zeal for influencing legislation for the benefit of community colleges will undoubtedly be one of his legacies. Long before many two-year colleges were considering their role in economic and community development, Trustee Desich was advocating at the state level for LCCC to become a comprehensive community college. He had a keen understanding of what was needed for Lorain County. He met with leaders from business, industry, labor and the community-at-large and turned his attention to the legislators, who held the key to making this decision. He visited the state Capitol on countless occasions, met with legislators, testified, lobbied and did all that he could to promote this comprehensive mission. His compelling examples, rationale and presentations led to LCCC's designation as one of Ohio's first comprehensive community colleges.
He continues to be actively engaged in communicating with state and national legislators to advance the mission of community colleges. As an example, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley selected LCCC to visit as a “model community college.” From letter-writing campaigns to briefings, he actively communicates with selected officials and other opinion leaders, at all levels.
Conclusion
Trustee Richard Desich has served Lorain County Community College with distinction for 30 years. His length of service speaks volumes - for one to give such a significant part of his life in service to a community college says much positive about him and his values. This is true especially in light of the fact that Richard Desich serves his community college with the aspiration that it will make his locale a better place for all citizens. It cannot be calculated the number of lives he has touched through his relentless and persistent pursuit of excellence for both LCCC and the Lorain County community.
Richard Desich is deeply committed to his community college and the community it serves. In addition to all of the major initiatives previously outlined in the nomination, there are literally hundreds of other initiatives he has accomplished during his tenure of service. He has been active philanthropically, raising millions of dollars for education and scholarships. He has encouraged a number of concepts and programs that enhance the community college's linkages to K-12 education. He is playing a part in urban renewal by promoting a community college center in one of the most depressed areas of the county. He continuously advocates for improvement and innovation.
Suffice it to say, Lorain County Community College is truly fortunate to have a person of Trustee Desich's caliber and character to serve - and support - its mission. As a result, the entire community college movement benefits.