It’s a sunny afternoon in early September. The parking lots are packed, students flock throughout campus, and the wind blows tablecloths off tables at the annual Fall Fest.
President Pamela Haney strolls through the event, smiling and greeting students and faculty along the way.
“My goal is to really get out on campus and to meet with students, get to know their names,” she said. “I have lunch in the cafeteria. I stop, I speak to students.”
Haney may sometimes seem reserved, but one of her goals as the new president of Moraine Valley is to connect and be visible with everyone on campus daily.
“Being approachable and connecting with students, faculty and staff is important to me,” she said. “I hope I can serve as an example that will inspire others to build strong relationships within and outside of the college. I want members of our campus community to thrive in their own unique spaces and also enjoy engaging with others.”
“Being approachable and connecting with students, faculty and staff is important to me.”
President Pamela Haney
Haney understands the power of connection. After all, that’s what led her to where she is today. Her first position at Moraine Valley came about in a whirlwind after a friend suggested she apply for an assistant dean job. She was flown out and received the job all in the same week.
In May, Haney was named president–a position she never expected when she was younger.
As an undergraduate, she pursued a mass communications degree at Norfolk State University in her home state of Virginia.
“Through my major, I worked in radio,” she said. “I actually worked in radio in high school and it carried over to my college career.”
In fact, Haney never thought she would work in education. But it was the meaningful connections she formed throughout her life that shaped her career path.
Throughout college, Haney built many connections and had several opportunities come her way, some of which she declined.
“Dial [soap] corporation came to Norfolk University when I was a student there, and they were looking for someone to join their sales and marketing area. For some reason from my profile, they called me and said, ‘We think you would be a perfect fit for our corporation,’” she said.
But Haney told them no and went on to graduate school.
“Every now and then I wonder, where would I have been? What would have happened?” Haney said.
In graduate school, she had the opportunity to become a teaching assistant.
“I realized I really loved it,” she said. “I loved working in education, I loved learning more about the field and then also working with the students.”
During her time in school, Haney developed relationships that shaped the rest of her life.
“I would say the other graduate students were my memorable connections,” she said. “All of those connections really serve as resources in the future. You never know when you need to reach out to someone from the past and ask if they can help you out.”
“I loved working in education, I loved learning more about the field and then also working with the students.”
President Pamela Haney
But her deep-rooted appreciation for education and for students of all kinds started long before grad school.
“The most influential person in my life as a student was my mother,” she said.
Her mother had gone back to school as an adult to obtain her bachelor’s degree when Haney was in junior high.
“I saw her struggles, I saw her sacrifices, so it really just made me want to stay in education even more,” Haney said. “In the evenings when I got home from school, she had already left for class because we didn’t have a program at the local community college that had what she wanted, so she had to drive an hour to class.”
Haney has carried this understanding of her mother’s struggles with her throughout her own career in education and has made addressing student struggles of all kinds one of her main priorities.
After college, Haney’s first full-time job was back at her alma mater, Norfolk State University, where she taught speech communication. At the same time, she became an adjunct faculty member at the military base across town.
“The students were different from the military to the regular four-year classroom. It was just a different atmosphere, so it gave me a broader perspective on different students and how they learn,” she said.
After getting married, Haney moved back to the Midwest, holding a faculty position at Defiance College in Ohio.
“Someone that I know that lives in Illinois said to me, ‘I’ve heard that Moraine Valley is a great college. Have you considered it?’”
Though she had never heard of Moraine Valley, Haney submitted an application and was called for an interview the next day. That same week she was flown out for a second interview.
“By the time I returned home, I was offered the position, so it was perfect timing,” she said.
Haney began her time at Moraine Valley as an assistant dean of academic affairs, then moved to dean of academic services and eventually, dean of liberal arts.
But then she left Moraine Valley. She and her husband moved to Reno, Nevada, for his job, and Haney found yet another opportunity in education as ombudsman for the University of Reno.
Even after leaving Moraine, the connections Haney formed here had taken root. Later, when she and her husband moved back to Illinois, Haney found an opening for an assistant dean position at Moraine once more and jumped on the opportunity.
Eventually, she was promoted to dean of Science, Business and Computer Technology and then vice president of Academic Affairs–the same path now being followed by Ryen Nagle.
“I met Dr. Haney within the first few months of starting at Moraine Valley,” Nagle said. “I was in the honors program, and dual credit was what I was doing, and she was very supportive.”
Ryen Nagle
Nagle has served as dean of Science, Business and Computer Technology since 2013. He starts as vice president of Academic Affairs this week.
“I’ve been able to learn a lot from her,” he said. “She’s very approachable, very knowledgeable. She learns how to meet people where they are and support them as leaders.”
Nagle also discussed the unique perspective Haney offers.
“She has college-age [children] herself right now, so I think she sees from the student perspective in a way that maybe former people haven’t.”
As she enters her new role, Haney has several goals to continue fostering connection among the students at Moraine. So far, she has been attending several campus events and mingling with students in the U building.
“I want them to know that I’m here on campus and about the resources available to them,” she said.
Haney aims to give both students and faculty what they need to be successful.
“I want to make sure that we continue to make Moraine a welcoming place,” she said.
Despite the challenges of stepping into a new position, Haney remains hopeful for the school’s future and everything that is to come.
“We have a history of strong leadership, and I think even though we have some shifts in leadership that are happening, we will continue with that legacy,” she said.
“Moraine Valley feels like family, so when we moved back to Illinois, I really couldn’t see myself working anyplace else. When I saw the opening, I said, ‘Yes, it was meant to be.’”
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