Dr. Maria C. Sheehan, President of TMCC
Truckee Meadows Community College President Dr. Maria C. Sheehan has announced that she will retire in January 2016. Sheehan, who began at TMCC in 2008 and has been an educator for more than 40 years, will pursue volunteer work in Central America.
“TMCC has the staff in place to create miracles in the lives of students every day. It has been a pleasure to serve,” Sheehan stated in a message to college faculty and staff today.
“I applaud Maria Sheehan for her work at TMCC to support student access and success. She has worked tirelessly to keep the college moving forward during the economic downturn of recent years. She has built a foundation for the college to grow and serve its community in the coming years,” said Dan Klaich, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
“President Sheehan has been a true leader in higher education in the state and at TMCC. She has built partnerships with the local business community and school district, supported initiatives to meet workforce needs, and deployed resources in a way to best serve the community,” said Rick Trachok, Chairman of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents. “She has high standards and has not compromised her commitment to students.”
Sheehan began as President of TMCC in July 2008. She immediately began addressing budget shortfalls due to the economic downturn while increasing initiatives to support student success. During her time as president student success rates have doubled. A $25 million gift campaign has led to the opening of a new Health Science Center at the Redfield Campus as well as a complete renovation of the College’s Applied Technology Center on Edison Way to meet the emerging and expanding demand of local businesses.
Sheehan plans to continue and expand her philanthropic work in Central America. In early 2016, she will serve as a lead volunteer in her Reno Rotary Club to help build an orphanage for severely disabled infants, a project started years ago by an American couple. As part of this project, she will retool her knowledge in special education and sign language to ultimately lead a group of special education professionals back to the country to spend time training the orphanage staff.
Sheehan is an educator who has served as Superintendent/President of Desert Community College District in Palm Desert, California, and President of Modesto Junior College, both in California. She also served as Vice Chancellor of Human Resources for the South Orange County Community College District, and as a Vice Chancellor for the state office for California Community Colleges in Sacramento. She started her career in education as a primary school teacher in South Pasadena, California.
In addition, she has served on the boards of the Nevada Women’s Fund and now the Giving Circle, Desert Research Institute (DRI) Park, KNPB Channel 5 Public Broadcasting, Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), NevadaWorks, American Heart Association and the Circle of Red, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She is also a member of Reno Rotary at Harrah’s noon club and a member of the Rotary International Committee. In addition, Sheehan has provided a one-time gift as an incentive grant to the TMCC Foundation to encourage a health and wellness initiative at college.
She earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from California State University at Los Angeles; a master’s degree from California State University, Long Beach; and a doctorate degree in higher education administration from Pepperdine University.
The Chair of the Board of Regents and Chancellor will begin the process for finding the next president of TMCC this fall.