Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Profile

Barbara Larson

By FRED W. WRIGHT
Published May 15, 2006

PREVIOUS POSITION

Vice president, administrative services, chief financial officer, Lansing Community College, Lansing, Mich.

When Barbara Larson takes on her new role today, she will be looking to oversee four campuses and about 22,000 students.

And more than that, she will be responsible for overseeing the college's financial arena, which includes accounting and purchasing, and the auxiliary services such as campus security, bookstores, food services, risk management, facilities and maintenance.

"It's very similar to the position I had before," she said, "where there are fine people in place directing each of these areas, and my job is to lead and clear obstacles in their paths so they can be successful."

Larson said she enjoys the variety of challenges such a position offers.

"I think that in this job, in a large community college, every day is different. With the breadth of responsibilities I have, I can be assured my days will not be the same or boring," she said.

Even before officially starting, Larson, who will be based in the college's district offices on Davis Islands, has been visiting each campus, checking out the facilities, and meeting supervisors, staff and students.

Larson is enthusiastic about the educational potential of community colleges.

"I see what so many people (who) are drawn to higher education and particularly community colleges see: Community colleges are really transforming institutions.

"I'm inspired every day by stories of students who have changed their lives by coming to a community college, sometimes in midlife because of a career change," Larson said.

"I believe strongly in the mission of community colleges - access and value that they provide for the dollar," she said. "I'm very happy to spend my career in the community college movement."

A native of Frederick, Md., Larson earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., in 1979. Four years later, she earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

After graduating from Rutgers, Larson worked for nearly four years for a Maryland company that manufactured solar cells. After getting her graduate degree, Larson took a four-month position as a resident director of the Semester-at-Sea program through the University of Pittsburgh, which allowed her to sail around the world, from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco.

Upon her return from sea in 1984, Larson was a budget analyst for county government in Virginia for three years. She then served eight years as budget director at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich.

In 1995, Larson "stepped out of education for a year and worked with an architectural and engineering firm in Indianapolis," doing financial studies. In 1996, she became vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Lansing Community College.

Larson, who is single, said she plans to live in Hillsborough County. An avid camper, Larson said she has been a lifelong Girl Scout and active in that organization as an adult. She said she and friends go camping at least once a year. They camp outdoors, but there are some amenities, Larson admitted. "I have to have my air mattress," she said.

Larson, 49, said she tries to travel internationally as much as possible. "I think it's important to see as much of the world as we can," she said. "There are so many places to see yet."

- FRED W. WRIGHT, Times correspondent

[Last modified May 15, 2006, 08:08:04]