Cindy Heck, Planning and Advancement
In the book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins describes level five leaders as those who put the well-being of
others before their own personal needs. Working quietly and without calling attention
to herself, administrative assistant Cindy Heck is a leader – a superb team player
not only within the Planning and Advancement unit, but working with Communications
and Marketing, the President’s Office, as well as all other units at the college.
Cindy Heck has been at Clark for more than 10 years and has served as the primary
support staff person during the three years of preparation for Clark's 2008 accreditation.
In addition, Heck co-chaired the college's 2006 Combined Fund Drive.
She has also assisted with the college-wide Backpack Project, collecting backpacks
full of school supplies for children of students in Clark's Displaced Homemakers program,
who have children enrolled at Child and Family Studies, or are work study students.
Cindy locates local school supply lists for elementary, middle and high school students
and links interested staff with a child in need. During the five years that the program
has been in existence, 210 backpacks full of school supplies have been provided to
children of students at Clark College.
Cindy Heck is described by colleagues as "deeply committed to Clark College and [someone
who] has provided continuity and institutional history to the many projects she has
supported." Her nominators wrote, "Cindy is always understated and makes her contributions
quietly and efficiently with a ready smile and warm, positive attitude."
They added, "In the year in which the college will host what we know will be a successful
accreditation visit and a memorable diamond jubilee, it would be deeply fitting to
honor someone who has played such a key role in making both celebrations possible
and charting the path for success for our next 75 years."
Mirranda Saari, Assessment Center
Committed to student success. That's how her colleagues describe Mirranda Saari, program
manager in the Clark College Assessment Center. Under Saari's leadership, the Assessment
Center has become an example in best practices for the state's GED testing site.
In addition, Saari has successfully transitioned placement testing services from ASSET
to COMPASS, the Second Language English Proficiency test to the English as a Second
Language exam, and successfully implemented early assessment placement testing at
off-site locations, particularly high schools.
With professionalism and humor, Mirranda Saari has enhanced the Assessment Center’s
information on the college Web site and launched an innovative on-line testing appointment
system for Running Start students from 26 area high schools. This new system allowed
1,216 high school students to register for testing from their home computers or their
high schools
As a leader for the College Is Possible (CIP) youth development program, Saari created
and implemented a CIP group at Harney Elementary School. This group, consisting of
65 fifth graders, participated in a four-part series on the college experience. They
learned about applying for financial aid, admissions, registration, attendance and
even had a completion ceremony. Her innovative CIP series is expected to become the
standard for school-based CIP programs.
Mirranda Saari also volunteered to co-chair the college's 2007 Combined Fund Drive. She
serves on the college's Facilities Master Plan Committee and was a member of the 2007-2008
Clark College Leadership Academy Cohort.
Her nominators wrote: “Staff and students can count on her to listen to their concerns
and to follow through with solutions and ways to improve the testing center, to improve
the information that goes out to advisors so that they can better advise our students,
and to create a workplace that feels positive and caring. She is certainly a great
role model for all of us."
