Indian River State College welcomes new president of Mueller Campus in Vero Beach

Terri Graham walked onto Indian River State College's Vero Beach campus for the first time this fall semester alongside students, ready to begin her new tenure.

Graham, who has been working in education for nearly three decades, became president of the Mueller Campus on Aug. 1.

She said she had her eye on IRSC for her next career move because the college is ahead of the curve with its initiatives and programs, such as committing to adult education 20 years ago and launching the Promise Program this year.

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In her first month on the job, she said she worked on cultivating relationships with the local and campus community to build on the success of her predecessor, Casey Lunceford, who worked at the college for 25 years.

"What I'm looking to do is to continue to enhance and grow those relationships, as well as determine what are some of the new ways we can partner," Graham said, "because part of our goals as an institution is to really contribute to the economic development of the region."

Higher education diversity, inclusion

Graham also was attracted to IRSC's mission of diversity and inclusion across all four campuses, including Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie and Okeechobee. IRSC reaches out to underserved communities to make a college education accessible to all, she said.

"I think my presence demonstrates IRSC's commitment to diversity and equity," said Graham, who is the first woman of color to be an IRSC campus president.

In her 28 years of working in education, ranging from elementary to higher education, she has been on teams that strive to address equity and inclusion on campuses.

Before IRSC, Graham served as the interim president and executive dean at Valencia College in Orlando for six years.

"It's a multipronged approach in that you're developing strategies for students, but you're also looking at professional development opportunities for staff, for faculty — to ensure that there's an understanding of how to appreciate someone who may be from a different culture," she said.

What is IRSC's Promise Program?

The Promise Program was another pull for Graham to come to IRSC.

High school seniors who graduated from a public or charter high school can get free tuition toward an associate degree — without a GPA or income requirement.

"We look at what happened during the pandemic," she said. "Enrollment across the nation really tanked and suffered because of the conditions that we were under."

When the program debuted in March, IRSC discovered 76% of its alumni stay in the community, contributing to the local economy as workers and consumers.

Graham wants to continue the program, which is funded by the IRSC foundation.

"This was one of the strategies that we wanted to utilize to draw our communities back into the educational sector and meet whatever their academic goals are," Graham said.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm's underserved communities reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429 or follow her on Twitter @gmontesano13.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: IRSC Mueller Campus president wants to continue Promise Program