President’s Blog

It’s budget season here in the State Capitol. I am writing to provide an update on the Michigan House appropriations process for community college budget and how it will impact Lansing Community College. Dr. Toni Glasscoe, Sandi Jones, Brandy Johnson and I have been in frequent contact over the past several weeks. Things are beginning to move in the legislature, so here is a very quick overview: House Bill 5779 will be voted out today,[…]

This Monday, LCC will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Although the college will be closed, I encourage you to consider how you might make this day of observance meaningful for yourself. Many people like to volunteer in the community in honor of Dr. King’s activism. You could also consider picking up one of LCC’s “Beyond the Book” diversity reading selections for 2021-2022, or one of the 25 crucial books about[…]

On Thursday, January 6, 2022, I had the great pleasure to provide words of welcome for the second day of Professional Activity Days here at LCC. Below are my brief remarks, edited a bit to include images and hyperlinks. Thank you to Megan Lin and Annescia Dillard for the invitation, and to Patrick Butcher for help in presenting the visual elements of my remarks.  President Robinson Welcome Message Good morning, Megan. Thank you so much,[…]

August 12, 2021 New Student Orientation / Photo by Kevin Fowler Below is a transcript of remarks I made at the December 10, 2021 Lansing Community College All-Employee meeting. My speech uses themes developed by the student voices in this 30-second video created by Layne Ingram and Dave Wasinger. During the meeting, I played the video prior to delivering my remarks; I also played it another time after I concluded.   Thank you so much[…]

This semester I have the honor of being the keynote speaker at two state-wide community college conferences. First, I delivered a speech at the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges 5th Annual Conference. My former colleague Dr. Clark Harris, now president of Northing Oklahoma College, introduced me at the conference. Below is the pre-recorded address, which was produced by our amazing LCC media team in consideration for a generous donation to the LCC Foundation. I will[…]

On Tuesday, August 17, we held our 2021 Fall Kick-Off Party outdoors at West Campus. This event was created to welcome faculty and staff back to campus and kick off the new academic year. I would like to thank every person that planned and coordinated this fun event. I also wish to thank our Board of Trustees for their support and attendance, as well as every employee who attended, both in person and online. It[…]

When I arrived at LCC last summer, our country was in the height of protests and unrest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Amidst the conflict and turmoil over equity in policing, I found myself taking the helm of a public institution with a sworn police department.  I knew one of my early tasks was to continue LCC’s tradition of community leadership during this national reckoning with institutionalized racism. I firmly believe the[…]

Today, Provost Welch and I had the honor to officially launch our Envision Green partnership with Michigan State University. I wish to thank the many LCC team members who worked to bring this agreement into reality. I was asked to provide some remarks during the press conference; they are reprinted below. Our amazing transfer student Sarah Day and I also had a chance to appear on the MSU Today podcast to discuss the partnership. Thank[…]

Below are my remarks to the Academic Senate on Friday, February 25, 2021. I was invited to address the Senate after a very productive meeting with Provost Sally Welch, President Del Castillo and Vice President Lee. I decided to transcribe my remarks and share them with the wider college audience and for posterity. Elephants in the Room Address to the LCC Academic Senate 2021-02-25 Thank you so much, President Del Castillo. I’m delighted to be[…]

Today after meeting with the leadership of our Academic Senate, I found myself thinking back to an address I was invited to give back in October. The Senate had been discussing the issue of re-joining a national student success network. Given recent history at LCC, there was healthy skepticism among some Senators about joining a national network again. I was invited to provide my own perspective as the new college president. My goal was to[…]