Friday, June 1^st marked a notable changing of the guard in the Southern Regional Technical College Office of Institutional Effectiveness with Dr. Ron O’Meara assuming the role of Vice President. The position was vacated by the retirement of Dr. Debbie Goodman, who faithfully provided 25 years of service to the College and over 40 years of dedicated experience in higher education.

“Over the course of Dr. Goodman’s 25 years of service to the faculty, staff, and students at SRTC she did an exceptional job of ensuring institutional effectiveness and continued accreditation for our College.  She is to be commended for her many years of hard work, dedication, and commitment and we congratulate her on a well-deserved retirement.  We are looking forward to Dr. Ron O’Meara joining the Southern Regional family and team.  Dr. O’Meara has a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience in higher education and will be able to carry on the institutional effectiveness excellence that Dr. Goodman has demonstrated for so many years. Thank you Dr. Goodman and welcome Dr. Ron O’Meara!” commented Dr. Craig Wentworth, President of Southern Regional Technical College.

Dr. O’Meara most recently served as the Vice President of Economic Development at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College where he also held leadership roles in Institutional Research, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs.  In nearly 30 years of higher education service, Dr. O’Meara has also held the positions of Dean of Academic Affairs, Associate Professor of Industrial Technology at the University of Northern Iowa, Adjunct Instructor at Valdosta State University, and other roles in Cooperative Education, Career Planning, and Job Placement.  He holds a Doctorate in Industrial Technology, a Master of Arts in Technology, and a Bachelor of Technology from the University of Northern Iowa. Additionally, he holds a Diploma in Automotive Technology and has six years of experience as a manufacturing engineer. 

The Institutional Effectiveness Division is responsible for implementing ongoing, integrated, college-wide research, data collection, evaluation, assessment, analysis, planning, budgeting, and implementation processes. As a vital leadership unit, the SRTC IE Division provides the overall direction for the implementation of the comprehensive SRTC IE Plan to assure quality programs, services, student learning, and Mission accomplishment to meet the needs of the workforce serving primarily the citizens of SRTC’s service delivery area. The Division also assists programs in acquiring and maintaining program accreditations and the College in maintaining its accreditation status.