EUGENE, OR - The Lane Community College (LCC) Board of Education completed its third-year performance evaluation of President Dr. Stephanie Bulger, affirming her effective leadership and commitment to the college’s mission. The review included confidential feedback from board members, faculty, staff and community leaders, facilitated by an external consultant.
“We are deeply grateful for President Bulger’s steady leadership,” said LCC Trustee Steve Mital. “Her thoughtful approach to complex challenges and her collaborative style have helped the college navigate a shifting higher education landscape.”
President Bulger’s evaluation focused on three major goals, established jointly with the Board: strengthening the college’s fiscal health, growing and retaining student enrollment, and improving institutional climate. According to Mital, significant progress has been made in each of these areas.
“Dr. Bulger has built a top-tier financial leadership team and introduced multi-year budget forecasts that are now shaping our strategy,” said Mital. “The FY26 budget balances programmatic investments with long-term fiscal responsibility.”
Under Dr. Bulger’s leadership, LCC has launched year-round registration, simplified the enrollment process, and increased targeted marketing and retention efforts. These actions, paired with strategic investments in areas such as manufacturing and the upcoming fall cohort of RN-to-Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, have contributed to a remarkable 18 percent enrollment increase since her arrival.
“Enrollment has grown for 11 consecutive terms. That’s not luck - that’s leadership,” Mital emphasized. The Board also acknowledged Dr. Bulger’s efforts to foster a healthier institutional climate. Initiatives like the launch of annual campus climate surveys have laid important groundwork, with the recruitment for an Associate Vice President for Culture and Belonging well underway.
“Improving workplace climate is hard, especially when the challenges predate your tenure,” said Mital. “But Dr. Bulger has taken bold steps, and we believe her efforts are moving the institution in the right direction.”
As the college looks ahead the Board articulated confidence in Dr. Bulger’s ability to guide Lane through continued innovation and stability.
“We look forward to continuing this important work together,” said Mital. “Lane is stronger because of her leadership, and the best is yet to come.”
To read the Board’s official memo to Dr. Bulger, click here.
Lane Community College educates over 15,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $675 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 8,900 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.