Student Retention Case Study

This letter is being submitted as recommendation on behalf of Dr. Cynthia Calhoun and her candidacy for the position of Executive Director of Student Retention and Graduation at Southwest Tennessee Community College (STCC). I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Calhoun for several years as a colleague. Dr. Calhoun’s resume’ speaks with ostensible volume and clarity for itself and is a testament to her longevity, consistency, and ambition. With over two decades of experience working in the community college arena, as a faculty member and an administrator, her accomplishments and contributions to academe are voluminous.

Cynthia Calhoun served as Chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences department from 2000 to 2010 supervising

Serving in this capacity she has exhibited great drive, developing and administering a bevy of initiatives such as the SMARTS faculty/ staff mentoring program, Project Finish Line, and Early Alert Intervention. Her efforts have yielded positive results such as a nearly 90% fall-to-spring mentee persistence rate with the SMARTS program and the reclamation and graduation of several students via Project Finish Line. Cynthia Calhoun’s presence is a fixture at the Student Welcome Center which assists thousands of students as they are attempting to navigate through the uncertainties of a new term.

On a personal note I have found Cynthia to be very cordial and compassionate. She has always had an open door policy, welcoming my company and has been an overflowing well of information. I presently serve as the chair of Social and Behavioral Sciences and am the beneficiary of opportunities provided by her. Additionally she is the paragon of class and professionalism and represents the college well wherever she goes. With these factors in consideration I am honored to submit this letter of recommendation on behalf of Dr. Cynthia