Dr. Robert Riza will be the next president of Clarendon College following a meeting of the Board of Regents last Thursday, October 24.
Riza is currently serving as Vice President of Student Services at Hill College in Hillsboro. He was selected from a pool of three finalists for the job after they each interviewed here two weeks ago, and he says he looks forward to coming to Clarendon.
“I’m excited to get there and get started,” Riza said.
The in-coming president said several factors attracted him to Clarendon, specifically the college’s reputation.
“It’s a solid school that is very student centered and has great student success outcomes,” Riza said. “The college is financially solid and there are just a lot of things going right. There is also great community support.”
Riza began his career in higher education as Director of Student Life and Athletics and later as a faculty member and Athletic Director at Hill College from 1999 to 2004. From 2004 to 2007 he served as Executive Director of Athletics at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, and was promoted to Pima’s Assistant Vice Chancellor in 2007. In 2009, Riza returned to Hill College and since that time has overseen the operations for the multi-campus college.
He received his Bachelor of Science from Texas Wesleyan University in 1994, a Master of Science from Texas A&M University – Commerce in 2000, and a Doctor of Education degree from TAMU-Commerce in 2003.
Former CC presidents Myles Shelton and Bill Auvenshine also came to Clarendon by way of Hill College, and Riza said both men recommended CC as a great place to be.
Riza’s first day on the job at Clarendon College will be December 1. He and his wife, Cobette, are making plans for a busy spring, juggling schedules as they prepare to start a new chapter in their lives. The Rizas’ daughter will graduate from high school this spring and is busy looking at colleges where she can study architecture and interior design. Their son is a student at Texas Tech University.
“We will be empty nesters, so we’re excited to be starting two new chapters in our lives,” Riza said. Mrs. Riza will be following the new president to Clarendon in about six months, but Dr. Riza says that’s nothing new for them.
“She’s done this before,” he said. “She had to follow me when we moved from Texas to Arizona and again when we moved back to Texas.”
Riza said his first priorities at Clarendon College will be to finish the institution’s next five-year plan and successfully complete the next reaccreditation visit by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS). In fact, Riza will represent Clarendon at a SACS meeting in Georgia in December.
Beyond that Riza says he will meet with CC’s deans and senior staff to find out what’s working, what needs to be addressed, and how things are perceived in the community.
“From that we’ll set some 90-day goals and some long-range goals,” he said.
Riza is used to being active in the community and says he expects to continue that. He has served on several community boards including the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, Hillsboro ISD Education Foundation, Cleburne Economic Development Foundation, and the Hillsboro Lions Club, in addition to numerous other civic and education organizations.
“I enjoy small towns, and I look forward to being part of the community,” Riza said.
Riza will succeed Dr. Phil Shirley as the 19th sitting president of the Texas Panhandle’s oldest college.
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