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College president looks forward to LSC-Kingwood’s future
  
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By JENNIFER SUMMER
Although she’s a familiar face around the Lone Star College-Kingwood campus and the community, Dr. Katherine Persson’s got some new ideas for the school.
Back after two and a half years at the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College in Oregon, Persson returns as president of the Kingwood campus with a game plan that will drive the college into the future with new programs for students and a distinct vision that includes a greener campus, close ties with local high schools and achieving demographic parody with the surrounding community.
LSC-Kingwood recently hit the 8,000-student mark and is planning to enroll even more by the end of the registration period.
“We are bigger than some major universities. My focus areas are building a more cohesive internal workings of the college in regards to expanding student services and developing more outreach programs,” Persson said.
A big project the college is undertaking is the enhancement and better utilization of the 200 acres that the college sits on including the land that sits on the other side of Sorters Mill Road, which stretches down to the San Jacinto River.
Half of the land will be transformed into a city park while the other part while be an environmental center where students can conduct research and service learning projects and create a learning garden.
“The college I was at previously had a large learning garden which is a physical space the faculty and staff work in to [grow] produce that the college could use and other organizations around the community,” Persson said. “It would be a closed loop environmental system that is a great teaching and learning model.”
An educational goal that Persson has set for Lone Star College-Kingwood students to take on is to start recycling with projects like separating cans, plastics and paper and adding waste management on the campus.
A sustainability coordinator oversees these productions and Persson hopes to create the part-time position this year.
“Another one of my goals is to develop more training programs that appeal to males. This college has great health care programs, interior design and cosmetology but we do not have welding or diesel mechanics that do appeal to males,” Persson said. “There are a lot of opportunities that will help our students earn a living wage and be successful.”
Persson plans to work with area businesses to address their needs and school districts including Humble, New Caney, Splendora, Cleveland and Tarkington to provide dual credit courses and early college programs.
“Most of our high school students commute to the campus to take our evening classes but what I would like to see is students on campus full time getting dual credit as I have seen at my past campus,” Persson said.
The college has started working with New Caney Independent School District in regards to the new high school - Porter High - the district is building to see what partnerships make sense for both.
In addition to New Caney ISD, the college recently partnered with Splendora ISD’s Career and Technical Education program, providing welding among other programs.
“There is more that we can do and if we look at all the opportunities we have with the growth and the bond, we can expand our services and outreach,” Persson said.
The Kingwood campus has accepted so many students from the communities and outgrown its facilities, prompting the installation of four portable buildings.
Per the $420 million bond approval in May, LSC-Kingwood will proceed on the construction of a satellite campus located in Atascocita, which will be located on West Lake Houston Parkway.
The 13-acre Atascocita satellite campus will serve as a center where students can take basic classes and get a good part of their associate degrees.
“We are still in the decision phase of what classes will be held there but most likely it will be lower division college transfer courses,” Persson said. “We will also be building a new student services and conference center and the Student Fine Arts Building will be renovated to accommodate the needs of the art classes.”
Furthermore, the college is looking into a land lease farther north on U.S. Highway 59 to provide technical classes like welding.
LSC-Kingwood is known for several programs like nursing and computer graphic arts but focuses on providing programs that meet the community’s needs.
“We are the only college in the system with a dental hygiene program and we have found our high school students are looking to come to Kingwood College more and more,” Persson said. “Texas is a good model for encouraging students to take advantage of their community college before going off to a four-year university.”
As a founding mother of Kingwood College, Persson first started in the system teaching all classes in the biology department and has been a resident of the Splendora area for more than 30 years.
She is also a past president of the Community Chamber of Commerce of East Montgomery County and former member of the Splendora ISD board of trustees.
“I am looking forward to my tenure as president and it will be a fun challenge. The opportunity for growth, parity, being good stewards of our land, doing more with sustainability; we have a pretty full plate so far,” Persson said.
“We are working to change students’ lives. You are only limited by your imagination and what you can do with these things.”
Back after two and a half years at the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College in Oregon, Persson returns as president of the Kingwood campus with a game plan that will drive the college into the future with new programs for students and a distinct vision that includes a greener campus, close ties with local high schools and achieving demographic parody with the surrounding community.
LSC-Kingwood recently hit the 8,000-student mark and is planning to enroll even more by the end of the registration period.
“We are bigger than some major universities. My focus areas are building a more cohesive internal workings of the college in regards to expanding student services and developing more outreach programs,” Persson said.
A big project the college is undertaking is the enhancement and better utilization of the 200 acres that the college sits on including the land that sits on the other side of Sorters Mill Road, which stretches down to the San Jacinto River.
Half of the land will be transformed into a city park while the other part while be an environmental center where students can conduct research and service learning projects and create a learning garden.
“The college I was at previously had a large learning garden which is a physical space the faculty and staff work in to [grow] produce that the college could use and other organizations around the community,” Persson said. “It would be a closed loop environmental system that is a great teaching and learning model.”
An educational goal that Persson has set for Lone Star College-Kingwood students to take on is to start recycling with projects like separating cans, plastics and paper and adding waste management on the campus.
A sustainability coordinator oversees these productions and Persson hopes to create the part-time position this year.
“Another one of my goals is to develop more training programs that appeal to males. This college has great health care programs, interior design and cosmetology but we do not have welding or diesel mechanics that do appeal to males,” Persson said. “There are a lot of opportunities that will help our students earn a living wage and be successful.”
Persson plans to work with area businesses to address their needs and school districts including Humble, New Caney, Splendora, Cleveland and Tarkington to provide dual credit courses and early college programs.
“Most of our high school students commute to the campus to take our evening classes but what I would like to see is students on campus full time getting dual credit as I have seen at my past campus,” Persson said.
The college has started working with New Caney Independent School District in regards to the new high school - Porter High - the district is building to see what partnerships make sense for both.
In addition to New Caney ISD, the college recently partnered with Splendora ISD’s Career and Technical Education program, providing welding among other programs.
“There is more that we can do and if we look at all the opportunities we have with the growth and the bond, we can expand our services and outreach,” Persson said.
The Kingwood campus has accepted so many students from the communities and outgrown its facilities, prompting the installation of four portable buildings.
Per the $420 million bond approval in May, LSC-Kingwood will proceed on the construction of a satellite campus located in Atascocita, which will be located on West Lake Houston Parkway.
The 13-acre Atascocita satellite campus will serve as a center where students can take basic classes and get a good part of their associate degrees.
“We are still in the decision phase of what classes will be held there but most likely it will be lower division college transfer courses,” Persson said. “We will also be building a new student services and conference center and the Student Fine Arts Building will be renovated to accommodate the needs of the art classes.”
Furthermore, the college is looking into a land lease farther north on U.S. Highway 59 to provide technical classes like welding.
LSC-Kingwood is known for several programs like nursing and computer graphic arts but focuses on providing programs that meet the community’s needs.
“We are the only college in the system with a dental hygiene program and we have found our high school students are looking to come to Kingwood College more and more,” Persson said. “Texas is a good model for encouraging students to take advantage of their community college before going off to a four-year university.”
As a founding mother of Kingwood College, Persson first started in the system teaching all classes in the biology department and has been a resident of the Splendora area for more than 30 years.
She is also a past president of the Community Chamber of Commerce of East Montgomery County and former member of the Splendora ISD board of trustees.
“I am looking forward to my tenure as president and it will be a fun challenge. The opportunity for growth, parity, being good stewards of our land, doing more with sustainability; we have a pretty full plate so far,” Persson said.
“We are working to change students’ lives. You are only limited by your imagination and what you can do with these things.”
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