SFCC To Host Retirement Reception For President Anderson May 1

State Fair Community College will hold a reception for Dr. Joanna Anderson from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 1, in the lobby of Charles E. Yeater Learning Center on the Sedalia campus.

Anderson will retire as the college’s fifth president on June 30. A presentation will be at 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

During her nine years of service, SFCC expanded programs across all academic divisions including, behavioral health, occupational therapy, sonography, medical assisting, and surgical tech. Under Anderson’s leadership, the college created programs outside of the health sciences with growth in advanced manufacturing, expansion of both the Clinton and Boonville campuses, and implementation of the Navigator advising program.

Anderson bolstered the college’s athletic programs by bringing men’s and women’s soccer back with community support. Athletics also added baseball and softball, and in 2021, the college added teams in clay target shooting, cross country, track and field, and esports.

In 2018 Anderson oversaw the 50th-anniversary year-long celebration for the college, which featured a dinner honoring many Jaycees who led the campaign to create the college, previous employees and past presidents.

She helped the college through re-accreditation in 2019 with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an independent corporation that was founded in 1895 as one of six regional higher education institutional accreditors. HLC accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the United States. SFCC was awarded 10-year re-accreditation under Anderson.

In 2020, Anderson helped the SFCC Foundation launch the successful Stronger Workforce, Greater Community: A Capital Campaign for the Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center (OHWIC) and Center for Excellence. The OHWIC is set to open later in May with a grand opening June 9.

The OHWIC will expand SFCC’s Career and Technology Education by doubling the capacity of the welding and precision machining programs and creating the Center for Excellence in Fielding. The center will include a climate, refrigeration and energy control (HVAC) lab and an advanced manufacturing and robotics lab.

Anderson plans to return to their family farm near Trenton. Prior to her tenure at SFCC, Anderson worked at Casper College in Wyoming six years and at North Central Missouri College for 21 years. Anderson also worked for KTTN radio in Trenton.

“This is a great time to be leaving SFCC with many exciting plans for growth and expansion in the works. I’m proud of the accomplishments during my tenure and grateful to our outstanding employees, generous donors and wonderful community for their support,” said Anderson. “My family is growing and my husband Ken and I are looking forward to being together again with time to focus on family.”