it's a combination of hard work, resourcefulness and
entrepreneurship that allowed Middlesex Community College
to grow into a flagship institution and become a player on
the global education field," Cowan said. "And it's never been
the work of just one person who can take credit for those
achievements, there's always a team and a robust student
body that has partnered to move this college forward."
dozens of various members of a Board of Trustees she has
worked alongside, as well as a Foundation board that has
grown to prominence under Cowan's presidency. Additionally,
as Cowan spreads around the credit, she also acknowledges
the support from elected officials at the local, state, and
federal levels, and partnerships with businesses that have
become one of the cornerstones of Cowan's administration.
counted on for success, and I hope I have been able to reflect
that in the work I've done at Middlesex," said Cowan.
has always maintained an interest in. In fact, when she first
took the job at Middlesex, she was still managing properties
in Lynn and Marblehead, and always assumed she would fall
back on that career after dabbling in teaching business. She
especially loved rehabilitating abandoned properties, a skill
which would serve her well later in her career. "I love the
idea of taking something old and making it seem new again,"
Cowan laughed.
Community College, it seemed, had other plans for her.
business at Georgetown High School, immediately after
graduating from Salem State College, where she would
eventually try her hand at teaching part-time at the college
level. Besides teaching business classes such as shorthand,
accounting, law economics and typing for Georgetown,
Cowan also served as the school's cheerleading coach.
empowering job, you `owned' your own classroom, and