The Centralia College Foundation has selected Larry McGee for its 2024 Legacy Award.
“The award honors his dedication, commitment and contribution to the mission of Centralia College, particularly his work launching the college’s bachelor’s degree programs,” Centralia College stated in a news release.
McGee will be formally recognized June 20 at the Foundation Night of Celebration at Centralia College. For tickets, visit www.centralia.edu/foundation.
“Larry McGee’s work created the momentum the college needed to launch what has been a really successful bachelor’s degree program,” said Christine Fossett, executive director of the Centralia College Foundation. “His ongoing support of the college and for early learning programs have changed the education landscape of Lewis County.”
In 2011, McGee was the executive director of the Chehalis Renaissance Team, which is now called Experience Chehalis. He had a list of projects with 85 items on it. He was crossing them off when then-Centralia College President Jim Walton called him out of the blue, Centralia College stated in the news release.
“I had no idea what he wanted, but I went to meet him anyway,” McGee said. “He wanted me to start a bachelor’s degree program in business. I had never worked on a college campus before. I knew nothing about it and I initially turned him down, but he didn’t give up.”
After a trip to Columbia Basin College, where he learned about the importance of bachelor’s degrees to the college and the community, McGee changed his mind and agreed to spearhead Centralia College’s first bachelor’s degree.
“It was a grueling 10-month project with complicated proposals to the state, the college’s accreditors and the Department of Education, plus recruiting students, hiring faculty, developing education plans and courses, and much more. But it paid off in September 2012, when Centralia College welcomed the first cohort of students into the bachelor of applied science in applied management program,” the college said in the news release.
McGee intended to stay at Centralia College for just 18 months, long enough to get the bachelor’s degree off the ground. He was asked to stay a bit longer and to help launch the college’s second bachelor’s degree in diesel technology.
“I stayed for two and a half years total,” he said. “It was the best time of my working life. I loved my time at the college.”
Centralia College now has five bachelor’s degrees, and McGee has moved on to other projects. He’s a founding member and current chair for the new Discover! Children’s Museum planned for downtown Centralia. He’s also on the board for the United Learning Center, the multi-agency complex that will be home to the new children’s museum. The project has just broken ground. “McGee is as busy as ever, but Centralia College always has a soft spot in his heart,” Centralia College said in the news release.
“The faculty here is not driven by research and research grants,” McGee said. “They’re here to educate students. They show a great deal of concern for the students. A lot of students have tough situations, and there’s a great deal of care here. Sincere care and concern.”
