LAURA COLEMAN

ESCANABA — Bay College President Laura Coleman’s annual performance review, which was conducted by the Bay College Board of Trustees, was largely positive. A press release on the performance review was issued by the college Thursday.

“Bay College and the communities we serve continue to benefit from the leadership of Dr. Coleman,” the press release stated.

Coleman’s overall, weighted average rating was 4.15 on a 5-point scale.

“Under her leadership, Bay College has been recognized nationally in varying areas amongst community colleges. Specifically, this includes areas of student success and completion. These are of the utmost importance to us as a Board,” the press release stated.

Not everything brought up in Coleman’s performance review was positive. It was mentioned that the board had concerns related to “Dr. Coleman’s use of social media during the millage campaign” and “managing the future challenges with the college’s aging infrastructure resulting from the unsuccessful millage.”

However, Coleman’s role in Bay’s continued efforts to “evolve and meet the ever-changing landscape of higher education” was praised.

“This is due in large part to Dr. Coleman’s foresight, effective fiscal management, and advocacy efforts,” the press release stated.

Coleman expressed her appreciation of the people she works with.

“I am blessed to work for an exceptional board and with exceptional colleagues at Bay College. Both the Board and the employees are focused on student success, community success, and a culture of success,” she said.

Coleman went on to note Bay was one of three colleges that received special recognition from Achieving the Dream. She said this “reflects nine years of improvements in overall student completion rates,” and that the college expects new initiatives launched this year to continue improving these rates.