A new year is here and along with that comes a new president.
Deb Takes, the interim president, took on her position over the summer and is excited to be spearheading the college. “There’s so much going on. I’m looking forward to the students, I’m really looking forward to [spirit] week, I’m of course looking forward to the fabulous sports teams,” Takes said.
Takes has a background in banking and started her relationship with Cabrini in 1986 as an adjunct faculty member. “I taught three different classes here and they were some of my most fun times,” Takes said.
Takes joined the Board of Trustees in 2000 and has served as both Vice Chair and Chair of the board. This year would’ve been Takes’ last year serving on the board. “So I’ve been here a long time,” Takes said. “I’ve been on the board for 13 years and in a leadership capacity the last six years.”
The information Takes received while being on the board, and her background in banking helped her immensely while she started this new position. “I realized that it was very much like the bank in that it had a structure, a management structure, [and] it had customers, our students,” Takes said. “And so as I read more and more I felt more and more comfortable that I just needed to know who the constituencies were and I was used to dealing with constituencies.”
Although it wasn’t the easiest transition, Takes is confident about her new position. “There’s a lot of energy here, people get really excited about stuff,” Takes said. “This is a really energizing atmosphere for me.”
One of the things Takes seems really passionate about is starting a relationship with different corporations to provide more employment opportunities for our students. “We’re talking about some really interesting possibilities in working with corporations to establish relationships and jobs,” Takes said. “We’re looking at new programs and I’m just having some wonderful discussions about partnerships and how we can work with maybe a company to establish internships with our students in emerging fields.”
Takes believes in preparing the students in the best possible way for life after Cabrini. “I would really love to work with career services. I’ve always worked closely with Nancy Hutchison I think she’s got wonderful ideas about how to prepare our students for whatever it is they want to pursue,” Takes said. “You may not know yet what you want to do, you’re young, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Although this would’ve been Takes’ last year serving on the board, she will continue to have a relationship with Cabrini. “I love it! I love the college, who could not love this place? It gets under your skin – in a good way! So I will still be coming back, I don’t know how but I will.”
Takes’ enthusiasm about her job and Cabrini is noticeable to anyone who meets her. She cares deeply about the wellbeing of the students and has an open door policy for anyone who has the time to stop by. “The most fun part is meeting the students, I love the students,” Takes said. “I love meeting with anybody though. I love meeting with marketing, I love meeting with the professors, they’re just great people. “
Although Takes loves the people she works with she loves one thing even more. “The best part though is the incredibly rich conversations I have here with everybody – they’re interesting, they’re energizing, they’re inspiring to me,” Takes said. “Every day is an adventure here for me.”
