Collette Mercier has been employed at Ogden-Weber Tech College since 1984. During her tenure, she has had a broad range of assignments and has been promoted to positions of successively greater responsibility as a result of hard work, proven leadership abilities, strong communication and interpersonal skills, and a firm commitment to the tech college and its mission.

As Public Relations and Development Coordinator in the mid to late 1980s, Ms. Mercier played a lead role in marketing the college’s move to its current location and reactivating the college’s Foundation. She served as the Executive Director for the Foundation until 1994 and was involved in numerous successful fund raising efforts.

Under Ms. Mercier’s leadership as Vice President for Instructional Services from 1994 to 2007, the tech college achieved enrollment growth of nearly 40 percent and placement growth of over 50 percent. Ms. Mercier developed a very positive relationship with faculty, building upon an understanding of respective roles and a joint commitment to serving students and employers. Ms. Mercier served as the first Chief Academic Officer for the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT) and was the primary spokesperson in representing and defending the first Associate of Applied Technology degrees approved by the Board of Regents.

Ms. Mercier has directed several successful institutional and programmatic accreditation teams. She worked with faculty to achieve initial programmatic accreditation in medical assisting, dental assisting and practical nursing. In 2005 she provided leadership and direction for the college’s initial accreditation with the Council on Occupational Education (COE). The tech college received no recommendations (extremely rare for initial accreditation) and four commendations and was the first UCAT campus to host a site visit and achieve COE accreditation.

Ms. Mercier works extensively with employers to address workforce shortages and ensure that college programs address their training needs. She has been attending Employer Advisory Team meetings since 1994 in order to better understand their needs. In addition to annual employer evaluations and planning, she established the development a three year plan for each program to ensure employer involvement in long range plans. The tech college employer team process has served as a model for several other UCAT campuses.

Ms. Mercier played an active leadership role in the development of the Lean Manufacturing Training Center (LMTC) in 2007. A joint effort between Williams International, the tech college and the State of Utah, the LMTC provided state of the art technical instruction in advanced machining and lean manufacturing principles to employers throughout northern Utah.  It was a one-of-a-kind facility in the United States.

Ms. Mercier directs the development of strategic and annual business plans, addressing local needs and maintaining the tech college’s position as a leader in career and technical education.

Ms. Mercier knows the college’s strengths and challenges.  She is totally committed to the college’s mission as a technical college – meeting the needs of local employers, strengthening business and industry competitiveness, advancing economic development, and enhancing students’ lives through opportunities and successes.

Ms. Mercier is active in the community and is involved with the following organizations:  Weber Economic Development Corporation, Board member; Utah Defense Alliance, Board member; Council on Occupational Education (national accrediting agency), National Review Board member; Weber County Production Managers’ Association, member; SEED Weber-Davis-Morgan Advisory Board, member;  Chamber Ogden/Weber, Board member; Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee, member; Chamber Workforce Development Committee, member;  Chamber Partners in Education Committee, former member; Rotary International, member since 2002, officer from 2002-2005; and Hill Air Force Base LOGSTAR, member.

Ms. Mercier also served as the chair of the tech college’s initial Accreditation Committee in 2005.  She was responsible for the institution’s self-study and site visit for initial accreditation as a college.  The college did not receive any recommendations for improvement – an unheard of accomplishment for an initial accreditation.

She also served as the first Chief Academic Officer for the Utah College of Applied Technology after its creation in September 2001.

Ms. Mercier’s awards include:  Chamber Women in Business “Athena Award,” January 2009; Utah Business magazine, selected as one of “30 Women to Watch,” April 2008; YCC “Spirit of the American Woman – Amy Armstrong Non-Traditional Award,” 2004; and Ogden-Weber Area Vocational Center “Superintendent’s Outstanding Staff Award,”1992.

A Michigan native, Ms. Mercier received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saginaw Valley State College and a Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University.