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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).

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 college 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.  As vice president for instruction, she attended employer advisory team meetings 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 colleges.

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 Partnership; Utah Defense Alliance Board; Council on Occupational Education (national accrediting agency), National Review Board; Weber County Production Managers’ Association; SEED Weber-Davis-Morgan Advisory Board;  Chamber Ogden/Weber Board; Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee; Rotary International; Utah Women in Higher Education Network Board; Ogden United Board; and Hill Air Force Base.

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.