The board of trustees at the Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) voted unanimously on Oct. 8 to enter into contract negations with Bioteau.
She was one of two finalists selected from a pool of twenty six candidates. Her contract is expected to be finalized this November, according to a press release on the FSCJ’s website.
“When the district presidency opened at FSCJ, what I saw was an institution very similar in size to SLCC and very similar in position and also needing leadership that I felt was very similar to the leadership that SLCC needed eight years ago,” says Bioteau.
Bioteau has been at SLCC for nearly a decade. During that time, the college’s e-Portfolio program became a national model.
The college was also ranked among the top 10 for veterans by Military Times’ EDGE magazine, and Goldman Sachs partnered with the college for the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative.
The success that Bioteau has found with SLCC hasn’t been without its challenges.
“I think that the most challenging aspect is helping the external community understand the role and purpose of a community college in the state of Utah,” says Bioteau.
“That has been challenging, because as a state we often look to our university sisters to what higher education means.”
Bioteau describes a community college as a pipeline. She says that helping the state understand the importance of that pipeline has been challenging.
“We’re getting there. We’re not where I’d want us to be, but I think we’ve made great strides towards that. It has required great thought, staying on message and perseverance of never giving up,” says Bioteau.
Bioteau will remain at SLCC through the fall semester and estimates that she will begin her new position at FSCJ sometime in mid-January.
“The students of SLCC are some of the finest people in our country. I highly regard their efforts and their purpose in learning,” says Bioteau.
“The students are the reason I come to work every day. They are remarkable, awesome, awe-inspiring people who are setting the stage for not only today but for the future as well.”
An interim president hasn’t been selected and the process hasn’t formally begun, but Bioteau says that she’d like her successor to believe in the purpose and mission of community colleges as deeply as she does.
Bioteau has over 35 years of experience in education. She was featured in Utah Business magazine’s 30 Women to Watch, and was named one of the most influential people of Utah.
She was born and raised in New Hampshire and is looking forward to living in Florida.
“It got to the point that I never wanted to see another New England winter, and though the winters in Salt Lake are much more manageable, I relish in the idea of never having to see the snow again,” says Bioteau.
