Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 15, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Presents Join our host, Jon Gordon as he hosts this monthly webcast featuring America's top business minds and thought leaders. Go to: businessforumusa.com/worcester BE OUR GUEST. REGISTER NOW. APRIL 14 • 12:00PM NICK SABAN Nick Saban is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. He's widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, known for team building and success strategy. He's a two- time National Coach of the Year and has won the most national championship titles of any coach in history. THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! Join the WBJ and presenting sponsor Clinton Savings Bank for The 21st Century Business Forum in April. This session will explore unique insights for team building and developing a winning strategy with Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban. B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R F O C U S programs to help students deal with challenges stemming from the pan- demic, raising more than $100,000 in emergency assistance funding in the first several months of 2020 and establishing a drive-thru food pantry. Since he joined QCC in 2017, Pedraja has been a leader in advocating for equality and racial justice. He was among the first in Central Massachusetts to openly criticize former U.S. President Donald Trump when Trump supported the white supremacists at a rally in Char- lottesville, Va. in 2017. Aer George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day, Pedraja spoke out in the following days, releasing a statement with QCC Police Chief Kevin Ritacco. "I've struggled for days to find words that can express the unbearable sorrow, anger, and frustration that I feel in every fiber of my being; my soul aches," Pe- draja said in the statement. "Maybe that is for the best. Words are cheap when lives are at stake; they fall on deaf and uncaring ears." In his message, Pedraja suggested the actions of one police officer shouldn't discredit the valor and dedication of the larger police force, but said slow responses to those actions are alarming. He argued the onus is on educational institutions to act as conduits for under- standing and progress. "roughout history, colleges and universities oen led the way, sowing the seeds of knowledge and freedom, reinventing our world, and serving as a catalyst for change," Pedraja said. "I be- lieve in the power of education to effect change. rough education we can li the veil of lies, ignorance, and fear that has descended upon us." While in hindsight heading a com- munity college seems like a clear fit for Pedraja, it was not always his plan, ex- actly. Originally, he said, he saw himself becoming a minister, going so far as to be officially ordained. He studied religion as an undergraduate at Stetson University in Florida and obtained a doctorate in philosophy and theology from the Uni- versity of Virginia. For many years, Pedraja said, he taught philosophy. But aer spending extensive time in the classroom, he determined his commitment to social justice would be better served by taking on a different role – that of administrator. In 2000, he accepted a position as vice president of academic affairs at Memphis eological Seminary, and then as vice president of Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accreditation nonprofit working with colleges and uni- versities both domestically and interna- tionally, headquartered in Philadelphia. It was through his work with Mid- dle States he met Javier Cevallos, now president of Framingham State Univer- sity. e pair, first introduced in entirely different circumstances while working entirely different jobs, did not know they would one day both be heads of public colleges in Central Massachusetts, a short drive away from one another. Now colleagues and friends for 20 years, Cevallos spoke at Pedraja's inau- guration as QCC's president in 2018. "From the moment when I met him in Pennsylvania, we had to do some crazy visits that were a little challenging, and one thing that impressed me at the time is that one of his qualities is how level-headed and even tempered he is, and he takes things in stride," Cevallos said of Pedraja. "He can cool things down and analyze them and use logic and bring people together in wonderful ways, from positions that seem to be, at some point, irreconcilable." ose qualities have helped Pedraja keep his campus focused and faculty morale high as the school continues to navigate fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Cevallos said. Aer working with Middle States, Pedraja later served in administrative capacities at Antioch University in Los Angeles, where he was provost and vice president of academic affairs, and then later at Peralta Community College Dis- trict in Oakland, Calif., where he served as interim vice chancellor of academic affairs. It was around this time Pedraja realized working at community colleges blended his expertise in education with his deeply embedded social justice val- ues and priorities. And so, when the opportunity to apply for the presidency at QCC arose, he saw it as an opportunity to commit to supporting students who, in many cases, had similar backgrounds to his. "Community colleges now, they are not just about education," Pedraja said. "ey also provide a lot of social ser- vices to our students and connect them with some other services that they need to succeed." at holistic perspective has defined his leadership approach at the Worcester school, and it's not gone unnoticed. "Luis has been a valued partner as we discuss how our region's public institutions can collaborate to serve our students," said Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus, noting he speaks regularly with Pedraja, as well as the presidents of Worcester State Univer- sity and Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, particularly with regard to agreements allowing students to transfer credits between institutions. "I have always appreciated Luis's commitment to student success and his embrace of collaboration as a means to help them accomplish their goals," Lapidus said. W

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