A Message from the President

My first year as President of Montgomery College was wonderful — literally. It was a year of wonders: the wonder of discovering that our faculty was even more superbly qualified and even more deeply dedicated than I first thought; the wonder of a staff that proved to be more devoted to our students and more determined to meet their needs than any I had ever before encountered; the wonder of working with administrators whose deep expertise and abiding fidelity to the ideal of service smoothed the way during this time of transition.

My tenure in office has confirmed my earliest impression:  Montgomery College makes a difference.  Montgomery College helps shape a better tomorrow for our County and our State.

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In the higher education community, the present time will likely be remembered as the era of the access imperative.  Everyone, everywhere, seems to be embracing a new consensus, a consensus which holds that America cannot sustain its economic preeminence without dramatically expanding access to postsecondary education.

This development reaffirms a simple truth at the heart of the American experience: Every time we expand opportunity, we invigorate our economy. The key to prosperity is to open doors too long closed to too many — the door to higher education, the door to the American dream.

This understanding has guided Montgomery College since our founding in 1946.  For 62 years, we have been saying what the rest of the nation is now ready to affirm — that access to postsecondary education must be understood as a fundamental right available to all, not an expensive privilege reserved for the few.  We are returning to the fundamental truth that Thomas Jefferson long ago articulated:  “Education is the anvil on which democracy is forged.”

At Montgomery College, we understand that access without excellence is an empty promise. It is our twin commitment to access and excellence that guides us.  These are the pillars on which we will build.  For these pillars do not merely buttress our institution — they fortify our local and state economy.

Our programs in nursing, medical technology, and the hospitality industry help our state meet looming workforce shortages. Our continuing education programs help men and women throughout Maryland upgrade their skills and become more satisfied, more productive employees. And our spiraling enrollments in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) help ensure that our high-tech industries do not lose their competitive edge.

The economic value that Montgomery College brings to our county and state tells only part of the story. We prepare our students not just for economic competition but for ethical collaboration, not just for workplace responsibility but for social responsibility. We teach them not just how to make an income, but how to make a difference. All of this strengthens our community’s social fabric.

We live in a great County. We live in a place where people of all colors and ethnicities and religious convictions work and play, laugh and learn, and dream big dreams.  Montgomery College helps make those dreams come true. Montgomery College makes our great county greater.

Sincerely,

Brian K. Johnson, Ed.D.
President
President@montgomerycollege.edu