Patrick Cate had been vice president of Lakes Region Community College for about six months in 2019 when COVID struck the campus.
“The timing was unfortunate but that made me understand the core of the operation because that’s what we had to make sure we maintained,” says Cate, who recently assumed the role of college president. “The most important thing is the students. It’s that simple.”
When students finish their education, his goal for them is “that they should not only have a better life but serve the community, that we make our communities better with the outputs of our students.”
That sensibility has guided Cate through more than 20 years of higher education service, including positions at Walnut Hill College in Pennsylvania, Rivier University in Nashua and 17 years at Plymouth State University.
He started at Lakes Region Community College in 2018, serving as associate vice president and vice president of academic and student affairs before being selected as interim president in July 2022. In the latter position, he was responsible for launching a successful fire fighter paramedic program and helped to grow the school’s culinary program.
Using limited resources in targeted ways is among his top priorities, says Cate, who holds degrees from Keene State College and Plymouth State University. To that end, he has worked with some 40 local employers so courses can be geared toward skills that meet their precise needs. Partnering with other colleges and schools to provide offerings none could afford to offer on their own—including a licensed practical nurse course—has been another strategy.
He remains an unabashed cheerleader for community colleges, whose students tend to be older and often attend school part-time while balancing other responsibilities. “There is a national stigma with what community colleges mean, thinking of it as lesser,” he says, “but the economic opportunity we offer New Hampshire is unparalleled.”