The Collegian

Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of Mary Cox Mary Ann Cox retires after 27 years at the end of this semester.

This year, Delta says farewell to Dr. Mary Ann Cox, the dean of instruction for general education and transfers. She is retiring after 27 years, 17 of which were as the division dean of Communication Skills.

Her official retirement is actually sometime in June, but since the position has not been filled, she is working until it is.

When asked if she has any plans, like traveling, in mind, surprisingly, her response was about looking for work. Though, according to her, traveling would be nice, she has other goals in mind for herself.

She has been currently working toward getting her marriage and family therapy license. Following her retirement, she plans to finish out her hours as an intern for the women's center, then, hopefully, do something that allows her to work with women and children dealing with domestic and psychological abuse.

Cox explains that she is looking to do something that helps make a difference for children in the community, in order to make them realize how capable they are and what opportunities exist for them. For her, this is a new opportunity to go out into the world.

According to James Forte, an administrative assistant, "She has been a strong pillar to the campus and community because when she has her mind set on something, she follows through."

Forte has known Dr. Cox for over a year and he describes working with her to be a good working environment and is sad to see her go. He thanked her for his opportunity to be at Delta, because she has taught him a lot. She has taught him about some of the programs going on, especially those that make others, as well as himself, become socially aware. She's expressed her passion for being involved in the community, helping students.

"She got me to go back to school," Forte said.

Though it's sad she has to leave,Cox said her new boss, Dr. Della Condon, knows what she is doing and cares a great deal about people.

Cox has expressed how lucky she has been to be in the field of education and to have a job that she loves doing and getting paid for it. According to her, "One of the important things in being an administrator is helping students to discover their own potential and by taking classes and finding out what makes them feel good."

Even though she is retiring as an administrator, she will still continue to teach part-time as an adjunct instructor in speech, English and reading.

Dr. Cox has expressed her deep faith in students to succeed and for her retirement as a stepping-stone to reach another life-long goal.

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