Dr. Musgrove Announces Retirement

 

Pine Technical College President Robert Musgrove recently announced plans to retire at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. Dr. Musgrove has served as president of the college since 1998.

“I am very proud of the many accomplishments PTC has seen during the 16 years I have been privileged  and we have improved the quality of our programs. We’ve grown in just about every possible way, and we have brought improved technology to the community. The faculty, staff, and students can be very proud of all that we have accomplished, and it has been a privilege to serve with them.”

Enrollment at PTC has increased 74 percent since 2003, which Musgrove believes is a direct reflection of the way the staff approaches program quality and student services. Musgrove views the change in the college’s mission and name – Pine Technical College will soon become Pine Technical and Community College – as a major achievement. The name change has been approved by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board of Trustees and will become effective upon approval by the Higher Learning Commission.

“President Musgrove has left his mark not only on Pine Technical College, but on the state higher education landscape as well, earning recognition as the President of the Year in 2001 by the Minnesota State College Student Association,” said MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone. “He has brought to his presidency an entrepreneurial spirit that has had a tremendously powerful impact on the way all of our colleges and universities are working together to find solutions to common challenges.”

Originally from Texas, Musgrove started his career in education teaching at Walton Middle School in Charlottesville, VA, in 1975. He held a number of positions within the public school system and private sector before joining the Texas State Technical College at Sweetwater in 1986 as an instructor and program chair for the English department. He was chief academic officer when he left Sweetwater in 1998 to join Pine Technical College. Musgrove was drawn to PTC in part by the possibilities he saw in the higher education merger that produced the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

A national search for a new president will be initiated in the fall with the expectation of an appointment to start on July 1, 2015.

Musgrove’s advice to his successor is simple: “Learn the place. Learn the people.”