‘A true leader:’ College of Marin president retires with honors

When David Wain Coon first came to College of Marin as its 10th president in December 2010, it did not feel like an auspicious start.

Both the Kentfield and Indian Valley campuses needed work, the faculty were up in arms with no contract for four years and the college had just been put on probation by its accreditation agency.

A weekly newspaper in Marin ran a picture of a bomb on the front page, with the headline, “COM-bustion” — in reference to the pervasive mood of low morale and frustration.

“The air was pretty thick with tension, and people just didn’t seem to be having much fun,” Coon said at a town hall gathering in November. “It was rather painful in the beginning.”

Thirteen years later, as Coon prepares to hand the presidential baton over to his successor, vice president Jonathan Eldridge, on Jan. 2, the college’s rejuvenation on all levels is said by most observers to be extraordinary.

“David has presided over a remarkable transformation of College of Marin, including facilities, services and culture,” Eldridge said in an email this week. “His thoughtful, caring, patient and inclusive leadership approach has served the college—and thus the entire Marin community—incredibly well.”

A total of $515 million worth of voter-approved bond construction has brought new life and community engagement to both campuses.

That is especially true at Novato’s Indian Valley Campus. In 2010, the bucolic but too-quiet site was “DOA” — or dead on arrival — as Coon described it in an interview this week.

“I knew it had to be diversified,” said Coon, meaning that just building more academic classrooms would not create any vibrancy or attract more students, or anyone else.

Instead, the college built world-class facilities: the Miwok Aquatic and Fitness Center with a competition-style dive tower that is used by both the students, swim teams and the community and the Bill and Adele Jonas Conference Center in partnership with the Rotary Club of Novato.

“It’s the hottest event center in Marin, ” Coon said of the Jonas Center.

The college has also just formed a partnership with the Marin County Fire Department to house between 20 and 60 seasonal firefighters in the former “Building #17,” an old library at the Indian Valley site.

COM also will build a facility for wildland firefighter training with offices, classrooms, equipment and four bays to house the fire engines.

“College of Marin is much more inclusive and welcoming of all students because of David’s leadership,” said Wanden Treanor, a longtime college trustee. “And College of Marin is much more interwoven in the larger Marin community because of how he approached his calling as a community college leader.”

At Kentfield, the campus has been similarly transformed. Buildings completed over the last decade include those for science, math and nursing, performing arts, fine arts and a child study center.

While the final Measure B bond project, the Learning Resources Center library, classroom and conference building, won’t be completed until 2026, it is fronted by the newer Academic Center at the corner of College Avenue and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The Academic Center, completed in 2015 with voter approved Measure C bond funds, is the gateway to the campus, often sporting dozens of flags in the front for holidays. Measure C was passed in 2006, while Measure B was approved by voters in 2016.

“We didn’t really have a front entrance before,” Coon said of the Academic Center.

On the labor relations front, Coon has hired 382 full-time employees since January 2011. That included 110 full-time faculty, 217 classified professionals, 49 managers and 1,196 part-time and hourly employees.

He credits the new blood with being “on the front lines of helping to advance our mission of helping our students meet their educational goals and dreams.”

In the spring, 400 students completed a certificate, degree or transfer degree — one of the largest graduation groups in recent history.

Accreditation is no longer an issue; the college’s accreditation was recently renewed. In 2021, College of Marin was named the No. 1 community college in California and No. 5 out of 839 community colleges nationwide by Academic Influence, a college ranking organization.

“He’s just a great leader – smart, steady, respected by everyone he works with, and always focused on delivering results,” Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael who represents Marin, said of Coon. “Our community owes him a huge thanks for the tremendous difference he has made at COM.”

In the greater Marin educational community, Coon has “made phenomenal progress in building relationships with educators in our elementary and high school districts,” said John Carroll, Marin superintendent of schools and a COM alum.

“His leadership opened doors for students who might not have seen higher education as a viable option,” Carroll said. “He worked across systems to create educational pathways that will lead students to rewarding careers.”

Omar Carrera, executive director of Canal Alliance in San Rafael, said Coon reached out to him at the very beginning of his tenure, seeking “insights on the challenges and opportunities of the Latino community in Marin,” Carrera said.

At the time, Coon expressed his commitment, Carrera said, “to identifying and addressing the barriers that hindered Latinos and Latinas from accessing and succeeding at the College of Marin.”

Carrera said that commitment was later reflected in College of Marin’s student equity plan, which aimed to increase college readiness and obtain Hispanic Serving Institution status.

College of Marin was awarded the prestigious Dr. John W. Rice Diversity and Equity Award in September 2020.

Student enrollment, which floundered during the pandemic as it did everywhere, has since rebounded to higher-than-pre-pandemic levels, Coon said. On Dec. 11, advance student for-credit enrollment for spring 2024 was 2,964, compared to 2,644 at the same time last year.

The unduplicated advance headcount, for credit and noncredit students, for spring 2024 is 3,989, compared to 3,086 at the same time last year.

Finally, there is the pending full resuscitation of Bolinas Field Station, a marine biology laboratory and training facility on Bolinas Lagoon in western Marin.

When Coon arrived at College of Marin in 2010, that facility, shuttered since 2005 due to its extreme deterioration, was also “dead on arrival,” Coon said he thought at the time.

After years of debate and a strong push from college faculty, Coon found a way around the numerous roadblocks. Construction is now set to begin in a few weeks, with completion scheduled by late 2024.

“Although it was a nail-biter at times, here we are,” Coon said at the November town hall.

“David Wain Coon is a true leader, always approachable and kindhearted,” said COM biology instructor Joe Mueller, a key supporter in the Bolinas field station project.

“It has been a pleasure to work with him even in challenging times as he is a master at working out differences with respect and humility,” Mueller said. “The reinvigoration of the Bolinas Field Station is a testament of his determination and ability to succeed.”

Coon, 59, grew up in Washington state, where most of his immediate family still lives. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Central Washington University, a Master of Education degree from Western Washington University, and a doctor of education degree in educational leadership with emphasis in organization development from Seattle University.

Prior to coming to COM in 2010, Coon was president of Evergreen Valley College in San Jose for five years. Before Evergreen Valley College, Coon held several administrative positions at various colleges in Washington state.

Coon, who said he started working when he was 13 years old, plans to spend much of his retirement in Palm Springs, where he has owned a home for the past 16 years.

He said he will miss Marin.

“Everybody has been incredibly supportive,” Coon said this week. “The connection has deepened in the community,” he added. “I’ve always found that to be incredibly advantageous in the work we’ve done.”

Marin will miss him as well, his supporters said.

“David’s leadership is the reason we have the institution we have today,” veteran trustee Stephanie O’Brien said.

“His unique style and ability to bridge such a wide range of constituents is something I will always admire in him,” O’Brien said. “It’s been such an honor to have him be COM’s leader while I have been a trustee.”