Retired college president shares lessons learned after active shooting

Rita Cavin was interim president of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, in October 2015 when an active shooter killed eight students and a faculty member before taking his own life. Several others were wounded. Cavin, who is now retired, will share what she learned through the experience in a public conversation at Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

“Keeping Your Head Above Trauma: Lessons to Share” begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Alford Centrum on the MTSO campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware. This conversation is free and open to all.

Since leaving Umpqua, Cavin has paid forward the generous assistance that poured into the college by helping other educational institutions prepare for and survive campus violence. At MTSO, she will discuss preparing for the worst, getting through the acute emergency, and finding the path to resilience and recovery.

Cavin holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Claremont Graduate University, a master’s degree in library science from Immaculate Heart College, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English from University of Redlands, and an associate’s degree from Riverside City College.

A community college educator since 1973, Cavin was president of Linn-Benton Community College from 2003 until her retirement in 2010. She served two separate terms as Umpqua’s interim president, in 2011 and 2015. 

Methodist Theological School in Ohio prepares leaders of many faith traditions for lives of lasting significance in service to the church and the world. In addition to the Master of Divinity degree, the school offers master’s degrees in counseling ministries, theological studies and practical theology, along with a Doctor of Ministry degree.