Edna Baehre-Kolovani, the CEO and president of Tidewater Community College, is a high-energy Rotarian who consistently pushes herself to learn new skills and accomplish her goals.
She grew up in a German household that welcomed different cultures. Her mother, a language translator, and her architect father had rental properties primarily leased to members of the United States Armed Services. She remembers her first English words. She was five years old and was greeted by a member of our military who bent down and said “how do you do.” She responded “how do you do.”
German children make a decision about their future at age 10. They chose either a college preparatory track or to go to a trade school. Edna went to the college preparatory school. The day before college started, her father declared that she was to enroll in college that day. Enrolling at the 11th hour, she initially enrolled as a geology major, the only one available. That major lasted a semester when Edna decided her passion was languages.
One summer Edna and her older brother were both enrolled in an international boarding school in England. Her roommate was from Persia and taught Edna some Persian phrases. Through self-study, Edna learned more Persian, enough so that after she had an appendectomy, she was able to teach the German wife of her Persian surgeon some conversational Persian.
In her senior year of college, she fell in love with an American soldier who attended an event at her college. Wanting to visit him in the United States, a trip her parents refused to finance, led to her great sauerkraut adventure. She worked in a variety of jobs to earn money for the trip. In the fall, she worked in a sauerkraut factory. The cabbage was harvested from the fields, and Edna was part of a team that did the initial preparation. Dressed in rubber boots, apron and gloves, she and her co-workers took the cabbage from the trucks, and with sharp knives chopped off the bad spots. From there, the cabbage was put on a conveyor belt to a machine where it was shredded and then on to the big vats where it was made into sauerkraut. Edna made enough money to pay for the visit to America. A year later, she and the American soldier were married, and she made the United States her new home.
Wanting to further her education, Edna enrolled in the State University of New York at Buffalo for a doctoral degree in German language and literature. She also worked as a substitute teacher in a public school. She was amazed at the focus of Americans on school sports and also the lack of respect the students had for their teachers. Through this experience, she decided she wanted to teach on the collegiate level. Three days after submitting her doctoral dissertation and unable to find a job in her expertise, she went to work for Dresser Industries as part of the parts department.
After her daughter was born, Edna became a curriculum writer and also wrote grants. Her life took another turn when she accepted a job with Camp Fire, an organization very similar to the Boy Scouts which focused on life skills for latchkey children. While at Camp Fire, Edna learned about fundraising. The board chair for the Camp Fire group in Jamestown, N.Y. was a dean at Jamestown Community College and became a mentor for Edna. He told her when a position opened, he would hire her and was true to his word. She began teaching conversational German.
Later, Edna was dean of Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y. The president of Genesee Community College suggested that Edna think about becoming a college president and gave her opportunities to broaden her skill set. When Genesee Community College opened three branches, Edna was involved in the construction of the sites. Always willing to take on additional responsibilities, when the dean of students suddenly resigned mid-semester, Edna was tapped to be his replacement on a temporary basis.
Edna set her goal of becoming a community college president and became the vice president of academic and student affairs at Highland Community College in Illinois. She was selected as president of Harrisburg Area Community College (PA) in 1997. After multiple moves, her marriage crumbled in 2001. In 2007, she met her current husband, Bill, and they married in 2011. After a brief stint in Napa Valley in California, they moved to Virginia Beach when Edna was named president of Tidewater Community College in 2012.
Wanting to contribute to the community, Edna joined the Kiwanis Club in Batavia. She was introduced to Rotary by one of her mentors and she liked the international focus. She led a Group Study Exchange group to Denmark and established a relationship with a counterpart in that country. That led to an exchange between Harrisburg Area Community College and the Danish college including not only students but also professors. She has established that program at TCC. Edna is a member of our club's board of directors and is a Paul Harris Fellow + 2.
Edna and her husband Bill have four children and four grandchildren. They also have a dog, Stogie, named after Bill’s cigars.
In her free time, Edna enjoys swimming, yoga, Pilates, golf and reading.