The Rotary Club of Little Falls gathered for its weekly meeting on Sept 17, 2025, at the Elks Lodge. The speaker for the evening was the newly installed president of Herkimer Community College (HCCC), Dr. Terri Grates Day.
Dr. Day is a native of Herkimer, N.Y. She was the first in her family to attend college, and guess what was the first college she attended? That’s correct- Herkimer County Community College. Dr. Day went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, a Master of Arts in Counseling and Personal Services from the University at Maryland, and a PH.D. in Educational Leadership and Higher Education Administration from the University of Dayton.
She has a wealth of leadership experience as she served as an instructor at Jefferson Community College, an Executive Director at Tarrant County College District, and Special Assistant to the President at Southern Utah University. Her last position was in Nashville as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Volunteer State Community College.
Dr. Day compared Rotary’s focus on making “service by design” to her vision of making HCCC “education by design.” She has plans to assess current programs and replace some by aligning future programs with the local workforce needs. Thus, keeping talented locals in the Mohawk Valley.
She has many challenges, among them automation upgrade, enrollment growth, and overseeing the capital campaign.
What a wonderful role model Dr. Day makes for her students, as they all know it’s possible that someday they may be walking in her shoes.
She told of her proud father telling her that someday she would come back to Herkimer and become “the president of our Harvard on the hill”.
Indeed, she has fulfilled her Dad’s dream, returning to “the college that gave me my start.” The Mohawk Valley is fortunate to have her.
What else are the Rotarians working on?
Rotary president Rick Morgan, Rotary president-elect Allen Kazmerski, and other members are working on a service project. What can it be? Stay tuned!
