Shoreline Community College (SCC) welcomes Dr. Lucas Rucks as Acting Vice President of Instruction. After two years serving as SCC’s Executive Dean of Business, Communication Studies, and Social Sciences, he is excited to step into this new role.
With an education career spanning over two decades, Lucas has accrued extensive experience in the classroom, most recently teaching 300- and 400-level classes in areas of leadership development and organizational culture. He has also provided administrative leadership on a variety of baccalaureate degree pathways, Perkins and Worker Retraining funds, grant management, dual enrollment and K-12 articulation, contract training, community education, transfer agreements between community college and universities, and professional development for faculty and staff. Most recently he has worked at Grays Harbor College, Central Washington University, and Bakersfield College.
With a “huge heart for access and the power of changing lives through education,” Dr. Rucks loves the community college mission and the work that goes into supporting faculty. He is currently a Peer Reviewer for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and participates within the Washington State Board for Community and Technical College’s (SBCTC) Articulation and Transfer Council. Recently he participated on the Baccalaureate Leadership Council and spent time serving on the elected executive team of the Workforce Education Council, chairing the 2020-21 Professional Development Committee with a focus on recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty workforce.
Dr. Rucks also has a wide variety of teaching experience in both primary and post-secondary settings. In addition to teaching upper-level college coursework, he was a guest teacher for K-8, an instructor for basic skills (math) and lifetime health courses in the college setting, and a continuing education instructor with a public university. The last class he taught was in 2022, and he eagerly looks forward to returning to the classroom in the future. “I love the student development process, learning from students, and being a direct part of their experiences. Part-time teaching also helps me maintain connection best practices, and emerging technology in the classroom,” said Rucks.
Lucas completed his doctoral studies in Higher Education Leadership with Azusa Pacific University and his MS in Administration and BA in Liberal Studies (US Govt & American History) with California State University, Bakersfield. He has been married to his wife Jena for 20 years, and they have three children, and a “Covid puppy” named Juneau. Lucas coaches youth sports, is always seeking to catch a larger bass, and is continually on a quest for his first hole-in-one on the golf course.
Dr. Rucks will be in place as Acting VP of instruction from June-December 2023, or until a permanent VP candidate is identified.