VanDyke is new WSCC development director

VICTORY TWP. – Julie Van Dyke is beginning a new combined dual role at West Shore Community College.

She is currently the Director of the Business Opportunity Center (BOC) and is also assuming the responsibility as the Director of Development for the college’s Foundation.

“Julie will be using her economic development expertise in oversight of the Business Opportunity Center, and her connections within the community to enhance the college’s development initiatives to raise additional financial resources for the college,” said college President Charles Dillon who appointed her to fill the vacant Foundation position.

As the director of the BOC, Van Dyke helps businesses, big and small, become more profitable and productive.

“We want to be the first step in helping businesses,” Van Dyke says. “We then will refer them to the resources we have available throughout the community.”

The BOC is a virtual business incubator that provides non-credit business and industry training, entrepreneurial workshops, mentoring and credited college courses.

“My goal with the Foundation is to make it much more visible in the college service area,” says VanDyke. “The success of the recent endowment fund drive is due in part to spreading the word that all of our citizens can make a difference in their community by assisting the college, its students, and its programs through the foundation.”

The WSCC Foundation, a non-profit corporation, provides financial support for many activities that benefit the college. The Foundation is working to increase its endowment fund to provide additional scholarships for students desiring to attend the college.

Prior to working at the college, Van Dyke was the president of the Mason County Growth Alliance. She also was, for eight years, the Director of the Allendale Area Chamber of Commerce with previous experience in management, sales, marketing and economic development, with leadership in both private and public organizations.

Van Dyke graduated with a Masters of Business Administration degree in 2002, and previously obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing in 1991.