NATCHEZ &8212; The challenge ahead of her is clear, the new dean of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez said on Friday.

Teresa Harrison will assume the role of dean on July 1, but already she is preparing for the new role &8212; meeting people, visiting the campus and learning about the community that will be her new home.

On a brief visit to Natchez, she took time to talk about her goals and expectations as well as her past career experiences.

She noted the big shoes she will have to fill as dean. &8220;I feel like the poor man following Bear Bryant at Alabama,&8221; she said, lauding the work of Ronnie Nettles and Gwen McCalip, her immediate predecessors.

&8220;I just have to keep wonderful things happening here,&8221; she said.

She has many reasons to be excited about her new position at Co-Lin. A Mississippi native, she gets an opportunity to return to her home state after working in Georgia since 1999.

More than that, however, she knows Co-Lin&8217;s reputation for excellence. &8220;One of the reasons I want to be here is that Co-Lin has the reputation for being strong academically,&8221; she said.

&8220;I will do my very best to maintain that. I know the faculty is wonderful.&8221;

As one who is coming from outside the system, she feels an advantage. &8220;I&8217;m meeting everyone for the first time. I&8217;m getting a fresh start and so is everyone else. I hope everyone sees that as positive.&8221;

Harrison expects people to find her a fair and compassionate person. She likes to motivate people and she likes team building. &8220;That comes from my human resources background,&8221; she said.

A graduate of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Harrison holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in history. She began her higher education as a student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport, not far from her home in Biloxi.

She began her career in education as a middle school teacher, a role she continues to count among her sweetest experiences.

She went on to work in human resources at Mississippi State in various positions and then moved to Georgia, where she worked at the University of Georgia in Athens in recruitment and then as director of student services at Athens Technical College in Elberton and, most recently, as vice president for student services at Moultrie Technical College in Moultrie.

&8220;This is a wonderful opportunity for me to combine all my experiences into one leadership role,&8221; she said. &8220;I really am excited to come to Natchez. I want to know more about Natchez and become immersed in its culture.&8221;

She considers herself a good listener, and one of the things she will do during her first few months on campus will be to listen to her staff and faculty.

&8220;One of the most important things for a person in leadership to do is to value every single person,&8221; she said.

In Natchez, she hopes to continue her involvement in two causes she loves and has supported in Georgia &8212; a shelter for battered women and children and the humane society.

&8220;I have three dogs and two cats, all adopted from the shelter,&8221; she said. &8220;I care passionately about the humane society.&8221;

Growing up, she learned to play piano and flute. She hopes to dust off the flute and move her piano from her mother&8217;s home in Biloxi to reconnect with those pleasures.

&8220;I don&8217;t consider myself a creative person, but I will like to be involved with some of the festivals in Natchez,&8221; she said. &8220;Music always was a stress reliever for me, even when I was growing up.&8221;

She has four brothers, three older and one younger, and her mother continues to live in Biloxi. &8220;She&8217;s excited that I&8217;m so close, and she loves Natchez. She will visit often.&8221;

Harrison is single mother of two sons &8212; John, soon to be 23 and married, and William, 18, who will be a freshman at Mississippi State in the fall.

&8220;It&8217;s just been the three of us for so long. They are very proud of their mother,&8221; she said.

&8220;I love my boys, love my animals and I&8217;m excited, thrilled and honored to be here and to come back to Mississippi and a school like Co-Lin. It doesn&8217;t get any better than this.&8221;