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VC Trustee, Catherine "Kay" McHaney

As Victoria College prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, Catherine “Kay” McHaney continues to be an institution herself.

The Beeville native is in her 38th year of service on VC’s Board of Trustees. She became the first woman to serve on the board when she started in 1986. She was also the board’s first female chair.

“I was invited to serve on the board by then-chairman Winston Zirjacks,” she said. “He came by the house to visit, and I appreciated the offer since education was very important to me. I knew Victoria College’s success was essential to our community.”

As a busy mother of four, McHaney was a high school teacher and served on the Trinity Episcopal School Board before joining the VC Board. She also served on the advisory board of the Victoria Adult Learning Center and Victoria Independent School District Leadership Team.

A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, McHaney is co-owner and secretary/treasurer of the Victoria Advocate, the second oldest newspaper in Texas. Her father, Morris Roberts, and other leading citizens purchased the publication in 1942, nearly 100 years after it was founded in 1846.

In addition to VC, McHaney has devoted her time and energy serving on other boards, including the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, Citizens Medical Center (where she was also the first female to serve), United Way, Victoria Fine Arts Association, Victoria Economic Development Corporation and Salvation Army.

McHaney has seen many changes at VC during her tenure. She and her fellow board members have a clear understanding of today’s typical VC student as a result of presentations and updates from VC President Dr. Jennifer Kent and staff members.

“I am very impressed with the changes that have occurred due to the evolving needs of our students,” she said. “Thirty-eight years ago, most of our students were presented with academic courses to prepare them to move on to a four-year degree. We have evolved to help our numerous first-time-in-college single parents and older students to reach a job opportunity with the goal of a living wage.”

McHaney received the South Texas Council Boy Scouts’ Distinguished Citizen Award in 2010, twenty-two years after her father received the first award. She has also received the Victoria Rotary Outstanding Citizen Award, the South Texas Woman Award, the Boys and Girls Club’s Champion of Youth and the Junior League of Victoria Sustainer Recognition Award.

She has made an even bigger cultural impact on Victoria by helping establish the Museum of the Coastal Bend. She was a founding board member for the museum when it opened in 2003.

In February, McHaney and VC Trustee Ron Walker presented at the Community College Association of Texas Trustees’ Board of Trustees Institute, reflecting on how VC has transformed from focusing on access and completion to becoming a student-centered college focused on empowering students to achieve upward economic mobility by preparing them for careers with family-sustaining wages.

“Through the years with many different connections to education, I learned that all students can achieve a level of knowledge they didn’t have before they were exposed to new information,” she said. “And a great number will succeed in reaching their goals. But many of today’s students face challenges outside the classroom that impact their success. That’s why VC’s supportive and caring environment is so crucial in helping students overcome personal hurdles, find a sense of belonging, and reach their full potential.”

Even with 38 years of service on VC’s Board of Trustees, McHaney is excited for the future.

“Construction of the new Student Success Center is underway and was planned to meet the needs of today’s students with all the services under one roof,” she said. “I am genuinely excited to see it come to fruition.”

With her unwavering commitment to education, McHaney remains a driving force for VC and the community.

“Victoria College is proud to salute Ms. McHaney as a local leader in education who, along with VC's entire Board of Trustees, works tirelessly to ensure opportunities for all students to achieve successful outcomes and enter careers that offer family-sustaining wages,” said VC President Dr. Jennifer Kent. 

Black-and-white photos from Victoria Regional History Center photograph collection