Vice President of Administrative Services Rob Budach highlights commitment to student success
Vice President of Administrative Services, Rob Budach, oversaw Mesa Community College’s mission and strategic priorities for multiple departments, after he transitioned from a leadership position at Arizona State University.
Budach began serving in his new role at MCC on July 1, 2024, after previously serving at ASU beginning in 2009, and is now responsible for numerous MCC departments.
These include College Technology Services, Facilities, Fiscal Services, Human Resources and College Police, with Budach providing direction and evaluation for each department’s performance.
Budach served in leadership roles during his time at ASU, including as the senior director of asset management, and coordinator for training and recruitment.
“I do think one thing that is very consistent is that the people that I’ve met here [MCC] and the people that I knew at ASU all have a strong, singular focus on producing an outstanding student experience from it, and that’s a common thread,” Budach told The Legend.
Budach stated that he enjoyed the people that he’s met so far in Mesa, despite that he was only about three months on the job, he saw MCC faculty’s sense of dedication to students and a desire to move forward in a new direction at administration services.
Budach touched on the subject of some of the campus’s older infrastructure, mentioning the charm it has as memories that have been made for generations of students.
However, Budach mentioned that there are aspects to campus infrastructure that he wants to evaluate and preserve for the future students. He connects this with a philosophy he has about finances.
“A dollar represents the experience that a student has today, but it also represents the experience a future student can have tomorrow. Part of my role, I think, is ensuring that we have a high-quality experience today, but we’re also putting forward the necessary investments to ensure that that experience is consistent into the future,” said Budach.
Budach credited his collection of experiences at ASU for giving him the perspective to provide leadership to many different MCC departments.
“Providing leadership doesn’t necessarily make me an expert in any single area. I certainly rely on my teams for probably the nuanced industry-based expertise from all of it. But my role is with respect to the administration of a higher educational institution,” stated Budach.
Budach added that by collaborating with different campus faculty and staff created a sense of synergy and passion to move administrative services forward.
Budach would work alongside the MCC executive suite, including Vice President Jeannetta Hollins and President Richard Daniel.
Also new to their roles, Hollins started her role in January 2024, while Daniel was appointed president in July 2024.
Budach mentions a very positive spirit of collaboration amongst college leaders as they take stock of the current situation and the opportunities at the college.
“I see just the joy in all of them. We sort of came in while Dr. Britt was concluding her interim tenure here, one of the things that she shared with us that has really stuck in my mind, is she said, ‘bring joy to the people of Mesa,’ and I love meeting the people and, and sharing smiles with them and hearing about their experience and hopefully bringing some joy to our work here,” stated Budach.
Budach acknowledged that MCC was in a budget crisis and that the college was taking actions to address the problem, including a series of public meetings.
Budach’s hope is to turn the page on the budget crisis and start to get excited about the college’s own future. He mentioned the spirit it would bring to the college community to bring in new things to capitalize on programs such as the Vet Technology facility and Welding facility.
“The future is bright for us. We had the first lady of the United States come in and give a speech at Mesa Community College and that’s not a coincidence, that’s intentional. So, let’s capitalize on that and start talking about our future, and build it together. I’m excited about that kind of work,” said Budach.
