“It feels like I’m moving home, and I’m not even from there,” was Dr. Lyvier Leffler’s response from Houston Wednesday morning at the news of being selected as the next president of Allen Community College.
Allen trustees announced Leffler as president at their meeting Tuesday evening.
She begins the position Jan. 20, 2025.
“Christmas in Iola!” she said enthusiastically.
She and her husband, Richard Rayburn, plan on securing temporary quarters here as soon as next week.
“He’s as excited about the move as I am,” she said.
The couple have lived in Houston for the past 10-plus years where she’s been on faculty with the Lone Star College system and he served as a vice president of a bank.
Leffler said the decision to take the job with Allen was a “joint decision. We’re a team. And we think coming to Iola, to Allen, will be a fulfilling endeavor for us both,” she said.
“He’s excited to get involved in the community and to see where he can serve,” she said of her husband.
Leffler said their tours of Iola and surrounding communities came as a pleasant surprise.
“Your economic development climate is very innovative. I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.
She also appreciates the healthy partnerships the college has with area businesses and city and county leaders.
“When I first came to Iola I could sense how much John Masterson’s authenticity not only as president but also as a person was appreciated,” she said. “That was my first hint that Iola would be a good place to live.”
Masterson, 80, came out of a two-year retirement as the former president of ACC, to serve as interim president last summer at the sudden departure of then-president Dr. Bruce Moses.
“I admire John’s commitment to Allen,” Leffler said.
