WATERLOO - Ruth Cunningham likes to recall what had become a motto for her late husband, Walter.

"'If it is to be, it's up to me,'" she said. "And I really firmly act on that principle. Don't expect others to do the job you can do."

Cunningham, 67, of 235 Letsch Road, hopes to bring her knowledge, experience and can-do attitude to the Director District 5 position on Hawkeye Community College's board of trustees. She is challenging incumbent Bill Gronen for the seat, which represents parts of northeast, central and west Waterloo.

The retired nurse worked as an instructor at Hawkeye for 14 years, until 2002, and noted deep connections to education in her family. Her husband, who died nine years ago, was a longtime Waterloo Community Schools teacher and administrator and has an elementary school named for him. Her four sons have either been involved in education and teaching or earned advanced degrees.

Cunningham was a nurse for 11 years prior to Hawkeye with the Black Hawk County health department, John Deere Component Works and Chamberlain Manufacturing. She started thinking about the possibility of running for the board a year ago, but felt more urgency once the trustees approved budget cuts including the elimination 43 faculty jobs.

"I have real concerns that this may affect the quality of student instruction," she said. "One of the things that made me decide to possibly join the board is because education has to be about the students. It's not just a business."

She acknowledged that the funding problems faced by the college are challenging, "but I still believe the heart of the school has to be focused on the students. I have the heart of an educator, and I believe my experience as a community college instructor for 14 years gives me a unique perspective that may not be reflected on the board currently." That goes for her nursing experience as well, with Hawkeye planning new medical-related programs.

Cunningham also suggested a valuable perspective in her own educational path, earning registered nurse credentials at Allen College in 1976 while raising four young boys. Cunningham said she was one of the first nontraditional and black students at the college. She has since earned a bachelor's degree and teaching certificate from the University of Northern Iowa and is five credits away from earning a master's degree.