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Melissa Bader

Professor, English

Norco College School of Communication,
Humanities & Languages

With over twenty-nine years of experience as an educator, Ms. Bader has served as English professor and leader (wearing many hats) at the college and beyond. Shortly after becoming a full-time faculty member, Ms. Bader began working as the Writing Lab Coordinator and was later appointed Assistant Chair for the Communications Department (yes, she was not yet tenured:). Upon securing tenure, Melissa was elected as Department Chair for Communications and English discipline lead. She has been a member of the Academic Senate, attending the State Senate Leadership Institute; Professional Development Chair, creating a new training program for new full-time faculty; District Enrollment Management Representative for the College; is the current Chair of Chairs and the Institutional Strategic Planning Council (ISPC) Co-Chair. She was instrumental in the development of our School Trailheads and Pathways, and Ms. Bader has co-chaired the Guided Pathways work group and participated in the California Guided Pathways Project (GP-20). Ms. Bader has championed the transition to MMAP at and helped develop our nationally recognized summer bridge program (Summer Advantage), which focused on appropriate placement in English and math as well as effective onboarding of incoming first-year students. She has taught all levels of English from accelerated developmental courses to Honor’s freshman composition and critical thinking.

To view the English​ program page, click here.​​

Mustang of the Month - November 2021

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Melissa was nominated by more than one person! A nominator writes that she is “an incredibly hardworking person with consistent focus on the mission of our college. She is collaborative, innovative and passionate about all things Norco College.” Melissa is described as a champion for students, equity, and inclusion. “Her leadership with Guided Pathways has brought about a streamlined pathway for students to help them achieve their academic and career goals.” Among her many talents, Melissa is a problem solver, a collaborator, and a model of what it means to be a Mustang.