President's Updates
December 2024
Dear FRCC Community,
I hope the time off last week gave you all a chance to recharge for the home stretch of the semester. Thank you to everyone who responded to share what you are thankful for this year—your thoughts were included in our November gratitude blog. Among many other things, I’m grateful for FRCC’s hard working employees and our caring college community.
Top News
Ram Transfer Academy With CSU
FRCC has partnered with Colorado State University to launch an innovative program aimed at helping students with fewer financial resources complete their bachelor’s degrees. The program is designed to increase college access and success for underserved students. The new Ram Transfer Academy will help FRCC students prepare for a smooth transfer to Colorado State University, helping break barriers to higher education.
Students enrolled in the academy will have immediate access to student services at both Colorado State University and Front Range Community College, as well as a direct path to a bachelor’s degree through transferability between the schools. After students complete 24 credits at any FRCC campus, they are eligible to transfer and complete a bachelor’s degree at CSU. The cutting-edge program is funded by a $500,000 grant from the American Talent Initiative.
Read our full news release here
FRCC’s First Doctoral Program Partnership
FRCC has partnered with Regis University to open pathways for our students to pursue pharmacy careers through Regis’ Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. This collaboration creates a direct pathway for FRCC students in health sciences and biology programs to apply to the PharmD program at Regis, supporting their advancement in education and entrance into the pharmacy profession.
Our students now have a streamlined opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in this much-needed high-wage profession. The partnership opens exciting new doors for our health sciences students who are eager to pursue careers in pharmacy.
Employee Spotlight
Beryl Durazo
FRCC’s Executive Director of Foundation and Community Partnerships Beryl Durazo has been chosen to participate in the highly selective Colorado Governors Fellowship Program. More than 80 highly qualified candidates were nominated for this year’s class. The selection committee was impressed by Beryl’s deep desire and commitment to serve Colorado, as well as her extensive qualifications.
The program is run by CiviCO, the state’s premier community leadership development organization, which activates leaders to thrive in all areas of work, life, and service. Congratulations, Beryl—this is a well-deserved honor! I know you will do FRCC proud as you commit your time and energy to optimizing the meaningful impact of your leadership in our state.
Spread The Word
Commencement 2025—Mark Your Calendars!
I hope you all saw the email announcing the dates and locations for our 2025 Commencement ceremonies in May. I look forward to celebrating our graduating students with you all!
This year’s celebration will be so momentous that we're having two ceremonies. (You may recall that having two ceremonies was one our Transitional Commencement Committee’s recommendations last year.) Please make sure to save the date(s) for the ceremony (or ceremonies) you plan to attend:
Denver Coliseum
Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 10:00 am
Blue Arena
Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 5:00 pm
You can also check out our commencement webpage for all the details. If you still have questions, visit our faculty and staff commencement FAQ. There will be more information forthcoming from the Commencement Planning Team as we move into spring semester. I look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you, our students and their loved ones!
Tools & Resources
New Director for Digital Accessibility
I am excited to share that Scott Davis has accepted the position as FRCC’s Digital Accessibility Director. Scott has started his position this week and will report to our new Vice President for Strategy & Innovation. In his new role, Scott will provide leadership in the development, implementation and monitoring of digital accessibility compliance and standards for the college—ensuring our digital platforms are accessible, innovative and inclusive for everyone.
Scott is a seasoned web architect and digital accessibility advocate who brings more than 20 years of experience and expertise to this critical role, and also currently serves as an FRCC instructor.
We are confident that his leadership will propel our digital accessibility initiatives forward, creating a more inclusive experience for all. Scott, we are thrilled to welcome you as our first-ever director of digital accessibility!
College Updates
Bookstore Services
In case you missed it, we have an update on the Colorado Community College System’s search for a new bookstore services vendor for the 13 colleges in the system. The selection committee—which was composed of representatives from each college across CCCS—carefully evaluated all the proposals submitted to CCCS and unanimously selected Textbook Brokers as the new vendor for bookstore services.
This award decision reflects a collaborative and thorough process, ensuring that the selected partner aligns with our commitment to student success and resource accessibility. Next steps will involve contract negotiations with CCCS—and FRCC will be involved in these discussions. Once the initial system negotiations are complete, more detailed discussions will take place at the college level.
FRCC will keep our college community updated as the process moves forward, so please keep an eye on our bookstore solution intranet page for further information. At this time, no changes are anticipated for spring 2025. Thank you for your patience and support as we work toward enhancing bookstore services for our students.
Accreditation Visits
FRCC’s new dental hygiene program passed its accreditation visit in November with flying colors thanks to the phenomenal work of our dental hygiene team. The surveyors from the Commission on Dental Accreditation were on site for two days meeting with college administrators, faculty and community stakeholders, and touring the college’s newly constructed dental hygiene clinical space and sterilization lab.
The program received “no suggestions, no recommendations” for all six of its criteria. In January the commission will review the site surveyors’ report and recommendations, and FRCC will receive a final determination within 30 days.
Also this fall, the Nursing Departments at our Larimer and Westminster campuses, along with our practical nursing program, hosted their accreditor—the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. This accreditation visit brought the two campus programs together under one accreditation cycle. The site visitors were highly complimentary of the great work of our nursing teams.
These visits are extremely rigorous—and I’m so proud of our faculty and staff for their commitment to meeting these high standards and maintaining the extraordinary quality of our programs.
2025-2030 Strategic Plan
This fall, we completed a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select an external facilitator to help guide the work for our upcoming Strategic Plan. Proposals were reviewed in multiple stages with input from representatives across the college who provided valuable feedback. After final reviews, reference checks and meetings with the top vendors, we selected Campus Works Inc. as our strategic planning partner.
Over the next year, FRCC will develop a new five-year strategic plan (2025-2030). We officially began this work during our fall In-Service with an activity centered on our mission, vision and values. Parts of our plan will align with the Colorado Community College System's 2025-2030 plan, which is expected to be finalized soon.
Process Overview
We are partnering with an external facilitator to guide the strategic planning process. This partnership will help us engage students, employees and community partners, as well as analyze data to inform the plan. By next fall, FRCC will have:
- A published 2025-2030 Strategic Plan with defined goals and objectives.
- Key performance indicators and metrics.
- An implementation and tracking plan.
We’re excited to move forward in this process and will continue to share updates as we progress.
VP Searches
I’m excited to share that after three comprehensive searches for the Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Strategy & Innovation and Vice President of Finance & Administration positions at FRCC, we have selected the leaders who will be serving in these important roles:
- Alana Olschwang has been selected to serve as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation. Alana brings a wealth of experience to the division and is looking forward to collaborating with its leaders. I’d also like to thank Lilian Clemente for her outstanding leadership in this area and look forward to her continued partnership.
- Ethan Johnson will serve as Vice President of Operations. Ethan brings exceptional expertise to this newly formed division and is excited to join FRCC. I also want to recognize Linc Nesheim for his invaluable leadership in this critical area and look forward to his continued contributions.
- David Osborn has been selected as our new Vice President of Finance & Administration. Having served as Interim VP, David brings extensive experience to this critical division and will play a pivotal role in advancing our strategic goals.
Thank you for your engagement and collaboration throughout these searches. I’m confident these leaders will help advance our mission and strategic priorities.
Now that the holiday season is underway, I think it’s important to reflect on what matters to each of us. In December, I try to find time to watch my favorite holiday movie because it reminds me of what’s really important in life. Keep an eye on the FRCC blog to find out which one it is—and to see which movies our colleagues enjoy watching at this time of year.
I hope you’ll share your favorite holiday movie with our college community and tell us why you love it. Just email FRCC Communications Director Jessica Peterson with the title and what you think is special about the film. We’ll compile the list to share with all of you before our December break.
Now let’s finish the semester strong—we’re almost there!
Thank you for all you do,
Colleen Simpson, EdD
President
