The new president at Front Range Community College said she is holding to the same core educational beliefs that sustained her through tenures in her native Bronx to Green Bay, Wisc.
“I look at my experiences as a culmination for everything I have done, and that is a focus on student success,” Colleen Simpson, who was named the new president of FRCC this week. “For me, education is about removing barriers for you, regardless of your background. We are creating a welcoming, inclusive environment.”
“Regardless of where you come from,” Simpson said, “you can thrive at Front Range.”
Simpson said she was drawn to Front Range because the institution shares the same educational philosophy of providing options for students, no matter their field of study.
FRCC’s curriculum serves students who want to move almost immediately into a good paying job in a technical field. Students can also use Front Range as a launching pad to move onto a four-year institution, she said.
“This is what is happening at Front Range right now, all these avenues are waiting for its students,” Simpson said. “We are not only providing a good education for them, but also providing families with a chance at some upward mobility.”
Simpson was selected among dozens of applicants for the president’s job, which will be left vacant when current president Andy Dorsey retires on June 30. Dorsey served for 13 years as FRCC president. Simpson takes the president’s chair on August 1.
Rebecca Wolfe, FRCC Vice President of Academic Affairs and Online Learning, will serve as interim during the time between Dorsey’s last day as president and Simpson’s arrival.
Front Range is the state’s largest community college with 28,000 students annually and has campuses in Fort Collins, Longmont, and Westminster.
Dorsey said this week that Simpson’s broad experience prepares her well to expand FRCC’s strong connections with the community and business partners.
“Her impressive commitment to student success makes me confident that she will continue to make FRCC a welcoming place for students from all parts of our region,” Dorsey said via email.
Simpson is currently the Vice President of Student Services and Regional Learning Centers at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, Wisc. There she oversees multi-campuses and five regional learning centers in nine counties, according to the college’s website.
In this role, she has focused on leading academic innovation, designing “student-ready” experiences, and addressing the educational, economic and workforce development needs of the region for an enrollment of 41,000 students, according to the website.
She said part of her current job is to extend learning opportunities into Wisconsin’s rural areas.
Prior to Wisconsin, Simpson oversaw retention and student success at Bronx Community College in her home state of New York.
Simpson said she will take on the problem of declining enrollment at Front Range. She said she wants to strengthen partnerships with local families and schools to let students know about the opportunities afforded them at FRCC.
For instance, the college’s concurrent enrollment program allows high school students to take courses at FRCC that will make their transition to the workforce quicker and easier, Simpson said.
“We want them to understand that when they come to Front Range Community College, they will get a valuable education and be better prepared for the future.”
