Three finalists vie for Trinidad State College presidency in public forums

Students, parents and local employers will get a short window to question the next leader of Trinidad State College as three presidential finalists begin public forums across the Trinidad and Valley campuses, a decision that reaches far beyond campus walls in Las Animas County.

The Colorado Community College System announced the finalists April 13 after a national search that drew input from a committee of faculty, staff, students and other community members. Marielena DeSanctis made the announcement and thanked the advisory committee and community members for helping shape a process that now moves into interviews and open forums from April 15 through April 21.

One finalist, Dr. Dustin Eicke, is scheduled to visit the Valley Campus on April 15 and the Trinidad Campus on April 16. Trinidad State is inviting faculty, staff, students and community members to attend the open forums and ask questions of each finalist before feedback surveys close Wednesday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. The search timeline says stakeholder feedback from both campuses will be collected April 15-22, then reviewed by the Colorado Community College System, with a final selection expected in early May.

The presidency carries unusual weight in southeastern Colorado. Trinidad State was established in 1925, became the first community college in Colorado, and serves eight rural counties: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Huerfano, Las Animas, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache. The college says that area covers about 14 percent of Colorado’s land mass but only about 1.5 percent of its population, a span that makes leadership decisions especially important for a dispersed rural region.

The school’s profile says the next president should be a student-centered, visible and community-engaged leader who can strengthen student success, community partnerships, enrollment and workforce education. That role reaches into programs that connect students to local jobs and help employers find trained workers without forcing young adults and working adults to leave southeastern Colorado.

Trinidad State’s history is tied closely to the region it serves. The founding bill was sponsored by State Senator Sam Freudenthal, classes first met at Trinidad High School and the first eight students earned two-year degrees in 1933. The college joined the Colorado Community College System in 1968, and the Valley Campus grew out of a 1994 merger with the San Luis Valley Educational Center.

The college now offers nursing, welding, robotics, cyber security, electrical line technician training and the oldest degreed gunsmithing program in the United States. After Dr. Rhonda Epper prepared to conclude her service, the system named Dr. Chato Hazelbaker interim president effective March 7, setting up a transition that will shape how Trinidad State serves students and employers on both sides of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.