Clear, 57° F
Northwest College is entering the 2025-2026 school year with a full slate of vice presidents for the first time in a number of years.
In a little over a year the college has hired two vice …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
The Powell Tribune has expanded its online content. To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free web account by clicking here.
If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here.
If you would like to purchase a subscription click here.
Please log in to continue |
|
Northwest College is entering the 2025-2026 school year with a full slate of vice presidents for the first time in a number of years.
In a little over a year the college has hired two vice presidents and made an interim position permanent.
Dave Erickson, the vice president for academic affairs, has been in the position as an interim since 2023, when he replaced former vice president Gerard Giraud, and was made permanent ahead of the school year that began Wednesday.
Tom Havron, vice president for student services, was hired during the last school year to replace longtime vice president Dee Havig.
And Burt Reynolds, vice president for administrative services and finances, was hired within the last school year to take the seat held by NWC President Lisa Watson, who managed both positions after being appointed first as interim president and then president after the departure of former president Stefanie Hicswa.
Below, the three vice presidents provide more information on themselves:
Dave Erickson
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Educational background:
I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Sociology and a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Additionally, I completed all the doctoral coursework in the Adult and Post-Secondary Education department at the University of Wyoming giving me ABD status.
Work background:
I served as a faculty member and Professor of Sociology at Northwest College for 30 years teaching all of the sociology classes and a few criminal justice classes. Additionally, I served as the Social Science and Education Division chair from May of 2008 to June of 2023. I was hired as the interim vice president for academic affairs in July 2023 and was hired as the full-time vice president for academic affairs this past April after competing through a national search.
What made you want to take this position?
I felt that I could help make a difference with my years of experience and knowledge of the institution in continuing to move Northwest College forward in a positive direction under President Watson’s leadership.
What are your thoughts on NWC and Powell?
I have always believed that Northwest College is a very special place, and have always been extremely impressed with how dedicated all the faculty and staff are with putting students first. Powell and NWC are a great place to live and work!
What are your top goals in the position?
Work to ensure Northwest College’s academic and trades programs are innovative, relevant, and align with workforce needs and regional demands.
Ensure that NWC courses are accessible to a broad range of students through flexible delivery formats.
Creating an environment and culture that prioritizes academic excellence and continuous improvement to ensure exceptional student learning.
Working to create an environment where everyone feels valued and their voice is important.
What are the challenges you need to deal with?
Just to name a few:
Sustaining strong enrollment with both traditional and nontraditional aged students year after year is always a challenge in a smaller, rural area.
Determining where to invest limited resources most effectively to maintain strong academic programming.
It is difficult to expand or enhance academic and workforce programming when budgets remain flat or decline.
Tom Havron
Vice President for Student Services
Educational background:
University of Mary, BS-Exercise Science 2006; Pittsburg State University, MS-Educational Leadership 2012
Work background:
Nineteen years in higher education at four different community colleges. Have worked as coach, admissions director, outreach coordinator, athletic director, dean of students, foundation director and vice president of students.
What made you want to take this position?
I was born in Sheridan and grew up in Helena, Montana. I am extremely grateful for the first nearly 20 years of my career to be in Kansas, but was ready to return home. I was extremely impressed with Northwest College and President Watson during my interview process and was excited to raise my two boys in an area of the country I grew up in.
What are your thoughts on NWC and Powell?
I have been so grateful to work with the people at NWC and serve our students for the past year. The employees at NWC are amazing and the quality of our students has blown me away. Powell has been a welcomed change to our family thus far. We very much enjoy to get out into the wilderness to explore every chance we get. The landscape of our area is very different from Kansas and it has been great to open up a new world to my boys.
What are your top goals in the position?
My top goal is to make NWC the best college experience for students in the state. We recently completed our Strategic Enrollment Management Plan through 2030, which will focus on and emphasize access, recruitment, and retention across the college. We are a great place for students to continue their education, and we are poised to be so much better in the future.
What are the challenges you need to deal with?
A critical trait of a community college is to align our services to meet the needs of our students. As the needs of our students change, our services also need to change. A challenge we have moving forward is to forecast what our students are needing before it is too late and make sure we are giving them every opportunity to succeed.
Burt Reynolds
Vice President for Administrative Services and Finance
Educational background:
I earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, a Community College Leadership Certificate, and I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration.
Work background:
I began my higher education career at The University of Texas at San Antonio in the auxiliary services department, which oversaw campus dining, bookstore, parking, and transportation. In 2019, I accepted the vice president of administrative services and CFO position at Western Wyoming Community College and served in that role until beginning this position at Northwest College in January.
What made you want to take this position?
The community of people at Northwest College were the primary drivers behind my desire to accept this position. There is a definite sense of team and belonging on this campus and I wanted to be a part of that. Everyone here cares for each other and that type of organizational culture is very important to me.
What are your thoughts on NWC and Powell?
Having lived and worked in Powell for the past six months, I’ve found both Northwest College and the town itself to offer a welcoming, community-oriented environment. Northwest College has impressed me with its strong sense of community and commitment to students and employees. The campus is easy to navigate, and the people — both at the college and around town — have made it easy to feel at home. Powell may be small, but it has a quiet charm, a strong community spirit, and stunning surroundings that make it easy to appreciate living here.
What are your top goals in the position?
Right now, one of my main priorities is helping to complete the college’s facilities master plan to ensure that we have a clear and strategic path forward for our physical spaces. I’m also focused on strengthening professional development for faculty and staff including securing long-term, sustainable funding. In addition, I’m working to move forward some important policy updates that have been waiting in the wings.
What are the challenges you need to deal with?
One of the ongoing challenges is working within a tight budget — figuring out how to prioritize limited resources in ways that still move the college forward. It requires a lot of coordination, creative thinking, and sometimes tough decisions. At the same time, there’s a real need to make progress on longer-term projects without burning people out in the process. Balancing immediate needs with strategic planning is never easy, but I believe we can keep making meaningful progress by staying focused and working collaboratively.
