President's Corner

By Jami Van Ess

Student Success: Changing the Game! I am so excited about our upcoming annual conference in Las Vegas. We will be launching our new brand and website and mixing things up with some new sessions and activities. We have some wonderful general session speakers lined up as well as break-out sessions to help us learn how we can contribute to improving student success at our campuses.

• Kicking off our conference on Sunday will be Dr. Rufus Glasper, President of Maricopa Community College. Dr. Glasper is a visionary leader who focuses on student success and has a very inclusive and engaging style. He is also a former business officer. 
• On Monday, we will have a follow-up presentation by Dr. Ken Atwater, Past Chair of the American Association of Community Colleges.  Dr. Atwater provided an amazing presentation for us last year on AACC’s 21st Century Report and he really reached out to business officers and invited us to become more involved.
• On Tuesday, we will have a little fun with Dr. Dale Henry who will send us off in grand style with some storytelling infused with wit and wisdom.

In addition, the Annual Conference Committee has put together a great set of break-out sessions. There is a wide variety with something for everyone including leadership, information technology, finance, budget, purchasing, facilities, and risk management. 

Our Leadership Academy that focuses on the issues of two-year community colleges is a pre-conference option and a huge bargain. I know this is an amazing leadership program because of all the positive comments I continually hear from our alumni. The price of the Leadership Academy cannot be beat and it includes two full years of registration to the annual conference! 

I am looking forward to seeing you all in Las Vegas where we will be changing the game!

Jami Van Ess

CCBO President

Vice President of Business & Administrative Services

Coconino Community College