By Debra Crawford
Randy Rudasics has been hired by the Colorado Mountain College Foundation as the regional development officer for Steamboat Springs. Rudasics will succeed Jim Swiggart, who has served in this role since 2011.
Swiggart, who is retiring, helped to raise $2 million from local donors during the recent Miracle on the Mountain capital campaign for the campus student services and academic center, and has advanced the campus through a strong set of relationships with community partners during his tenure.
Rudasics, who has worked for the college since 2006, will also continue in his role as the manager of the Yampa Valley Entrepreneurship Center, housed at CMC. The entrepreneurship center provides support for startups and small businesses in the community.
The CMC Foundation’s role is to increase the college’s engagement with the community and to raise and manage scholarship, programmatic and capital campaign donations from individuals, foundations and businesses in support of CMC. The foundation also manages the granting of scholarships for students, awarding 449 students $968,000 in scholarship support collegewide for the 2016-17 school year.
“We are delighted that Randy has agreed to take on this very important role to support the college in Steamboat Springs and continue the good work done by Jim,” said Kristin Heath Colon, CEO of the CMC Foundation and vice president for advancement at the college. “Randy brings a terrific depth of leadership experience serving both CMC and the Steamboat community as a whole across many years and service organizations. He joins a strong Routt County presence committed to the college via the CMC Foundation, as Bere Neas is currently chairman of the foundation board, and Bruce Allbright was elected to the foundation board and began service July 1.”
The Neas and Allbright families both played significant roles in the successful completion of the Miracle on the Mountain fundraising campaign, establishing the Neas Family Dining Room and the Allbright Family Auditorium at the Steamboat campus.
On Oct. 2 Colorado Mountain College launches a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary, and the regional development officer will provide leadership in developing events and programming to recognize the college’s history and impact on the Steamboat Springs community. Across the college’s 11 learning locations, since 2006 the CMC Foundation has granted more than $25 million in support to CMC students, programs and campuses. Gifts to the CMC Foundation scholarship endowment exceed $8 million, which will help students prepare for careers for many years to come.
For more information on the CMC Foundation, call 870-4491.