Colorado Mountain College has named Rachel Pokrandt and Linda Crockett as campus deans in, respectively, Rifle and Aspen.
The new deans were selected through an internal search process, in which employees could apply to fill positions that were created following the retirement of two long-time campus vice presidents, Nancy Genova and Joe Maestas.
The campus deans will be the face of the college in the communities they serve, leading their campuses and centers on a day-to-day basis. They will report to a regional vice president, who is currently being recruited through a national search.
In addition, an expanded search will soon be conducted for the dean of the Roaring Fork Campus, a multi-site campus with community locations in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs and a residential campus at Spring Valley near Glenwood Springs. The interim dean of that campus is Daryl Yarrow, who is also the college’s associate vice president of online learning.
Crockett to serve Aspen campus, community
Crockett first joined Colorado Mountain College in 2006 after a long and accomplished career as the national education director of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors. At CMC she has been an editor in the public information office, and has also taught as an adjunct instructor at several campuses.
For the past six years she has served as an instructional chair at the Roaring Fork Campus, where she coordinated courses in science, mathematics, outdoor education, and health and fitness. She holds a Master of Science in physical education/integrative physiology from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Fort Lewis College. She is a doctoral candidate in psychology at Grand Canyon University.
“Linda is a scientist and very accomplished outdoor enthusiast, and she is as comfortable on top of a 14er as she is in a biology lab,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the college. “A calm, compassionate leader, she will be a great asset to both the campus and the community.”
Pokrandt serves CMC campus in Rifle
Pokrandt has worked at three Colorado Mountain College locations: Breckenridge, Edwards and Rifle, most recently as the instructional chair and later interim campus dean in Rifle. She teaches in the college’s business and sustainability programs, and is an expert in helping industry advance and adopt sustainability concepts. Pokrandt also served as the dean of instruction at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, was an executive at a nonprofit research organization working to promote green chemistry in education and industry, and with her husband owned several newspapers. She has also taught at Cambridge College in Massachusetts and the Colorado School of Mines.
“Rachel’s experience at several CMC campuses, and at different colleges, gives her a great perspective on teaching and learning,” said Hauser. “I am pleased that she has accepted this position, and am confident she will make a great leader for our students, employees and community in western Garfield County.”
Pokrandt is in a doctoral (management) program through the University of Maryland, and holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science from Western Governor’s University in Salt Lake City.