NVC vice president wants increase in graduation rates

Expanding online offerings and improving developmental education and graduation rates are the priorities of Dr. Jimmie Bruce, vice president of academics at Northwest Vista College, who is seeking the position of vice chancellor for academic success.

“Those are the things that we really need to focus on — to make sure that we get as many students a degree as possible,” Bruce said Friday.

He was the second of two finalists to be introduced at receptions in Killen Center.

The hallway where the reception for Bruce was held on Friday was double-booked and showcased eight caterers as well as the candidate reception. In total, about 50 people attended the events.

Gary O’Bar, district director for purchasing, said 13 contracts were awarded to caterers, and an invitation to sample foods was sent to departments across the colleges that usually order catering services.

The position for the vice chancellor for academic success opened Nov. 18 because Dr. Robert Aguero, former vice chancellor of academic success, retired in December.

The position closed July 16, and Jo-Carol Fabianke, associate vice chancellor for academic success, is serving as interim vice chancellor for academic success.

Dr. Thomas Cleary, vice chancellor of planning, performance and information systems, chaired the 12-member search committee, which interviewed six applicants from the 61 applications received.

Bruce received a doctorate in educational leadership from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

For 10 years he has served at Northwest Vista in two positions. In 2002, he held the position of dean of student success before landing his current position of vice president of academics in 2006. He spent 13 years at Elizabethtown Community College in Kentucky in various positions including director of academic support services, speech professor and speech division chair.

Bruce said he is interested in the position because it allows him to work in academics with all five colleges in the district.

He said since he has been with the district for 10 years, he has worked on initiatives to help bring the colleges together to better serve students.

“I think by not only my experience at Northwest Vista, but working collaboratively with the other vice presidents at the colleges over the years really, I think, positions me well to move into this role to kind of help us move the district forward,” Bruce said.

He said he would like to see more students receive associate degrees. He said he believes the district can achieve that goal if they can work together and develop good systems from when students enroll until they complete.

“My vision would be, I want to see more students graduate. We have a lot of students here. I want to see them get their degree because that’s going to help our city, that’s going to help everybody,” Bruce said.

There is not a scheduled deadline for when the position must be filled.

The committee will submit a recommendation to Chancellor Bruce Leslie.

Leslie will submit his recommendation to the Alamo Colleges board of trustees for approval.