Now Associate Dean at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois.  Holds a Master of Arts focused in Political Science from Loyola University of Chicago, and a M.A. in History and PhD in Political Philosophy from Ural Federal University of Russia

Dr. Irina Del Genio will be interviewed for the position of Verde Valley Dean on October 25, 2022 at 8:30 on Tuesday, October 25.  The interview will be held in building “M”  on the Verde Campus.  Her resume, as posted by the Community College, appears below.

Second year in a row for award

Yavapai Community College was awarded the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. This was the second year in a row that the College has received this award.

In a September 27 press release, the College said that “the award represents a significant achievement, reflecting the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive the budget award, YC had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as:

• A policy document
• A financial plan
• An operations guide
• A communications device

Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.”

There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website, https://www.gfoa.org/. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Government Finance Officers Association advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.

Source:  Yavapai Community College press release of September 27, 2022. https://www.yc.edu/v6/news/2022/09/bap.html

If trial program is successful, University will compete with community colleges in this area

The Arizona Republic newspaper, in a story by Alison Steinbach, reported that Arizona State University (ASU)  is exploring the possibility of offering two-year degrees.  According to the story, ASU  is expected to launch a new two-year Associate of Arts in professional studies degree, starting as part of a targeted trial program next year, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents.

Traditionally, associate degrees have been the purview of community colleges and technical schools. However,  some four-year universities have recently begun to explore this area of education.  ASU’s decision comes after Arizona’s community colleges got state approval last year to begin offering four-year degrees, which the universities opposed.

Source. Arizona Republic newspaper story by Alison Steinbach of September 17, 2022. The full story may be accessed on line by clicking here. 

Job opening posted in Chronicle of Higher Education was dated August 10, 2022 with closing date of August 21, 2022

The Blog notes that the national search for the new Verde Campus Dean, according to the Community College’s posting in the Chronicle of Higher Education, ran for only 11 days.  To some, this seems an unusually short period of time to conduct a national search for such an important position.

The Blog also notes that Dr. Karen Reed from Shaker Heights, Ohio was selected as the Interim Dean of the Verde Valley for Yavapai Community College to begin work  April 11, 2022.  The College anticipated, according to its press release in April, that Dr. Reed would  serve in the role until October. A national search for the permanent dean was to be conducted.

The Blog further notes that a national search for an Associate Dean for the Verde Valley Campus back in 2016 began on October 14, 2016, and closed May 16, 2017—a period of seven months.

Caller reported a man, 20-to-30 years old, wearing dark clothing and a tan hat waiving something at passing cars and heard shots fired after that

Yavapai Community College briefly went into lockdown Sunday afternoon after a report of shots fired near the campus in Prescott. The Prescott Police Department reported  receiving a call at around 2:30 p.m. that gun shots were heard in the 800 block of East Gurley Street, near the intersection of Gurley and Arizona streets. The Police Department says that a caller reported a man waiving something at passing cars and heard shots fired after that.

Yavapai College went into lockdown because of the incident at 3:56 p.m. and the lockdown was lifted at 5:20 p.m. There were no reports of injuries, or property damage  as a result of the incident. If anyone has seen someone matching the suspect’s description, they are asked to  to call 9-1-1, or (928) 445-3131.

Authorities are looking for a man, 20-to-30 years old, wearing dark clothing and a tan hat.

Says that working relationship over the years has been strong; no adverse findings for 2021; adverse policy finding made in 2020 was corrected

The Arizona Auditor General’s office reported on the 2021 audit it conducted of Yavapai Community College at the Governing Board meeting April 12.  The Auditor gave the Community College high marks for the excellent cooperation of its staff in helping with the report.  Moreover, it found no irregularities in its audit of 2021.

There was one adverse finding in the 2020 report concerning  the College’s procurement policies.  The College corrected its policy and the Auditor General at this meeting agreed with the correction.

Overall, the Auditor General’s office praised the Community College for its cooperation in the audit process during the past several years.  It was a totally clean audit.

You may view an edited video clip of the report being made to the Governing Board by clicking here.  The full report on video will be available after the Governing Board approves the April minutes in May.

Duties include part-time at Verde/Sedona facilities while overseeing College-wide departments of English, Humanities and Social Sciences

Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Diane Ryan announced to the District Governing Board at its April 12 meeting the appointment of Dr. Karen Reed as interim Dean for the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center effective April 11.  Dr. Reed reports directly to Vice President Ryan in the Community College’s chain of command.

Dr. Reed will spend a portion of her time at the east side facilities as Dean (Verde/Sedona) while also having responsibility community-college wide of the departments of English, Humanities & Social Sciences. This is the same heavy workload that critics claim diffuses focus on the educational needs of east side residents. Dr. Reed’s assignment is identical to that of Dr. Tina Redd, who resigned earlier this year. The duties assigned by the College that took her away from the Verde Valley each week may well have been a factor in Dr. Redd’s decision to leave.

The Community College describes Dr. Reed as a “retired community college professional who served in a variety of roles in her 31-year career in higher education. She was a business faculty member, division head, dean, and Vice President of Academic & Student Services.”

She has listed herself as an “educational consultant” on Linkin.com.  Her most recent position appears to be that of Vice President of Academic and Student Services at North Central State College, Mansfield, Ohio. That community college served about 4,400 students as of October 2018.

You may view a clip of the introduction of Dr. Reed to the Governing Board below.

Sources:  April 12, 2022, Governing Board announcement; Linkin.com.; Yavapai Community College news release of April 8, 2022.

Dr. Reed’s personal resume of a year or two ago appears below.