| Mesa State
College has just been adopted by the new Mesa State College
Board of Trustees, that is. Appointed by Governor Owens and
confirmed by the Colorado State Senate, these new “parents”
replace the recently dissolved State Colleges Board of Trustees
and now serve as the college’s governing body. As with
all new beginnings, there is a sense of excitement and purpose
and it’s been evident in each of the Board’s four
meetings held during the past three months. With a focus on
education, these new “parents” are learning what Mesa
State is all about and how to work together as a Board. Facing
this steep learning curve has not dampened their passion for
Mesa State College nor their commitment to making the right
choices.
Board of Trustees chairperson Lena Elliott states
“We are committed to making Mesa State the best it can
be. The Board has already developed a lot of passion for this
place and we want to set the course for Mesa that will serve
it well for years to come.” A local resident, Elliott
has been a community and volunteer organizer, activist and
fundraiser for a number of years. For more than four decades
she has been active in public education with the Mesa County
Valley School District, Mesa State College, the State Board
of Community Colleges & Occupational Education and the
Colorado Commission on Higher Education. In addition, Elliott
was a member of Governor Owens’ Blue Ribbon Panel on
Higher Education for the 21st Century and she served as the
vice-chairperson of the Colorado Community College and Occupational
Education System.
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Mesa
State College Board of Trustees
Back row (l to r):
Charlie Monfort, Tom Kaesemeyer, Jim Wexels and Steve Meyer
Center row (l to r):
Carol Nesland and Jamie Hamilton
Front row (l to r):
Lena Elliott and Jane North
Not pictured: Luis
Colón
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| The board’s
vice chairperson, Jim Wexels of Lafayette, also has a
local connection. “I attended Mesa Junior College and I
can tell you that it was an excellent institution then and the
tradition continues on to this day,” he said. Wexels has
worked for Xcel Energy and Public Service Company. Currently,
he is a government affairs consultant to the Ackerman Information
Corporation, president of the Colorado Association of Commerce
and Industry and chairperson of the Infrastructure and Transportation
Council. Wexels says he is ready to take on the college’s
challenges and knows that his fellow board members feel the
same. “As a board, we’re public servants who are on
a mission to work with the college’s staff to ensure that
students continue to get a quality education from an excellent
institution.”
This sentiment is shared by assistant secretary to the Board
Carol Nesland, who believes that “the College
will have an increasingly prominent place in Colorado higher
education.” While the future remains to be seen, this
is certainly a positive prediction from a woman who is used
to planning for the future. Currently, Nesland is a certified
financial planner and has been active in various community
organizations and is a founding member of the Cherry Creek
Schools Foundation. Citing her passion for education as her
reason for wanting to serve on the Mesa State Board, Nesland
said “this is a very hands-on board and we will be actively
involved in setting the College’s role and mission, as
well as hiring a new president. While this may take some time,
we want to ensure that we hire someone capable of leading
this college forward and to provide that person with a solid
foundation on which he or shecan build.”
Building is also on the mind of Steve Meyer, assistant
treasurer to the Board and the president of Shaw Construction.
However, the type of building Meyer has in mind has less to
do with two by fours than it does with the community/college
relationship. A third generation Coloradoan and current Grand
Junction resident, Meyer said that being a local gives him
a unique perspective as a Board member. “The community
has always been very supportive of Mesa State. “As the
college continues to grow, it will have a chance to provide
additional diverse learning opportunities.” Meyer, who
earned a civil engineering degree from Stanford University,
is also a member of the Colorado Forum and on the board of
directors of the Grand Junction Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Charlie Monfort of Greeley is also a strong supporter
of community involvement and wants to encourage local input.
“People should feel that they have access to the board
and that they can certainly bring matters to the board’s
attention.” Monfort credits com-munication with being
essential to success and he should know. He is a founding
owner and chairman and CEO of the Colorado Rockies Baseball
Club. He also has served for nearly ten years as president
of Monfort International Sales, which later became a division
of ConAgra. At a recent board meeting, he said that “the
public is encouraged to call, write, email or come to a board
meeting and talk to us in person.”
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Student & Faculty Trustees
Garrett Branson, Student Trustee
A senior from
Arvada, Garrett Branson knows what it is like to shoulder
the expectations of others. Elected to a one-year term by
his fellow students, Branson is the first student trustee
to serve on the new Mesa State College Board of Trustees.
“As a board, we are in the process of establishing ourselves
as a capable group and setting a precedent for Mesa State’s
future,” he said.
Branson, a recipient of the prestigious four-year Monument
academic scholarship, is also working toward a degree in business
administration and serves on the Student Activities Council.
He has also served as a resident assistant for Pinon Hall,
was a disc jockey for the student radio station, KMSA 93.1
FM, and is now responsible for KMSA’s roving DJ service.
Gayla Jo Slauson, Faculty Trustee
A veteran in the ranks, Slauson
is a business information systems professor and served as
a faculty representative under the previous governing board.
“As a regional higher education provider assigned much
of the western slope as its designated region, this college
has tremendous opportunities ahead and will shape the future
of this area,” she said.
Slauson, a Mesa State alumna who went on to earn a master’s
degree in business administration from the University of Southern
Colorado, has taught at Mesa State since 1990. During that
time, she has been a member of the faculty senate, serving
two years as vice president, chairs the “role and mission”
subcommittee of the College’s accreditation self-study
and serves on the Academic Master Plan Oversight Committee.
She received the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce outstanding
teacher award in 1993 and was presented with the Mesa State
Outstanding Faculty Service Award in 2001.
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Having served on both the old State Colleges Board and the
new Mesa State College Board, Jamie Hamilton can verify
that this new board is committed to the success of this college.
“We can do what’s best for this institution and,
unlike the past State Colleges Board, we don’t have to
spread our time and resources over several colleges,”
he said. “It’s like being able to focus on just
one child and then spoiling that child in the nicest way.”
Hamilton is a Mesa State alumnus and chairman and CEO of Home
Loan Investment Company. He is also a member of several non-profit
boards including the Junior College World Series and previously
served as president of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Streamlining the college’s finances is a goal of trustee
Tom Kaesemeyer of Denver, who would like to see Mesa
State court private donors. “Mesa State will probably
always be more reliant on state funds than other colleges,
he said. “Based on the relevant health of the Grand Junction
area and the strong town and gown relationship, I think there
is good potential for additional private funds.” In addition
to serving on the Mesa State College Board of Trustees, Kaesemeyer
is the executive director of the Gates Family Foundation and
a member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. there is
good potential for additional private funds.” In addition
to serving on the Mesa State College Board of Trustees, Kaesemeyer
is the executive director of the Gates Family
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Foundation and a member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
While he may live on the Front Range, he said that the Grand
Junction area has a lot to offer and “from what I have
learned in the past few months, Mesa State is one of the state’s
best kept secrets and it will be our intent to get the word
out.”
Joining this group of committed trustees is Luis Colón
of Centennial Colorado. As the Manager of the Department of
General Services for the City and County of Denver, he, too,
brings a wealth of practical experience to the Board. He is
also on the board of directors for the Denver Hispanic Chamber
and the advisory board for the Bard Center for Entrepreneurship
at the University of Colorado at Denver. He earned a MBA from
the University of Michigan and a degree in engineering from
the Georgia Institute of Technology. Luis feels “The
educational environment that Mesa State offers is such that
students are able to gain the most value as compared to other
larger schools. Its location just accentuates the belief that
combining good education with a good quality of life will
result in a great experience and future for the students”.
In all, this new Board consists of the aforementioned nine
voting members, plus two non-voting members, a faculty trustee
and a student trustee. These two non-voting members are elected
by the College faculty and student body to serve two- and
one-year terms, respectively. According to Elliott “having
the student and faculty Trustees on board really has been
great. They provide valuable information on every issue and
care very much about the future of Mesa State.”
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