Contra Costa College (CCC) is excited to welcome Dr. Kimberly Rogers as the new Vice President of Instruction (VPI).
Dr. Rogers received her Ph.D. in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University and earned her master’s degree in education from Harvard University. Formerly the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Roxbury Community College (RCC) in Massachusetts, Dr. Rogers was inspired to come out to California.
“One reason I wanted to come to California is I have a lot of admiration for their model-setting community college initiatives and seamless transitions from community colleges to four-year institutions,” Dr. Rogers shared. “The California legislature is committed to higher education in unique ways and to helping students who are low-income and of color. I saw the student population at CCC and knew that this is where I wanted to be.”
Moving from the East Coast to the Bay Area has given Dr. Rogers more focus and energy as she approaches the opportunities and challenges of her position at CCC. Dr. Rogers’ extensive experience as an administrator and full-time faculty will help her meet the challenges of building successful relationships with faculty and staff.
In the past two months, Dr. Rogers has been collecting feedback and working with affinity groups to make sure faculty and staff feel represented and heard.
“At Contra Costa College, the different constituency groups are well represented, and there is strong participatory governance,” said Dr. Rogers. “I’m working on a plan for each group with Interim President Dr. Bell. Faculty and staff have an advocate in me.”
One of Dr. Rogers’ goals is to get instruction to work more closely with student services. “There is a symbiotic relationship between the two,” Dr. Rogers explained. “I’d like to reboot the first-year experience and look into more open educational resources.”
In her free time, Dr. Rogers enjoys playing the violin, archery, swimming, sampling different cuisines, and spending time with her beloved dog.
Most notably, Dr. Rogers is looking forward to working with faculty, staff, and students in-person again. “I miss seeing students! Students are why I do this work,” Dr. Rogers shared. “I’m excited to go to student events and performances. It’s important that we are visible to students and develop relationships with them. That way, they can see themselves in our positions one day.”