With the selection of Dr. Kevin Horan as the ninth president of Crafton Hills College, the College has turned its attention to the open vice president of instruction position. The selection committee has narrowed the pool to two candidates who held open forums on Monday, November 26. Dr. Keith Wurtz and Dr. Beth Ann Krueger.
Dr. Keith Wurtz is the interim vice president of instruction at Crafton Hills College. He has been at Crafton since 2010 and has served as the dean of research, planning, and institutional effectiveness, and the director of institutional research and planning. He has led efforts in outcomes assessment, program review, the promotion of shared governance, evidence-based decision making, supplemental instruction, guided pathways, alternative learning strategies, and accelerated learning. In the seven months that he has been interim vice president, he has helped to increase efficiency by 4% and enrollments by 5%. Also, Wurtz has worked to reinvigorate the dual enrollment program, facilitated the writing of 21 enhanced non-credit courses, and provided embedded tutoring in accelerated math and English courses.
Wurtz began his career in higher education as a community college instructor at Chaffey College in 1996. He has taught in higher education at either community or four-year colleges for eight years. Specifically, he has taught marriage and family counseling, sociology, and statistics for eight years in the community college system and research methods and sociology for two years at the University of La Verne.
Wurtz completed his doctorate in psychology in 2014 at Walden University, his master’s degree in sociology in 1996 from CSU, Fullerton, and his bachelor’s degree in behavioral science in 1990 from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Honors include the 2015 ACCJC site visit commendation at Crafton Hills College for an innovative and thorough approach to data collection and dissemination, the 2014 RP Group Excellence in College Research award, and the 2012 RP Group Excellence in Planning award.
Dr. Beth Ann Krueger has been serving as the dean of mathematics and science at Cochise College in Arizona since 2014. She has led efforts to increase undergraduate research opportunities, implement guided math pathways, and provide in-house faculty professional development opportunities, including facilitation of four learner-centered teaching workshops and a three-day Faculty Professional Development conference. At the state level, she chairs the Biology Articulation Task Force (since 2013) and in April she co-hosted the 2018 Arizona Assessment Conference with a colleague at Eastern Arizona College. She also formed the Rural Arizona Community College Partnership, an initiative that provides rural colleges with a platform for sharing instructional resources.
Krueger enjoys creating partnerships that serve students and the community. At Cochise, she established a partnership with Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies (Sonora, Mexico). This resulted in a field research course and expanded the undergraduate research initiative. As Chief Academic Officer/Dean of Academic Affairs at Miles Community College, she instituted a new heavy equipment operators program in 9 months in conjunction with an Advisory Board of community business partners.
In addition, Krueger has served as a full-time faculty member (for over 12 years), a junior high and high school teacher, and a director of distance education. She started teaching online in 1997 and is an advocate for student-centered teaching across all instructional modalities.
Krueger has received two NISOD teaching awards, a student-selected teaching award, and awards for leadership including Exemplary Woman Leader (Pinal County, Arizona) and Outings Leader Award (Sierra Club). She holds a current certification as a Wilderness First Responder (National Outdoor Leadership School).
The goal is to have the selection of the VPI on the December 13 Board of Trustees agenda with a January 2019 start date.
As one of the 115 colleges in the California community college system, Crafton Hills College is committed to providing citizens in the region with an accessible higher education. The philosophy of California's community colleges is that education is the key to better jobs, a better economy, and a better quality of life. CHC offers over 50 degree programs and 25 career certificate plans.