By J.D. Rottweiler, Ph.D.
It is a great honor to participate in an organization that has been a leader in redefining access to education since its inception in 1964. A commitment to collaboration, innovation and community engagement has marked our legacy. Our dedication to forming partnerships that enhance the communities we serve is showcased in the most recent developments at the college. Finding solutions to the challenges of today requires a collective effort, and partnerships are the driving force behind these initiatives.
Over the past 10 years, we’ve been diligently working on initiatives to bring cutting-edge training opportunities to Cochise County. Some of these include our investments in the Downtown Center, including Nursing, Allied Health, Cyber Security, and Virtual/Mixed Reality. Now an initiative that we have been working on for quite some time is coming to fruition. It’s been years in the making, but our first responders will have access to state-of-the-art training right here in rural southeast Arizona and will no longer need to travel far and wide in search of that training.
Our First Responders Academy is an example of collaboration in action, with an approach of partnerships and relationships. The Southeast Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy is one such example, a partnership between Cochise College and county law enforcement agencies, particularly the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and Sierra Vista Police Department. We wanted to take these relationships and do even more! We began by unveiling a 4.8-acre driving track and introduced ambulance simulation with mixed reality technology in partnership with SimLeader. We also broke ground on multi-million-dollar facilities, a Firearms Training Complex and the Bugen Hall student housing on the Sierra Vista Campus. These milestones are a testament to our commitment to addressing the specific needs in our community.
Another notable achievement within this initiative is an expedited fire science certification program. In partnership with the City of Sierra Vista, together, we are providing fire recruits with intensive training, enabling them to complete state fire service exams, attain firefighter I and II certifications, and become proficient in HazMat in just two months. This effort addresses the urgent need for skilled first responders in our community, and I am happy to share that Sierra Vista Fire & Medical Services has enrolled eight cadets in this program, with a goal of having them in the workforce by February 2024.
This hyper-local approach ensures that first responders are academically proficient and well-equipped to excel in the workforce. Through partnerships and relationships, we can collaborate with local employers, healthcare and emergency services to develop programs that align with the community’s immediate needs.
As I take a moment to reflect, I’m genuinely amazed by the remarkable growth and impact that Cochise College has achieved through its partnerships and relationships. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the dedication of our locally elected governing board and our outstanding faculty and staff, who have supported our students and the college’s mission.
I am excited about Cochise College’s future and where we are heading as we work to fulfill the college vision of becoming “… a leading and responsive college that transforms and empowers our community by fostering collaborative relationships and providing innovative educational pathways.”
J.D. ROTTWEILER, Ph.D., is president of Cochise College. Contact him at jdr@cochise.edu.