JD Rottweiler, Ph.D.
Cochise College is full of interesting people doing interesting things. Nothing makes me more proud in my role as Cochise College president than seeing their impact on students. So sit back and relax. We’re entering “spring awards and graduation season,” and I don’t want the following news to get lost.
This month, Cochise College became the 138th American Welding Society Accredited Testing Facility (ATF) in the United States and the only one in southern Arizona. The designation is the result of the Welding Department’s completion of a quality assurance manual, set-up of testing laboratory equipment and an inventory system, and an eight-hour site audit. It makes it possible for the college, as a testing center, to test the welds of individuals seeking industry certification, including its own students. Students and completers will have their industry certifications recorded on a national registry searchable by potential employers. The welding program is already strong in Sierra Vista and growing in Douglas; the ATF designation adds credibility and practicality for the profession in our region.
Meanwhile, Cochise College English faculty member Cecilia Lewis took a sabbatical to pursue a doctorate in Mexican-American Studies at the University of Arizona. Lewis researched prominent Mexican-American women in the history of Douglas and created a traveling museum-quality display that acknowledged and celebrated the relevance of female community leaders who had persevered personally, professionally and socially in a sometimes unwelcoming environment. The display generated a groundswell of pride and support among those studied and their families and friends. Lewis intends to complete her dissertation this fall and is considering ways to formalize a Cochise College connection with the University of Arizona Mexican-American Studies program.
Finally, students registered in the grant-funded TRiO Student Support Services program outperformed their Cochise College peers in persistence, graduation and transfer rates in 2014-2015, according to the program’s annual progress report. TRiO is a U.S. Department of Education program that seeks to help low-income, first-generation and disabled students. At Cochise, the 160 students registered in the program participate in intrusive advising, in-depth degree research and career counseling, visits to other institutions, professional tutoring, scholarships and financial literacy workshops, mentoring and community service. The result is a 74 percent persistence rate, as compared to 56 percent collegewide; a 43 percent graduation rate, as compared to 23 percent collegewide; and a 60 percent transfer rate, as compared to 22 percent collegewide. In an industry where completion is everything, student support is a proven method that I’d like to expand.
Faculty and staff enthusiasm drives the college to try new things and seek new opportunities. This is just a snapshot of the efforts that make Cochise College what it is, an institution rooted in the community that is big enough to explore but small enough to care.
J.D. Rottweiler is president of Cochise College. Contact him at jdr@cochise.edu.