Busy Spring at LCC

Dr. Linda Lujan, LCC President

Dr. Linda Lujan, Lamar Community College President, will celebrate her eight month anniversary at the college on April 1^st.  She presented an overview of activities at the college during the Lamar City Council’s meeting on March 27^th.

Lujan noted that April will be one of the busiest months for LCC, as well as other colleges across the country. “We’re in the middle of helping our students reach the finish line for graduation,” she explained.  The 78^th commencement activities at the college will be held with Antelope Night on May 5^th and graduation will follow on May 6^th.  Other April events will include a gathering of 800 FFA students on campus for a career day event and Colorado Governor Hickenlooper will conduct a town hall meeting at the LCC Wellness Center between 6pm and 7:30pm on April 19^th.

The college president noted that the listening tour she conducted at the start of her administration at LCC was very helpful, “I discovered one of the major keys for success at the school and that was the community partnerships LCC enjoyed throughout our area of service.” She said the new dormitory, Prowers House, was a result of those partnerships.  “We’re continuing those relationships, using a $100,000, ‘Make Space’ grant from the community college system to open an area of the college which includes equipment purchases and the hiring of a manager to guide the project,” she explained.  Lujan noted the alliance with KVAY Radio in Lamar and CSU Extension with re-instituting the Ag Exposition held at the school which featured a look at the future of agriculture and ranching with the use of unmanned drones. “It was unique to hear so many informed and specific questions from the local agriculture community,” she told the Council.

The college will bring back the construction trades program in the fall, a result of the listening tour Lujan held last year. She added that the partnership program with PEP and other local organizations will allow students to reach out into the community for a hands-on learning experience which will benefit the curriculum.  A speaker’s bureau is also under development at LCC.  Looking towards the future, Dr. Lujan said LCC will observe its 80^th anniversary during the 2018/2019 academic year and the college is beginning to plan for that special occasion.

By Russ Baldwin