Dr. Matt Franz has been appointed senior vice president for technology, safety, and strategic initiatives at Clark State Community College. Franz began his tenure with Clark State in July of 2013. He has served Clark State as director of information technology, chief information officer, vice president of information technology and vice president of information technology and emergency management.
“Dr. Franz is a nationally-recognized leader who is dedicated to ensuring the highest level of technology and security on campus and will now add strategic planning to his portfolio,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “He has a proven track record of focusing all of his actions on student success, and our employees and students have benefited from his dedication.”
Franz said the new position aligns well with his professional and academic experience, and he hopes to leverage those two sets of experiences to help facilitate a culture of success and innovation within the areas he supervises.
“I plan on continuing to learn, grow and help support Clark State in every way I can,” he said. “I’ve always loved organizational structures, governance and strategic analysis. I believe these strengths will help me be successful in supporting innovation in IT, growth in safety and security and finally working to ensure the strategic plan continues to be a foundational component of the work we do at Clark State.”
Franz was recently named the 2020 Safety Leader of the Year by the Clark County Safety Council Steering Committee and appointed to the American Association of Community College’s (AACC) Commission on Institutional Infrastructure and Transformation this past summer.
Franz boasts an impressive resume of career accomplishments including the comSpark Tech Power Player Award in 2019, in 2017 he was accepted into the competitive-entry Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) and in 2015 Franz was nominated for the IT Executive of the Year Leadership Award from Technology First.
In his new role as senior vice president for technology, safety, and strategic initiatives, Franz said he plans to continue to learn from colleagues and mentors and adapt and grow to meet the needs of Clark State students.
“At one point in my life, I was certain I never wanted to work in education,” he said. “Now, I cannot see myself doing anything else!”