Dr. Theresa Felder, vice president of student affairs and Greene Center operations for Clark State Community College has been promoted to senior vice president for student success. Effective May 25, Felder will have responsibility for guiding the newly revised strategic plan in addition to leading and managing all of operations for student affairs.
“Dr. Felder exemplifies the values of Clark State Community College,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “She works tirelessly to ensure that our students are successful. Dr. Felder’s impact on students can be seen throughout the campus. She has developed a new advising model, implemented more accurate and student-friendly placement testing modules, reorganized student affairs to increase services to students and increased the amount of scholarships awarded to students.”
Felder will be based out of the Clark State campus in Springfield but will continue to oversee student services at all Clark State campuses. In addition, she will have responsibility for guiding the newly revised strategic plan and guide institutional research and planning.
“I am looking forward to continuing the improvements we have already made in retention and completion,” said Felder. “While we are trending positively in the right direction, the goal is continuous improvement in all aspects of student success. My hope is to make student success engrained in every aspect of the college and every employee understands their role and their contribution.”
Felder has served Clark State since 2004 in the roles of project coordinator for the Workforce Investment Act youth program, retention specialist for the CareerPlus program, GEAR UP director, academic affairs coordinator for the Greene Center and dean of the Greene Center.
Felder said her new position will focus on all aspects of student success – from the time a student shows interest in Clark State through completion of the student’s credential.
“Our enrollment management plan and the college’s strategic plan include initiatives that address the complete life cycle of our students,” she said. “We will focus on quality implementation of all our initiatives and make use of data to measure our success and to make adjustments to our strategies as needed.”
Felder said she is looking forward to supporting Dr. Blondin and the work she does in advancing the mission and vision of Clark State. “I appreciate her focus on student success and the opportunity she has given me to lead this critical area of the college.”
Blondin said Felder is a visionary and thoughtful leader, and she looks forward to working more closely with her on executing Clark State’s strategic plan, leading the campus in our reaccreditation efforts with the Higher Learning Commission and providing students with improved resources for internships and career placement.