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Local Education
Rodin currently serves as vice provost for university outreach at the University of Connecticut. She said she was looking forward to finding new ways for the college to become more involved with the community. "It seems like the community is bursting at the seams, in a sense," Rodin said. "It seems like this is just ripe for higher (education) to come in and play a role." Rodin starts in January 2007. One of the major challenges she will deal with in this role is taking NAU-Yuma into its role as a full-branch campus, which the Arizona Board of Regents designated it in September. Roberta Kelly, interim executive director of NAU-Yuma, said the growth into a branch campus will give NAU-Yuma more flexibility. Rodin will assume Kelly's position in January. Kelly will return to her former job as associate director of the campus. The designation as a regional branch campus allows NAU to potentially develop new programs and courses at its AWC site. Prior to this, NAU-Yuma was operating as an academic center and was only able to offer programs that were taught on the main campus in Flagstaff. With its new status, the campus can create programs that are unique and targeted to the community and the 700 students enrolled at NAU-Yuma. "We'll be trying to really make a true branch campus," Rodin said. "I think there's a great foundation, but there's a lot that we will need to do in collaboration with the other schools in the area, and certainly the K-12 system, to build a better pipe-way. We need more of the students to finish high school, go into AWC and from AWC, go to NAU." NAU-Yuma operates in a "two-plus-two" partnership with Arizona Western College. Students can take their first two years of bachelor's degree classes through AWC and finish their degrees at NAU-Yuma. Haeger said Rodin's experience building programs in Connecticut was one of the major factors in her appointment. "The most important criteria was that she had an extraordinary amount of experience dealing with new programs," Haeger said. "What I would refer to as engagement of an academic institution with an outside community." Rodin has served as vice provost at the University of Connecticut since 2005, according to a statement from NAU. She had previously served there as dean of the college of continuing studies, professor of music and dean of the division of extended and continuing education. Before joining the University of Connecticut, Rodin served as dean of continuing and professional studies at St. Joseph's College in Maine. She has several years experience at the University of Utah in the division of continuing education and in teaching music. Haeger said she will be paid a salary of approximately $145,000 a year in her position at NAU-Yuma. Sarah Reynolds can be reached at sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.  |
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