Students at Spokane Community College will be greeted by a new face when they start classes on Sept. 20.
This summer, Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) Chancellor Christine Johnson appointed Kevin Brockbank, Ed.D. to serve as Spokane Community College’s acting president for this academic year. Brockbank joined Community Colleges of Spokane in 2015 as vice provost of strategic initiatives in the district office.
“Kevin Brockbank built strong partnerships and demonstrated innovative leadership in his role as our vice provost,” Johnson said. “I have great confidence he will encourage excellence and a continued commitment to providing outstanding education to all of our students at SCC.”
Brockbank said he plans to greet students during the first few days of classes at the SCC Welcome Stations.
“Our focus this year at SCC is going to be enhancing our student success efforts,” Brockbank said. “We want to make sure we are doing all we can to provide students with the necessary supports to reach their academic goals in a welcoming and helpful environment.”
In his vice provost role, Brockbank successfully led major projects and initiatives including developing a new partnership with the Spokane business community to educate adult learners in the workforce, expanding the global education program, organizing significant international delegation visits and traveling to India to build new partnerships.
Prior to joining CCS, Brockbank worked as dean of the School of Applied Technologies and Professional Development at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. The school consists of three divisions serving about 10,000 students annually.
He also worked in leadership roles at Missoula College, a two-year college with the University of Montana, and at Helena College with the University of Montana.
This summer he completed his doctorate in educational leadership through the University of Montana, where he also earned his master’s degree in education-curriculum studies and his bachelor’s degree in business and information technology education.
Brockbank will serve as acting president for a year while a nationwide search is conducted. He replaces former SCC President Ryan Carstens who has taken a position with the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.
SCC is one of the largest community colleges in the state and serves more than 20,000 students every year. SCC has provided college transfer, career-technical and adult basic educational opportunities to hundreds of thousands of students in Eastern Washington since 1963. The main campus is located in Spokane, but there are centers in Colville, Newport, Republic, Ione and Inchelium.