Published May 22, 2024
Dr. Jane Holwerda, Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), is retiring from Dodge City Community College after 21 years. Her last day on campus will be May 22. [Photo by Lance Ziesch]
After 21 years, at the end of the spring 2024 semester, Dr. Jane Holwerda, Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), will retire from Dodge City Community College (DC3).
Since 2003, Holwerda has served variously as English faculty, Humanities Division Chair, Dean of Instruction, and currently the VPAA.
“It’s truly been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life to work with President Nolte and executive leaders Jeff Cermin, Clayton Tatro, and Jay Kinzer, and our Board of Trustees,” she said.
DC3 President, Dr. Harold Nolte, said he will definitely miss Holwerda, and he acknowledges she will be a “tough act to follow.”
“Jane Holwerda will be greatly missed on this campus,” Nolte said. “She has long been a fierce advocate for our faculty members and, more importantly, for our students. However, we are excited for her next chapter, and we wish her the best. Thank you, Jane, for the many wonderful things you have done for Dodge City Community College.”
Of her varied responsibilities as VPAA, Holwerda said she is most proud of the faculty’s growing participation in the life and processes of the college—through standing committees and subcommittees—and their initiation and mentoring of student clubs.
“I’m also proud of the leadership of division chairs, all faculty, and of the staff of the Office of Academic Advising: Charlene Figger, Coordinator of Academic Affairs, and Amanda Hoskinson, Executive Assistant for the VPAA; Holly Mercer, Library Director, and Jorge Estrella, Director of the SARC [Student Achievement & Resources Center],” she said. “Every day these people demonstrate their commitment to the mission of the college, to students, and to teaching and learning. It’s inspiring and empowering to work alongside them.”
Sherry Curtis Rogers, DC3 Professor of Physical Science, said it has been a “blessing to work with and for” Holwerda for the past 21 years.
“I was an adjunct [professor] when she was hired,” Rogers said. “I taught a couple of sections of developmental English Composition, so I had the privilege of working with her when she first got here. When I came back in 2014, she was the Humanities Division Chair, then Dean, and then Vice President of Academic Affairs.”
Rogers said that she will miss Holwerda’s “leadership, support, and commitment to academic rigor and integrity.” In addition, she will miss their impromptu visits.
“I always appreciated her perspective and sense of humor,” Rogers said. “She did an amazing job of ‘herding cats.’ Administration is not an easy job. There were a lot of different faculty personalities to manage, and she did a good job!”
Dylan Faullin, DC3 Professor of Math, said he also will miss Holwerda’s trademark sense of humor, which he describes as “a unique blend of subtle and wry” that always makes him smile or laugh.
“I gave Dr. Holwerda a rap album that I liked and asked her to listen to it,” Faullin said. “We were both faculty at the time. She gave it a listen and, upon returning it to me, provided me with feedback as only a seasoned English professor can. Putting a positive spin on negative criticism, and I’m paraphrasing, she said, ‘It was … good, but a bit too lyrical for me. I enjoy music with more … music and not so many words.’
“She later became my supervisor,” he said. “If I had known there was a chance of that happening, I never would have given her that album to listen to. (Apologies to Dr. Holwerda for the dangling participle in the previous sentence.) Thankfully, the topic of my questionable taste in music was never brought up in my performance reviews.”
Holwerda, a native of Lindsborg, Kan., holds a 1983 Bachelor of Arts in English from Marymount College of Kansas, a 1986 Master of Arts in English, with high honors, and a 1998 doctorate in American Studies with distinction, both from Saint Louis University. She also earned a 2019 graduate certificate with high honors, in Composition Studies, from Indiana-East University.
In the years prior to her employment at DC3, Holwerda’s teaching appointments included Lindenwood College, Saint Louis University, where she advised undergraduates across five colleges for 15 years, and Michigan State University.
Holwerda also taught outreach for Friends University, for the EDUKAN consortium, and was contracted as a reader of advanced placement (AP) exams with Educational Testing Service (ETS). She also has served as a book discussion leader for Humanities Kansas, the American Library Association, and High Plains Public Radio.
In addition, Holwerda has served in leadership roles for a wide range of national and state educational and arts/humanities organizations, including Boulevard literary magazine, Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, and the Kansas Board of Regents. And her award-winning stories, creative nonfiction, and poetry have been published in regional and national venues.
“I honestly am not sure what comes next for me, but I am looking forward to doors opening to new paths in the future,” Holwerda said. “To choose to walk through that door hasn’t been easy. After all, DC3 has great leadership, strong faculty, excellent staff, and provides so many opportunities to so many. I know I’ve served well as an executive leader through some extraordinarily tough times. And I’m proud to be a part of Conq Nation and its history.”
Editor’s Note: The college honored Holwerda with a come-and-go retirement reception on May 15 in the Student Union Board Room. Her last official day on campus will be May 22.
By Lance ZieschDC3 Assistant Director of Marketing and Community Relations