Kirkwood welcomes back Kristie Fisher as its next president

CEDAR RAPIDS — Nearly 10 years after leaving her vice presidential post at Kirkwood Community College for a senior role at ACT Inc. — and five years after her first attempt to return as Kirkwood president — Kristie Fisher has landed the premiere post atop Eastern Iowa’s largest community college.

Fisher — who’s spent her last four years leading the 2,442-student Iowa Valley Community College District as its chancellor and president — stepped to a podium on the Kirkwood campus Thursday as both a familiar face and its new president-elect.

“Kristie was actually a finalist when Dr. Sundberg was appointed, but she didn't have any presidential experience at that point in time,” Kirkwood Board of Trustees Chair Jim Mollenhauer told The Gazette after announcing Fisher as the 57-year-old community college’s sixth president. “That was five years ago.”

As head of the Iowa Valley Community College District since 2019, Fisher led both the Marshalltown and Ellsworth community colleges through unprecedented challenges facing all of higher education — including the COVID pandemic.

“She gained a lot of experience there, and we felt that's really what she needed,” Mollenhauer said. “She went out and said, ‘I'm going to get that experience, and hopefully I'll get another chance to become the Kirkwood president.’”

Fisher got that second chance when outgoing President Lori Sundberg — appointed as Kirkwood’s first female president in 2018 — announced in November plans to retire following Kirkwood’s next Higher Learning Commission accreditation visit in October.

National search

The board in January launched a nationwide search for her replacement, generating a pool of 24 applicants that trustees narrowed to five semifinalists.

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The board brought three female finalists to campus in April — including Fisher; Lisa Armour, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs of Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla.; and Lori Suddick, president of College of Lake County, a public community college in Grayslake, Ill.

Mollenhauer said Thursday that Fisher “has proven time and time again that she has a great gift for leadership that some can only dream of having. Considering all this and much more, Dr. Fisher was without a doubt the right choice to take Kirkwood into the future.”

Fisher told The Gazette she received the call offering her the job about a week and a half ago. It was later in the evening.

“So I think we opened a bag of licorice to celebrate,” Fisher said. “Very glamorous.”

Deep Kirkwood roots

Having spent much of her life in the Kirkwood service district, Fisher started her academic endeavors as a Kirkwood student, earning an associate degree before getting a bachelor’s in communications studies from the University of Iowa.

She stayed at the UI to get a master’s of business administration and then jumped to Iowa State University for her doctor of philosophy in higher education.

Like her academic journey, Fisher launched her professional pursuits at Kirkwood — serving as annual giving director from 1995 to 2000. She directed community relations for Cedar Rapids’ College Community School District for four years until returning to Kirkwood in 2004 as director of special projects and assistant to the president.

That job, according to her resume, gave her insight into an experience she’s about to navigate — helping then newly hired Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich “ensure a successful transition of the presidency.”

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“I've actually had the honor of working with three Kirkwood presidents,” Fisher said. “In addition to Lori, I've had the honor of working with Mick Starcevich and Norm Nielsen. And I am humbled to join that history of leadership at this college.”

Between 2006 and 2014, Fisher served as Kirkwood’s vice president of student services focused on enrollment, recruitment, retention, advising and financial aid — all issues that remain paramount for higher education institutions and their ability to succeed in a post-pandemic landscape.

“One of the things that I think not just Kirkwood but all community colleges are going to be facing is the fact that there's so much learning loss from the time of the pandemic,” she said to the question of big issues she’ll have to tackle as Kirkwood president. “I think we're going to see that for the next decade.”

Workforce, education needs

Kirkwood — like Iowa’s other community, public and private colleges and universities — also must be hyper focused on Iowa’s workforce needs to keep students enrolling and succeeding post-graduation, Fisher said.

“There are so many workforce needs,” she said, stressing the importance of making sure those needs match with student training.

All of Iowa’s community colleges have lost students in recent years.

While seven of the state’s community colleges saw slight enrollment upticks in the fall, Kirkwood was among eight that saw a dip — although it remains the state’s second largest behind Des Moines Area Community College.

Enrollment management, while challenging, also can present opportunities in the form of first-generation and non-traditional students, Fisher told The Gazette.

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“I'd really like to be able to make sure that we're maximizing everything that we can do to support the immigrant communities and any underrepresented community,” she said.

Although Sundberg is leaving Kirkwood in a position of financial strength, Fisher said, smart budgeting is imperative.

All of Iowa’s community colleges increased tuition for the current year — although Kirkwood reported the sharpest hike at 7.5 percent, or $14 per in-state credit hour.

A 2022 financial audit praised Kirkwood management for its fiscal responsibility, but Sundberg recently made several significant cuts, including closing Kirkwood’s 32-year-old Iowa City campus and laying off 28 employees.

Fisher didn’t second-guess those decisions and said her role is forward-looking.

“I know that they went through a very thorough process to study it and make the right decision,” she said. “So, for me, I think now we just look forward and say, ‘How do we make sure that we're doing everything to serve all the communities, but in particular … is there anything in Iowa City that we need to pay particular attention to?”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com