Kirkwood inaugurates 6th president in Kristie Fisher

CEDAR RAPIDS — For just the sixth time in Kirkwood Community College history, the 58-year-old campus Wednesday inaugurated a new president — and Kristie Fisher, who started her tenure Oct. 30, did not want all the pomp and circumstance of a ceremony.

“I have a confession to make,” President Fisher said during her inaugural address. “I did not want an inauguration. When we discussed it at cabinet, I made the argument that we can save time, effort, money. I didn't need one. We could just skip it.

“But one of my wise colleagues quickly reminded me that the inauguration wasn't just about me,” she said. “Far more important, it was about the college and our traditions. And he was so right.”

In highlighting Kirkwood’s tradition of quality education, training opportunities and community service, Fisher committed to upholding those rites through another Kirkwood tradition — change.

“The real interesting thing about tradition at Kirkwood is that tradition is not about the status quo,” she said. “Our tradition is to innovate and change. Tradition does not stop us from evolving.

“In fact,” she said, “it demands that we change and innovate to meet the needs of today's students and the needs that are in our community today.”

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Fisher started her academic journey down the road at Prairie High School in the 1980s before enrolling in Kirkwood Community College and getting degrees at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. She spent some of her early professional career in different roles at Kirkwood before stepping in as assistant to then-President Mick Starcevich — who was among the dignitaries at Fisher’s inauguration Wednesday.

Fisher advanced from there to vice president of student services in 2006 before leaving Kirkwood in 2014 for a vice presidential post at ACT, the education testing firm. She submitted her first application for the Kirkwood presidency in 2018, upon Starcevich’s retirement, but lacked presidential experience.

So she went and got it as Iowa Valley Community College District president in 2019 — returning to apply for the Kirkwood presidency a second time after Lori Sundberg in 2022 announced plans to retire.

Ellen Waynawhere — a Kirkwood student studying criminal justice — was among the student representatives who last year interviewed presidential finalists.

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“We were told to ask these candidates very tough questions,” Waynawhere said during the inauguration. “But halfway through the interview, I just wanted to hand her the position as president of Kirkwood. Her beliefs and attitudes toward life aligned with mine.”

They both believed, for example, in the power of community and collaboration. They both held in high regard the students, faculty, and staff who make Kirkwood what it is.

“Of the candidates I met, she was the only one I took a photo with after the interview,” Waynawhere said, highlighting the confidence Fisher expressed in her students and reciprocating it.

“Dr. Kristie Fisher, I wish you well on your journey as president of Kirkwood Community College,” she said. “I'm very excited because you will continue to rise above our expectations.”

In speaking on behalf of the Kirkwood faculty, Julia Rabe — president of the Kirkwood Faculty Association — stressed the need for collaboration and cross-campus communication.

Fisher, in her remarks, echoed that sentiment — promising to continue Kirkwood’s legacy of cooperation, innovation and service across a vast array of disciplines, from the arts to the sciences to trades in health care, engineering and culinary arts, for example.

“Today, I pledge to all of you that I will always honor the traditions of Kirkwood while we evolve to meet the challenges of a changing world," Fisher said. "These traditions of excellence, collaboration, service and innovation are what makes Kirkwood who we are. I always remember that we are Kirkwood because, like former Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood, we strive to foster hope, talent and opportunities for all people.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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