Allen Community College trustees accepted the resignation of president Bruce Moses Friday afternoon.
Moses is leaving to be president/superintendent of Palo Verde College in Blythe, Calif.
Trustees will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday to discuss its next steps. The board did not appoint an interim administrator when they met briefly Friday. Moses notified the board of his resignation Wednesday night. His last day is June 10 and he will represent the college next week at a meeting of the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees.
“Dr. Moses had a vision that we needed to move toward career and technical education, and he was very persistent,” board of trustees chair Becky Nilges said. “That will be his legacy here.”
Moses took the helm in July 2022, following longtime president John Masterson.
Moses led the college through several changes, including a shift toward more Career and Technical Education programs as well as the college’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2023.
Allen closed its outreach campus at Burlingame at the end of 2022-23 school year, although that had been announced prior to Moses’ arrival. Students from high schools in that area continue to be offered dual-credit classes.
In February 2023, Allen announced it would join forces with other regional colleges and universities to provide training for employees at EMP Shield, which is building a $1.9 billion computer chip manufacturing plant in rural Coffey County. Other educational partners include Flint Hills Technical College, the University of Kansas and Pittsburg State University. Employees will need to be skilled in such things as robotics, CNC operations and welding, Moses said.
To that end, Allen will begin offering a CNC machining and manufacturing program at Humboldt’s B&W Trailer Hitches plant, with courses starting this fall.
In April 2023, Allen trustees purchased 34 acres to the north of the college.
A year later, in April 2024, trustees approved spending up to $12 million from its reserve funds to build a new CTE facility and maintenance shop on the land.
BUT Moses’ term was not trouble-free.
Enrollment at Allen continues to decline; enrollment for the spring 2024 semester dropped by about 266 students compared to the fall, with about 200 of that related to a drop in online enrollment. Most other Kansas community colleges and universities also report lower enrollments.
Moses, along with Maintenance Director Ryan Sigg and others, also sounded an alarm about needed repairs to some of Allen’s older facilities. Sigg battled deteriorating conditions at aging dorm facilities and a need for repairs to HVAC and other costly infrastructure. The college also upgraded its technology and security with a new computer information system and a secured entry system for buildings.
International students and some instructors sounded off about a new financial policy that began in the fall of 2023 to require them to pay their tuition in full at the start of the semester rather than in installments as well as the new mandate that they reside on campus and be enrolled in the school’s food service meal plan. Officials later offered a new payment plan for all students.
Board members also questioned whether to invest so much money into a CTE and maintenance building instead of new dormitories, ultimately agreeing with arguments from Moses and his department leaders to first pursue new programs to attract students.
MOSES previously served as vice chancellor for educational services and institutional integrity at Pima County Community College District in Tucson, Ariz. Before that he served as vice provost, assistant vice chancellor of accreditation and academic quality improvement, and assistant vice chancellor of accreditation.
Prior to joining Pima, Moses held other leadership positions such as research project coordinator at Northwestern University Scientific Careers Research and Development Group (Careers R&D Group), associate vice president of planning and institutional effectiveness at Central Arizona College, executive director of institutional effectiveness at Northwest Arkansas Community College, and executive director of continuous improvement and planning at Eastern Michigan University.
