Laurie Nichols is serving as the 11th president at Black Hills State University. She previously served as the president of the University of Wyoming, the first woman to hold that post, from May 2016 until June 2019. Prior positions include provost, vice president for academic affairs, interim president, and dean. She has secured numerous grants to collaborate with South Dakota tribal colleges in the areas of curriculum development and articulation. She was an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, class of 2006-2007, where she spent the fall semester on the campus of California State University at Fresno. Nichols has taught at the secondary and postsecondary levels in South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio, Idaho and Iowa. She received her B.S. in secondary education from South Dakota State University. Advanced degrees include a M.Ed. in adult education from Colorado State University and Ph.D. in family and consumer sciences education/family studies from Ohio State University. She served as a WICHE Commissioner from May 2017 until June 2019.
Archives: People
LaDawn Miera is assistant registrar at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). She has spent fourteen years managing the incoming transfer and articulation process at SLCC. During a brief hiatus from higher education, LaDawn utilized her bachelor’s in marketing and management by dabbling in hotel management. She had the pleasure of experiencing the 2002 Winter Olympics during that time as an event planner and liaison to several corporate partners. LaDawn has served on various academic committees and boards; including UACRAO, PACRAO, Utah NASPA and has been involved in Interstate Passport since its inception.
Kay Hulstrom serves as the associate director of operations and leadership initiatives at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). She works on a variety of projects including Interstate Passport®, Internet Course Exchange, the Western Academic Leadership Forum, and the Western Alliance for Community College Academic Leaders. The latter two are membership organizations for the chief academic officers of the two and four-year institutions and system offices in the 15 western states plus the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States. She holds a B.S. in finance from Colorado State University.
Kathy Callies currently serves as the registrar for Dakota State University in South Dakota. She has been on staff at DSU since 1978 and has served in various other positions at the university including admissions, financial aid and human resources. During a break from her career at DSU, Callies worked for 15 years with rural communities in 32 states and 14 countries to share experiences on the topics of economic development, talent identification and development and in resource development. Callies earned her B. S. degree in Business Administration at Dakota State University and pursued graduate studies through the University of South Dakota.
Kate Springsteen has been with the Interstate Passport program since 2014 and is the Member Services Coordinator for Interstate Passport. In this position, she assists institutions in becoming members of the network. Prior to her work with Interstate Passport, Springsteen taught International Relations at the University of Colorado-Boulder and supported research in International Affairs at Marquette University. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan and a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from Marquette University in Wisconsin.
Karla Hardesty is executive director for enrollment management at Adams State University, a Hispanic Serving Institution in southern Colorado. Hardesty has been involved with or coordinated many programs and initiatives, from academic advising, admissions, financial aid, and institutional effectiveness to degree completion programs, distance learning, prison college programs, student learning assessment and accreditation as well as major technology implementations. She also serves on various community and policy boards to improve education and healthcare access for underserved individuals and communities. She received her master’s degree in adult and postsecondary education from the University of Wyoming.
Kari Brown-Herbst is the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Her responsibilities include faculty development and support and student learning assessment. Kari currently serves as faculty representative to the LCCC Foundation Board and is also a member of the Peer Review Corps of the Higher Learning Commission. Before arriving at LCCC, she received her bachelor’s degree in sociology with an education endorsement from Kalamazoo College (Michigan) and her master’s degree in education technology from Marian University (Wisconsin). Kari has 18 years of K-12 teaching experience in Alaska and Wisconsin and began her teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati. She is currently studying for her Ed.D. in instructional technology at the University of Wyoming. Her research interests include investigating the impact of purposeful faculty development on student retention in the online environment.
Joseph Thiel is the director of academic policy and research for the Montana University System. His responsibilities include coordinating development of the state science and technology plan, organizing Montana’s Science and Technology Committee, transfer tools and policy, program approval and review, and system student success initiatives. Joe holds bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and liberal studies from Montana State University. He attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning both a master’s of public policy and a master’s in education. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in education, with a research focus on education policy, also through the University of Oxford.
Jane Sherman retired as the vice provost for academic policy and evaluation at Washington State University (WSU), as well as the associate director for academic policy at the state of Washington’s Council of Presidents (COP). At WSU she directed institutional planning for internal and external accountability, accreditation, and assessment activities, and transfer policy, among other areas of academic policy and planning. At COP she coordinated statewide initiatives in transfer, dual credit, reverse articulation, and higher education’s response to the Common Core, among others. Prior to her work at WSU, Sherman was the deputy director for academic affairs with the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board. She has held faculty positions in counseling and counselor education at Idaho State University and at the College of Idaho.