Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), paid a visit to the Auraria Campus in September to meet with Community College of Denver (CCD) educators, students and staff as part of a state-wide tour of higher education institutions.

Dr. Reed joined CCD leadership for conversation and coffee about the value of a community college education. Following that, she was given a tour of the Auraria Campus by CCD student ambassadors and had the opportunity to meet with deans and department heads to learn about CCD’s academic programs.

Colorado Department of Higher Education

The day also included a discussion over lunch with student leaders, during which the students were able to speak about their lives as community college students and the challenges they face.

Dr. Reed’s impressions of CCD are a strong testament of CCD’s progress. Here’s what she had to say:

"CCD is a campus on a mission to educate students, serve the community, and advance workforce engagement. I was honored to visit the campus last week and hear from President Freeman and his team about CCD’s inspiring vision and work.

I enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the career choice assistance and student success efforts from the faculty and staff. CCD has implemented many strong support programs, from the pairing of academic and CTE classes to tutoring, textbook lending and housing stipends. And as always, it was refreshing to hear directly from students about their goals and experiences. Congratulations on an amazing 50 years and here’s to the next!"

Thank you for visiting CCD, Dr. Reed! And thank you to all the students, faculty and staff who participated and spoke with Dr. Reed!