{"id":4160,"date":"2011-08-03T15:58:39","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T21:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/?p=4160"},"modified":"2011-08-03T15:58:39","modified_gmt":"2011-08-03T21:58:39","slug":"introducing-colorado-colleges-13th-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/2011\/08\/introducing-colorado-colleges-13th-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Colorado College's 13th President"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jill Tiefenthaler, CC\u2019s president as of July 1, has a solid foundation in economics that will help the college continue to flourish. But her people skills and passion for the liberal arts complete the picture of a well-rounded college president.<\/h3>\n
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Photo by Brad Armstrong<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI understand well the power of the liberal arts education, and I\u2019m so committed to it as a mission because I think the liberal arts are a great calling. I believe in what we do fundamentally because of the impact it had on my own life,\u201d Tiefenthaler said.<\/p>\n

Growing up on a farm in Iowa meant hard work, helping her mother feed the farm hands and taking care of two younger siblings. But this was no ordinary farm girl; when Jill was in high school and her father bought a popcorn company, she helped keep the business\u2019s books.<\/p>\n

Leaving that close-knit community for St. Mary\u2019s College in South Bend, Ind., was a big step that opened her eyes to the larger world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a transformative experience for me \u2014 going to the Art Institute of Chicago and learning about contemporary art, studying the great philosophers, going to the opera. I couldn\u2019t have even imagined the opportunities I would have. I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiefenthaler continued to expand her horizons while earning graduate degrees in economics at Duke and working at Colgate and Wake Forest. Her accomplishments at the latter universities are impressive: teaching economics, chairing the economics department, and serving as associate dean of the faculty at Colgate; provost and economics professor at Wake Forest.<\/p>\n

Even higher on the impressiveness scale, her \u201cextra- curricular\u201d activities include: founding the Upstate Institute, which builds collaborations between Colgate and the surrounding communities in upstate New York; taking students to London for semester study abroad; doing research on labor economics in Brazil and the Philippines; and accompanying students who rebuilt homes after Hurricane Katrina.<\/p>\n

This spirit of community, exploration, and public service was key to Tiefenthaler\u2019s interest in CC \u2014 and vice versa. \u201cI\u2019ve felt, for the last couple of years, to make this next step it was about finding the right fit. I think you have to embody a place in this role, more so than any other role. To do the job successfully, I think you have to, 100 percent, believe in the college\u2019s mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Thanks to her 16 years at Colgate, Tiefenthaler was familiar with CC and its reputation among the nation\u2019s liberal arts colleges. And she said her economics training has prepared her for the negotiating, risk assessment, and decision-making inherent in administrative positions.<\/p>\n

Those qualities helped her stand out for the search committee as it considered hundreds of candidates from across the country to succeed Richard Celeste, CC\u2019s president for nine years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard about my nomination I really perked up and my husband [Kevin Rask, an economics professor] was excited. Then we came to visit and became more intrigued. During our visit he looked at me and said, \u2018You\u2019re crazy if you don\u2019t take this job.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

That memory prompted Tiefenthaler\u2019s robust laugh, but it wasn\u2019t easy saying goodbye to her Wake Forest family as she veered between sadness and exhilaration.<\/p>\n

That campus is in the suburbs of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Tiefenthaler and her family lived in the countryside while she worked at Colgate, so they\u2019re all excited about being on a campus that\u2019s so integral to the vital heart of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not separate, you don\u2019t have to go through a gate. It has a warm feeling and an open feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their spare time, Tiefenthaler and her family plan to enjoy cultural offerings and outdoor activities while exploring the city and the Pikes Peak region.<\/p>\n

Tiefenthaler and Rask will team-teach a seminar on the economics of higher education during Block 5, getting her out to the front lines in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the opportunity to teach a couple of times at Wake Forest,\u201d she said. \u201cNot only has that helped me get to know the students, it gives me a lot of energy and helps me remember what the core mission is\u201d \u2014 giving students the tools and knowledge they\u2019ll use the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, fundamentally, the liberal arts is the best preparation for today. Because it\u2019s hard to know what the jobs are going to be in five years, 10 years, so to prepare yourself in any way for \u2018a career\u2019 or \u2018a job\u2019 doesn\u2019t make much sense any more,\u201d Tiefenthaler said.<\/p>\n

She said that CC\u2019s ability to teach students to \u201clearn how to learn\u201d will be hugely beneficial throughout their lives as they change jobs and further their education.<\/p>\n

Will students and faculty notice many changes when they return in September?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this fall it\u2019ll be business as usual, but hopefully they\u2019ll be part of the conversations about what we want to change in the coming years,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope that they\u2019ll be patient and generous with me, and help me understand. It\u2019ll be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

One item on her list is assessing the Block Plan, which she loves and thinks is one of CC\u2019s most distinctive characteristics. \u201cI actually think, even though it\u2019s 40 years old, it\u2019s more important than ever before because this generation has more challenges, given everything happening around them, with focus and depth. And they\u2019re all supposedly \u2018multitaskers\u2019 and focus is an issue. I think it will serve them even better. The Block Plan has even more of a call and a mission than in the 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next few years, Tiefenthaler will solicit ideas on how to re-invigorate the Block Plan to best answer today\u2019s students\u2019 needs \u2014 although she already calls CC\u2019s student body \u201cremarkable\u201d in its academic strength.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll also look for guidance from Celeste and his predecessor, Kathryn Mohrman, and from her counterparts at other colleges and universities in the area as she carries out her mission of being both an external and an internal leader.<\/p>\n

In early June, Tiefenthaler was reading \u201cColorado College: A Place of Learning 1874\u20131999\u201d by Political Science Professor Robert Loevy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really great. There\u2019s a lot to learn, both from the living presidents but also from all those presidents and deans who came before me. I always say, \u2018If you understand one college or university, then you understand one college or university,\u2019 \u201d she said, laughing.<\/p>\n

Apparently, even a college president \u2014 no matter her accomplishments and accolades \u2014 has to do homework sometimes.<\/p>\n

Our New President in a Nutshell<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Jill Tiefenthaler <\/strong>(TEE-fen-tall-er)<\/li>\n
  • Born May 2, 1965<\/strong>, in Breda, Iowa<\/li>\n
  • Husband Kevin Rask<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Children\u00a0Olivia<\/strong>, 12; Owen<\/strong>, 10<\/li>\n
  • Spare-time activities include reading, camping, film, theater,<\/strong> and whatever her kids are into<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Priorities for CC include using technology to enhance the student experience; increasing diversity of students and faculty; boosting campus inclusiveness and cultural opportunities; partnering with surrounding community; encouraging faculty-student engagement; preparing students to be sustainability-conscious citizens<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Jill Tiefenthaler, CC\u2019s president as of July 1, has a solid foundation in economics that will help the college continue to flourish. But her people skills and passion for the liberal arts complete the picture of a well-rounded college president. \u201cI understand well the power of the liberal arts education, and I\u2019m so committed to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-4160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-august-2011","tag-features"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}