MONTE VISTA – Members of the Upper Rio Grande Economic Development group welcomed Jim Kynor, Trinidad State College Vice President of Operations and Development of the San Luis Valley Campus, to their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13, in Monte Vista.
Kynor began his presentation by stating that the college would be celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2025 and is the oldest community college in the State of Colorado. “We are really excited to hit this milestone, and we have some wonderful things happening that will elevate Trinidad State College in the next several years,” said Kynor.
Trinidad State serves eight counties throughout Colorado and New Mexico including Colfax County, Saguache, Alamosa, Los Animas, Huerfano, Costilla, Conejos, Rio Grande, and Mineral County. The college has taken steps to fortify their educational programs through innovative learning and economic development.
The college will launch a Bachelor Applied Science program in the fall of this year and re-open the Freudenthal Library and a newly remodeled Romero Hall where the nursing program is held each year.
Beyond the newly opened programs and facilities, Krynor also stated that they have recently signed 10 transfer agreements with Adams State University that will allow students in two-year programs to transfer into four-year programs without having to leave the San Luis valley.
“Having a key partnership with Adams State will strengthen the pipeline from the two-year graduate students to four-year students and we are very delighted in the partnership,” he said.
Kynor was also pleased to announce that Trinidad State was in the top 20 community colleges to receive semi-finalist status for the Aspen Prize through the Aspen Institute program. The college also received $22 Million for renovation and improved campus projects thanks to a recent partnership with other community colleges statewide.
“We have some goals that were set in 2020 and though we realize now that we are at least two to three years away from achieving some of them, we are optimistic and hope to see the change sooner rather than later. There is a changing perception of higher education that includes factors like affordability and value of a degree as well as the need for greater value in transition to jobs, a focus on work-based learning and the recognition of the need for community colleges to be economic development catalysts within their communities,” said Kynor.
The institution is planning to focus more on opening up to the community and offering portions of their facility to the public.
“It does us no good to be a closed campus when we have resources that could help the economy in which we serve,” he said.
The college plans to increase opportunities through training, bringing jobs to the economy by participating in developing entrepreneurships and building innovation centers on campus.
“We are very excited about the success of Trinidad and where the school will go from here,” he said.
