CNM President Katharine Winograd Announces Plans to Retire
On Tuesday, the Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) Governing Board accepted the retirement plans of long-time CNM President Katharine Winograd, who was unanimously selected by Governing Board members in February 2007 as CNM’s fifth president. She is the longest-serving president in the college’s 54-year history.
The Governing Board and President Winograd have agreed that she will continue serving as CNM President until a new president has been hired or until her final contract expires on June 30, 2020, whichever comes first.
Dr. Winograd’s leadership and vision have produced remarkable, exceptional results for students, the college and the central New Mexico community throughout her 12-year tenure. She spearheaded a variety of innovative efforts focused on increasing the number of students reaching graduation at CNM, knowing that each time a student becomes a college graduate, it sends positive ripple effects across a family, community, economy and state.
For the 2014-15 academic year, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics, CNM ranked No. 1 among 1,100-plus community colleges in the country for the number of associate degrees and certificates awarded to both Hispanics and Native Americans, and No. 2 overall for total associate degrees and certificates awarded. In 2016-17, according to provisional U.S. Department of Education data that is expected to become official soon, CNM is No. 1 again for associate degrees and certificates awarded to Hispanics and Native Americans, and No. 2 overall. It’s the most recent national statistics available.
In 2013, CNM earned the national Student Success Award from the American Association of Community Colleges and President Winograd was named Western Region CEO of the Year by the Association of Community College Trustees.
“Our college, our students, our community and our state’s economy have been so fortunate to have President Winograd leading the state’s largest community college for the past 12 years,” CNM Governing Board Chair Pauline Garcia said. “She has been a visionary higher education leader throughout her tenure, always focused on helping more students access higher education, then providing the innovative support systems and high-quality programs they need to persevere and graduate. At the same time, she has always nurtured partnerships across different sectors and developed bold new initiatives that have helped move our state forward in so many ways.”
In 2014, spearheaded by Dr. Winograd’s leadership, CNM launched the 501(c)3 enterprise arm of the college, CNM Ingenuity, which was created under New Mexico’s Research Park and Economic Development Act. CNM Ingenuity was launched to provide accelerated educational and training opportunities in key workforce areas, wrap-around support for aspiring entrepreneurs, and cooperative ventures that foster economic development and job creation.
One of the first programs launched under CNM Ingenuity was Deep Dive Coding, which immediately turned into a successful 10-week coding bootcamp designed to address a key workforce need in central New Mexico. Nearly 400 students have graduated from the accelerated program, earning an average starting salary of $48,000. CNM Ingenuity also launched the FUSE Makerspace in 2016 in a 3,000-square-foot space on Main Campus, providing small businesses and community members access to high-tech machinery and software to create prototypes, artistic works and the ability to micro-manufacture products. In 2017, through the college’s strong partnership with the City of Albuquerque, CNM moved the FUSE Makerspace to a 13,000-square-foot space on the Innovate ABQ campus to help stoke entrepreneurship.
In her first year as President, Dr. Winograd led a groundbreaking partnership with the University of New Mexico, which committed both institutions to making it more seamless for students to transfer between the two institutions. President Winograd also led efforts to strengthen partnerships with Albuquerque Public Schools and Rio Rancho Public Schools, especially in regards to dual credit classes for high school students. Through the CNM-APS partnership, CNM opened the College & Career High School on CNM’s Main Campus in 2013, where students spend half of their day taking APS classes and the other half taking CNM dual credit classes that count for both high school and college credit. The school has earned an “A” grade from the Public Education Department every year.
“CNM’s profile, its remarkable achievements and its national reputation for innovation have continued to grow each year under President Winograd, despite very challenging budget conditions throughout the majority of her presidency,” Board Chair Garcia said. “As a Governing Board, we are so thankful that she has put CNM on very sound financial footing, and she’s positioned CNM extremely well for the future. I can’t say enough about her prolific contributions to our central New Mexico community and the high level of integrity she has demonstrated throughout her presidency.”
CNM faced state budget cuts in most of Dr. Winograd’s years as president. She consistently developed budget reduction plans that shielded the academic mission of the college while limiting tuition increases.
“I have been so fortunate to have worked with current and former Governing Board members who have been focused on helping students succeed and doing what’s best for our central New Mexico community,” President Winograd said. “I realize how fortunate I am to leave the presidency feeling so positive about my relationship with CNM’s Governing Board. I am also so proud to have worked with our faculty and staff who care so much for their students and community.
“I have experienced so much joy serving as president of this wonderful community college. And that’s because the people I work with at CNM care so deeply about our students, our community and our state. That was the CNM culture long before I arrived, and it will carry on long after I’m gone.”