Finalist Biographies

Candidate Evaluation Form

Dr. Lynn Cundiff

Dr. Cundiff is currently working as the Executive Vice President of Mohave Community College in Kingman, Arizona. He has been in this position since 2007 and is responsible for implementing college-wide technology integration, implementing a new budgeting process for the whole college, and developing benchmarks and key results indicators for the college. He also has developed and implemented a new customer service initiative and led the process for becoming a Learning College. He supervises both the instructional and student services programs.

From 2003 to 2007 Dr. Cundiff worked in the private sector as the CEO of an innovative high technology corporation in Atlanta, Georgia and as the President of a large wholesale distributorship in the US Virgin Islands. From 2000-2003, he was the President of Salt Lake Community College and retired in good standing. From 1992-2000 he was the President and CEO of Floyd College in Rome, Georgia. And, from 1988–1992 he was the Executive Vice Chancellor of the Alabama College System.

He has a PhD in Educational Leadership from Southern Illinois University, MA in Educational Administration from Northeast Missouri State University, BA in Physical Education and Mathematics from William Jewell College. He has Post-Doctoral work at the Institute for Educational Management.

In his opinion, teaching and learning are at the very core of an effective college. In fact, all elements of the college exist to ensure the primary mission is met: the education of clientele served. In an effective college, student services, financial services and other parts of the college cannot, and should not exist without a direct tie to the teaching and learning process. He continues by stating that it is imperative that each part of the institution find opportunities to interrelate and cooperate to enhance student learning. All employees should have the opportunity to benefit from the credit and noncredit offerings provided by the college. Quality teaching and learning must be evident in on-ground classes as well as be pervasive in multiple types of distance delivery systems.

Dr. Cundiff also has considerable experience with developing partnerships with community and regional businesses and industry providers. He is fully committed to positive working relationships with all college employees and the students they serve. He strongly believes in participatory government with all being a part of the team. Complete and appropriate information-sharing with all involved in the decision making process will lead to effective and reasonable decisions. He feels that a student centric college requires the college and its faculty and staff to be willing to aggressively address the future, listen to students, challenge them, and support them in meeting their goals and objectives.

Dr. Kerry Hart

Dr. Hart is currently working as President at Morgan Community College in Fort Morgan, Colorado. He has been in this position since 2008 and has direct supervision of senior administrators responsible for the oversight of instruction, student services, the physical plant, human resources, and information technology, the Foundation, marketing, public relations, institutional effectiveness and four outlying centers. He has led the college to be ranked as One of the Top 50 Community Colleges in the US, One of the Great Community Colleges to Work For, and the college was selected as Business of the Year by the Fort Morgan Chamber of Commerce.

He worked as the Dean/CEO of Colorado Mountain College from 2006-2008. From 2002–2006 he was the Dean of Arts and Humanities at Laramie County Community College. From 2000-2002 he was the Vice President of Arts and Enrichment Studies at Mohave Community College, and was an Associate Professor of Music at Adams State College from 1990 – 2000. From 1983-1990 he was the Director of Bands at Western Nebraska Community College. He and his wife began their professional life together in the Four Corners area and they would like to return to the area.

Dr. Hart has an earned PhD in Music Education and Higher Education Administration and a MA in Music from the University of Northern Colorado; and a BA in Music Education from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Hart has experience and commitment to community involvement and a record of success in creating and developing new programs. He has experience with strategic planning and uses short-term AQIP action projects aligned with a five-year list of strategic commitments. He has raised significant private donations and has provided leadership for grant-funded programs. He works with legislators from Eastern Colorado and assisted with the college being a beneficiary of oil and gas severance tax money to fund construction of a health-science building in 2010.

Dr. Hart is committed to integrity and ethical practices. He is open to students, faculty, staff, and external constituencies and operates with an open-door policy. He describes himself to be collaborative, inclusive, consistent, transparent and respectful – a style in which he regards trust as the foundation for all forms of communication, decision-making and professional relationships. He has a strong student-oriented philosophy and feels that student learning is unsurpassed at the community college level. He supports scholarship and it is an excellent means to stay current in one’s discipline as well as rejuvenating faculty against burn-out.

His approach to leadership is visionary and entrepreneurial and he credits the implementation and making the vision a reality belonging to the hard work of faculty and staff.

Dr. Sheryl Hruska

Dr. Hruska currently works for San Juan College as the Vice President for Learning. She is responsible for providing leadership for instructional effectiveness and positive learning outcomes, building productive and positive relationships with faculty and staff, and assuring the inclusion of Learning in college-wide planning and decision making. She has over 35 years of higher education experience in leadership roles, teaching, consulting, assessment, accreditation, budget management and program development.

She has a PhD and MA in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio and a BA in Psychology and Education from Mankato State College, Minnesota.

She worked at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming from 1999-2010 as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. From1989 – 1999 she worked at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont as the Interim Dean of Students and Associate Academic Dean. And from 1974 – 1989 she held the positions of Director, Center for Instruction Resources and Improvement and Associate Professor of Education.

Dr. Hruska cares deeply about San Juan College and looks forward to the opportunity to serve the college as a stabilizing and energizing factor. She is dedicated to advancing student learning as well as the health and prosperity of both internal and external communities.

She has experience in providing national consulting on college and instructional effectiveness and organizational change; traveled globally and worked with international students; and has experience with building and funding new programs as well as managing significant budget reduction through redesigning services. She has also provided leadership for the expansion of learning assessment activities in general education, program-specific outcomes, and instructional program reviews.

She has implemented collaborative strategic planning methods at SJC and previous colleges and has worked with faculty and staff to build plans and priorities for budget, facility renovations, equipment purchases, technology applications, training and professional development.

Dr. Hruska also has experience with state political structures by serving on a state-wide higher education committee and participated in joint higher education and legislative functions to shape the directions for new legislation particularly with dual credit.

She describes her management style as believing in the power of highly-interactive groups for generating and assessing options, setting inspirational targets and building a camaraderie that adds pride, satisfaction and positive energy to work.

Dr. Toni Pendergrass

Dr. Pendergrass is currently working as the Vice President for Learning at San Jacinto College, South Campus, in Friendswood, Texas. Her responsibilities include being the chief learning officer for the college and providing vision, leadership and strategic direction for the areas of Liberal Arts, Health Science and Sciences, Business and Technology, Evening and Weekend College, the Library, Dual Credit, District Honors Program, and the Student Success Center. She has participated in the development of new student services and allied health and sciences building. She maintains partnerships with the Clear Creek Independent School District; chairs a committee on a new student orientation program; developed a new faculty hiring process; and worked with her president developing an economic stimulus plan for her campus.

She has a PhD in Educational Administration with specialization in Community College Leadership from the University of Austin; MS and BS in Agricultural Economics and Economics from New Mexico State University. She graduated from Aztec High School.

From 2001-2008 she worked for El Centro College, Dallas County Community College District as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success, the Executive Dean of Communications, Mathematics, Developmental Studies, and Teacher Preparation Division, Vice Chancellor for Planning, Development and Accountability, Assistant to the President, and was an adjunct faculty member. She worked for Clovis Community College as the Director of Institutional Planning Research from 1995-1999.

Dr. Pendergrass considers herself to be a collaborative leader and strong proponent of both servant and transformational leadership. She practices an open, transparent, and inclusive leadership style. She feels her role as a leader is to empower and provide opportunities for faculty and staff and is a strong advocate of professional development. She states that she is visible on campus, attends college and district commitments, and participates in community activities.

She has experience working with executive leadership in developing college-wide budgets and tied budget allocations to the college’s strategic goals. She has experience with Title III, Title V, Gear-Up and Carl Perkins grants. She has provided leadership in the implementation of long-range strategic planning processes at both the district and college levels.

She has assembled quantitative data and qualitative assessments for use in data-driven decision making and has developed measures to assess student learning outcomes. She also worked on the State committee that developed performance indicators for the community colleges in NM.

Dr. Mark VanDenHende

Dr. VanDenHende is currently the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty at Waycross College in Waycross, Georgia. He is responsible for the overall administrative leadership of two- and four-year academic units; overseeing institutional research, accreditation and articulation agreements; and directing college strategic planning and capital project agendas. He has developed an University Partnership Center with the University of Georgia, Albany State University, and Georgia Southwestern University.

From 2004-2007 he was the Campus Dean at South Puget Sound Community College, Lacey Campus, in Olympia, Washington. From 2003-2004 he was the Interim Dean of Instruction at Cascadia Community College in Bothell, Washington; and from 2000-2003 he was the Associate Dean of Communication Technologies at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington. He was an adjunct faculty member in Educational Leadership at Washington State University and Western Washington University between 1996 and 2003. Prior to working in higher education, he managed and owned small businesses in construction and commercial window installation.

Dr. VanDenHende has a PhD in Higher Education Administration and Counseling Psychology from Washington State University; a MED in Student Affairs/Administration and a BA in Secondary Education/History from Wooding College of Education at Western Washington University. He holds two AA degrees in arts and journalism.

He is a strong supporter of the open door mission of community college education and a personal commitment based on his early experiences. He pledges to make a positive difference at San Juan College by prioritizing open communication with all stakeholders, students, faculty, staff, and community. Relationship building would always be a priority and he would support innovative ideas that will ultimately transition into industry specific program.

He believes that conflict can arise from the lack of trust and fear of the unknown, and he would have an ongoing commitment to cultural competency for each and every staff member. He has extensive experience in designing legislation and lobbying for college needs. He also has considerable experience with fundraising for student and political campaigns. He has worked with a variety of high-tech corporations including Lockheed Martin, CH2MHill Pacific Northwest National Lab, Northwest Washington Energy, and others that contributed millions in funding and support for training facilities while at Columbia Basin College.

He describes his management style as open-door and collaborative. He likes to laugh and finds community colleges to be exciting.

Dr. Carl Heilman

Dr. Heilman is currently the President of Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. He has been in the position since 2006. BCCC is a comprehensive community college providing services to an eight-county area of rural Kansas with two campuses. He is responsible for the supervision of instructional services, student services, and all administrative service programs. He reports to a 6-member Board of Trustees and directs the operations of labor relations, policy development, financial management, facilities development, planning, public relations, and economic development.

From 2003-2005 he was the President at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois. From 1993-2003 he held several positions at Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook, Arizona. He was the Vice President of Instruction and Student services, Vice President of Student Services and Acting Vice President of Administrative Services. From 1987-1993 he was the Special Needs Chairperson at Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg, Iowa.

Dr. Heilman has a PhD in Professional Studies from Iowa State University; a MA in Public Administration from Mankato State University; and a MA in Counseling and a BA in Sociology and Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa.

He has considerable experience with the identification and implementation of strategic planning, development of strategic planning guides, and identifying long-term and short-term objectives and action plans. He has considerable experience determining annual budget allocation tied to the strategic plan and developing measurements to recognize the success. He states that one of his chief responsibilities was and is to increase enrollment and he has been successful over the years.

Dr. Heilman is very active in his community and believes that presidential leadership is not confined to the immediate college but providing leadership in the general community is important as well. While at Northland Pioneer College he established three distinctly separate Native American advisory councils (Hopi, Navajo, Apache) to identify education and training program needs. He has also created multiple workforce advisory groups to provide input on area workforce training needs.

He describes his management style as predicated on four points: strategic planning, situational management, data-driven decision making, and rational process methodology.