Education
BY EMILY LINCKE CONTRIBUTIONS BY HANNAH BROL
Matthew Dempsey to lead Lone Star College- University Park In December, Lone Star College officials named Matthew Dempsey as the new president of LSC-University Park. He has 25 years of experience in higher edu- cation, including vice president of instruction at LSC-CyFair, and interim president of LSC-UP following the departure of Virginia Fraire in June. In an interview, Dempsey discussed his goals. What made you interested in serving as president of LSC-UP? I’m a community college graduate, so I’ve seen the value of being a community college student. ... So I know it’s a great place to learn. It’s a great place to teach, and my employment history has always been with community colleges.
What are your short- and long-term priorities for LSC-UP? I do want to make sure that I connect with our community so all of the readers out there know that we’re here for them. ... I really want to align University Park’s campus with some of the efforts that are being done at the state level to prioritize employment. So ... if our true mission at the community college level is to enhance lives, and we know that one of the ways that we can do that [is] through gainful employment, then I think it’s my responsibility as the president to make sure that I connect those two entities—local business and industry—with the output. LSC-UP recently debuted new artificial intelligence and paralegal programs. Do you have any plans to bring additional pathways to LSC-UP? University Park is known as the campus of innovation, and so I would expect to see some more innovative degree plans. ... There are no immediate plans for expansion, but I think being the campus of innovation, I’d be hard pressed to say that we wouldn’t.
COURTESY LONE STAR COLLEGE
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com .
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