·         Jessica Cole has been named the DMACC Associate Dean of Public and Community Services
·         Shelby Hildreth has been named the new DMACC District-wide Director of Admissions and Recruitment
·         Derrick Walker has been named Director of METT (Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades and Transportation)
·         Dr. Andrew Neuendorf has been named Associate Dean of METT
·         Dustyn Dickhaut has been named Associate Dean of Health Sciences

ANKENY, Iowa—DMACC has announced several staffing updates for the start of the spring semester.

“One of DMACC’s strengths is the experience, dedication and talent of our faculty and staff,” said Rob Denson, DMACC President. “These five individuals will continue to move DMACC forward and help position us as one of the best colleges in the nation. I’m excited to see what they will accomplish here.”

DMACC Criminal Justice Program District Chair Jessica Cole has been named the DMACC Associate Dean of Public and Community Services.  She will continue to teach face-to-face and online classes through the Spring 2024 term when she will start her administrative position.

Cole began her teaching career at DMACC in January 2014.  She served as the project manager for the collaboration with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Homeland Security Certificate program prior to becoming District Chair for the Criminal Justice Program in August 2016. Cole will report directly to Dr. Jeanie McCarville-Kerber, Executive Academic Dean of Public & Community Services Pathway.

Shelby Hildreth, a long-time DMACC Boone Campus Academic Advisor, has been named the new DMACC District-wide Director of Admissions and Recruitment.  In her new role, Hildreth will be lead district-wide coordinator of all DMACC admission and recruitment activities.  The position will be located at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.

Hildreth has worked at DMACC full-time since 1999 when she was one of DMACC’s first College Recruiters at the Ankeny Campus.  Prior to full-time, she worked part-time at the Information Desk in Bldg. #1 in Ankeny.  For the past 21 years, she has served as an Academic Advisor on the Boone Campus. Hildreth will report directly to Rachel Erkkila, Dean, Enrollment Management & Boone Student Services.

Derrick Walker has accepted the role of Director of METT (Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades, and Transportation).  He will oversee the Transportation Institute, which includes Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) motorcycle and moped and will work on other METT projects and credit programs districtwide.

Walker was hired in 2020 as a DMACC welding instructor and has been co-chair of the welding department for the past several years.  Walker will report directly to Dr. Jenny Foster, Executive Academic Dean of METT.

Dr. Andrew Neuendorf has accepted the role of Associate Dean, METT (Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades, and Transportation). He is continuing to perform his role as Director of Assessment role until a replacement has been hired.

He started teaching at DMACC in 2008 as an adjunct instructor, and then became a Professor of English and District Chair of Humanities. In 2017, Dr. Neuendorf assumed leadership of districtwide assessment.  Dr. Neuendorf will report directly to Dr. Jenny Foster.

Dustyn Dickhaut has been named Associate Dean of Health Sciences.  He has been a part of DMACC education since 2011 when he was an Instructor.  He was selected to the position of Coordinator of EMS and Fire Technology in 2019 and has since led both programs through exponential growth. 

Dickhaut has also worked closely with Career Advantage leadership to quickly expand EMS education in high schools across the district from a single career academy in Ankeny to six locations in 2023 with more scheduled to come online next year.  Dickhaut will report directly to Dr. Jeanie McCarville-Kerber.

About DMACC

DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) is one of America’s top-rated two-year institutions of higher learning. DMACC is dedicated to changing lives by offering an accessible, affordable and outstanding educational experience to students from across Iowa and the nation. Situated in one of the country’s most vibrant regions, DMACC is proud to welcome students of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs to a diverse and inclusive College community. DMACC offers 10 career pathways, which encompass more than 220 credit and non-credit programs, degrees and certificates available to students. Each year, DMACC serves approximately 55,000 students across the College’s six campuses and seven learning centers and through DMACC Online. Students from every state in the nation and 41 countries now attend DMACC. Our talented graduates excel in the workforce and in life. For more information, please visit dmacc.edu.

(contributed article and photos, DMACC)