CCCC hires Vice President

The Cloud County Community College (CCCC) Board of Trustees unanimously approved the hiring of Caesar Wood as the new Vice President of Administrative Services.

Wood, who served as CCCC's Director of Auxiliary Services, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from Sam Houston State University, a Master of Science in Recreation Administration from Georgia Southern University, and has completed 36 hours toward his Doctorate in Leadership and Learning from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
"I am humbled and honored to serve this college," Wood said. "I'm excited by the opportunity to help this institution continue to develop and grow. I want to thank the Board, Amber (Knoettgen, president of CCCC) and Dr. Zant (Vice President for Academic Affairs)for their support and trust."
In her President's Message, delivered during the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday evening, April 27, Knoettgen also congratulated CCCC freshman Zach Ferris on winning a national wrestling championship.
Ferris, a freshman at CCCC, won the 197-pound division title at the 2021 NJCAA Wrestling National Championships held in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In just its fourth year, the wrestling program can now boast a national champion. "That was huge for the college," Knoettgen said. "I want to extend my congratulations to Cody (Cole, head wrestling coach) and Doug Moore (assistant wrestling coach). Great job by the team."
Knoettgen also praised the track program, announcing that, as of April 27, the CCCC men's team was ranked #1 in the nation in the  NJCAA, and the women's team was ranked 6th.
During the Guest's Comments portion of the meeting, Beth Whisler, Instructor of Psychology and Education at CCCC, praised the administration for their COVID-19 efforts. For the semester, to date, CCCC recorded only five cases of COVID-19 at its Concordia location, and three cases at its Geary County campus.
"On behalf of myself, my husband, and the faculty, I want to commend the administration and Caesar Wood on the low Covid numbers... we want to stress that appreciation very much."
After a detailed and concise presentation, the board unanimously approved the expansion of the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program to the Geary County campus.
"It was very clear that there was a need for our ADN program at the Geary County campus," said Dr. Kim Zant, CCCC's Vice President for Academic Affairs.
In other matters before the board, it was reported that 160 students had already applied for housing on campus for the fall semester of 2021.
The board unanimously approved the hiring of Budreau Construction Inc. to renovate buildings 9 and 10 of the T-Bird Village apartments, at a cost of $232,300. The renovations for the buildings, approximately 2,400 square feet each, include new drywall, new doors, new kitchen countertops, new carpet and vinyl floors, new paint and color schemes, and repair of the ceilings. The deadline to complete the project is on/or before July 28, 2021.
The board also approved the hiring of Kelly Cook as the Director of Workforce Development and Outreach. Cook has an Associate of Arts degree from Butler County Community College, a Bachelor of Science, Physical Education from Fort Hays State University, and a Master of Science, Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University.
The board approved the hiring of Taryn R. Cipra as an Instructor in Science. Cipra has a Bachelor of Science, Biology from Kansas State University, and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from Wichita State University.
The board also approved the early retirement request of Ann Lowell, Assistant to the Director of Athletics. Lowell will retire in May.