Profile: Executive Vice President Kim Linduska

By Olivia Herr.

Executive vice president at DMACC. President of the Ames Chamber of Commerce  Board. President of the Ames Red Cross Board. Would you believe that all of these titles belong to one person? Kim Linduska is all of these things and more. She has been with DMACC for over twenty-five years.

Starting out, she worked with STRIVE, a program that assists students who have learning disabilities. As time progressed she took on more and more responsibility.

Originally, Linduska is from Ottosen in northwest Iowa. She majored in special education and Spanish at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. Later, she earned her Master’s degree in higher education and Ph. D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Iowa State University.

Linduska currently lives in Ames with her husband. Her three children are either in college or have graduated and are now working professionals. All three children have taken DMACC classes.

Linduska is also extremely active in her community. In addition to the positions listed above, she also serves on the Advisory Board for the College of Human Services at Iowa State.

It took a while for her to get to where she is now. When she first graduated from college she taught at Ames High School and then transitioned into working at DMACC by substitute teaching an adult ed class for a friend. Her eyes were opened and her world then took an interesting shift.

“I thought when I was 30, I knew a whole lot more than I know now.”

Her job today varies so much though she mainly focuses on making sure people stay connected and keeping everything moving in the right direction. It is essential for her to address the challenges and to also meet goals. She reports there are no typical days and most of her time is spent in meetings.

DMACC is a big part of Linduska’s life, but there is more to her than the community college. In her free time she enjoys running, reading and decorating.

On balancing personal and professional life, she says it is dear to her heart and important.

“I hope that I have been an example for working parents. If you don’t have that time with yourself, your family or friends then you’re not going to be very effective. Spending time away from work gives you the perspective you need in order to come back and do a really great job.”

It hasn’t been a smooth ride to get to where she is now.

“There have been rough spots, some days, weeks, or even months that were harder than others but when you work at a place such as DMACC, you can always find a way to make it work.”

At the moment Linduska is launching a new initiative. She would like to encourage students to stay at DMACC until they’ve received a diploma. In order to do this, she is putting together stronger pathways for students who wish to graduate and transition into a career. Another goal is to strengthen the graduation rate.

She mentions that DMACC can provide things that a big university can’t offer such as more leadership and study abroad opportunities as well as internships.

“My mission is to make sure that once students choose DMACC that they stay at DMACC and that is my commitment to the college, students and faculty.”

When asked about Kim Linduska, President Rob Denson said:

“Kim’s extensive experience at DMACC and her commitment to student achievement has been critical to DMACC’s success. She oversaw my introduction to the college in 2003 and continues to be a true friend and partner in our leadership team. We work together with our faculty and staff to take DMACC to greater heights.”

He described her leadership at DMACC:

“We were granted additional funding from the 2013 Legislative Session to increase capacity for the training of students for high demand careers. In a very short time Kim took charge of the entire effort and has a comprehensive program up and running. No college has positioned itself so well in such a short time.”

Linduska truly believes that, “I believe that I am really lucky. I think a lot of people that work here are really lucky because this is a truly great organization.”

 

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