Last April, Sinclair Community College saw a change in positions in theadministration, as Dr. Dave Collins was introduced as the college’s new provost.
Collins started Sinclair as a student and graduated with his associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy in 1977. Afterward, he began working locally. He then moved to California, where he earned his bachelors degree in management. Four years later, he left California and returned to Sinclair to teach, but left again for a 10 year absence. However, in 1995 he returned again as the dean of Life and Health Sciences. He later moved to the interim provost position, then the permanent provost position in April 2013.
He said he has been at Sinclair for a total of 21 years.
“It’s been a very rewarding career,” he said of his time at Sinclair.
As the provost, or chief academic officer, he has “administrative responsibility for all aspects of instruction.” That means that he and the deans of the various departments work together “to ensure chairpersons and faculty have the resources necessary to provide relevant, high quality learning experiences for our students” he said in an email interview.
“I feel very fortunate. We have an excellent faculty, excellent staff, the deans that I have the opportunity to work with and my colleagues in the provost office, they’re all first class and so it has been a very good experience,” Collins said.
Collins started as a student, therefore he said he has seen Sinclair through all different lenses. He said his goals as provost includes focusing on student completion and helping students achieve their academic goals.
“Sinclair impacts so many different people,” he said. “Individuals who have been told somewhere along the line that they weren’t college material, single parents who are having a difficult time and finding themselves facing some difficulties, and now we have the opportunity to help them maybe find a new career path.”
As an alumnus, he advises students to seek help when needed.
“Asking for help or asking for assistance is a sign of strength, it’s not a sign of weakness,” Collins said. “And I would just encourage students that if you aren’t sure what to do and you’re experiencing challenges, either challenges in the classroom or challenges outside of Sinclair, we have resources here and if you’ll just take the time to ask someone, we can most often link you up with the appropriate person, the appropriate resource.”
In addition, he said students should remember that “when life gets in the way, your goal may get delayed… But you can still achieve it.”
Collins said although he has earned a master’s degree and completed a Ph.D. program, his most challenging and rewarding degree came from Sinclair.
“I love this institution; the faculty I had here, they were first rate. They created this foundation that allowed me to do the things that I’m doing now, so truth be told, I am probably most proud of my associate degree here,” he said.