The Board of Trustees for Adams State University elected new officers at its regular meeting on campus, August 25. Trustee Cleave Simpson was elected chair, and Trustee Kathy Rogers was reelected vice chair. The term of current chair Arnold Salazar concludes December 31. He passed the reigns of chairmanship to Simpson following the election.
On behalf of the entire board, Trustee John Singletary thanked Salazar for his service as chair over the last three years. "It has been a privilege to serve with you," Singletary said.
"Cleave’s service as chair of the board’s Finance Committee makes him ideally suited for the position of chair as we move to right-size our staff and grow enrollment," said Adams State President Beverlee J. McClure. "His selection demonstrates the board is taking its fiduciary responsibility very seriously." Simpson has served as a trustee since 2015, and his term will continue until Dec. 31, 2018.
"By retaining Kathy Rogers as vice chair, the board has maintained a continuity of leadership. She brings significant institutional knowledge to the position and represents us well in the local community," McClure said.
Simpson, of Alamosa, is General Manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District. As a fourth generation San Luis Valley farmer and rancher, he also works closely with his father to manage their family farms and cow herds.
Simpson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1984. He worked 30 years in Texas and Australia before returning to his hometown of Alamosa. He previously served on the County Land Use Planning Commission, the Farm Service Agency County Committee, and local school district accountability committees.
Lifelong San Luis Valley resident Kathy Rogers was appointed to the board in 2013 and has served as its vice chair for the last three years. She also represents the Trustees on the ASU Foundation Board.
Rogers was recently named president of Rio Grande Savings and Loan, after serving on its Board of Directors for 10 years. Her previous 14-year career was spent at San Luis Valley Health Regional Medical Center as Vice President of Development and then as Director in Public/Patient Relations and Marketing.
In 2001, Rogers was elected to the Alamosa City Council and then as the city’s Mayor in 2009, serving 12 years in city office. She has been appointed to multiple boards and commissions statewide and locally.
