Charlene Widener

In her role as vice president, Dr. Widener will serve as the chief academic officer at Northeast by providing leadership and strategic direction for the Educational Services division, including: program development and assessment; teaching and learning assessment; faculty appointment, professional development, and evaluation; and development of academic procedures. She will oversee all academic divisions in addition to workforce development, academic outreach, and teaching and learning.

Before coming to Northeast, Dr. Widener served as vice president of academic affairs and student learning at North Iowa Area Community College for three and half years where she designed and managed robust program review and assessment processes, designed and managed campus-wide guided pathways initiatives, served as a Campus Title IX Investigator, managed the Perkins grant, led Title III grant application team, and developed the faculty handbook and faculty mentor handbook. Prior to moving to Iowa, Dr. Widener served as a full-time faculty member, program director, and accreditation coordinator at Hutchinson Community College for 17 years. While there, she helped establish the faculty senate, served as the first faculty senate president, and developed and taught a leadership academy.

Dr. Widener is a proud community college graduate who holds a master's degree from Kansas State University and Ph.D. from Mizzou. Currently, she serves as a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship Reviewer and Team Chair/Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.