TORRINGTON – “Coming together is a beginning; staying together is progress and working together is success.”
Dr. Lesley Travers of Casper used this quote by Henry Ford to describe her beliefs about community colleges and her role as a leader, should she take the reins as the new president of Eastern Wyoming College. Travers is one of six finalists for the position presenting at EWC this month during open public forums.
Travers fielded questions Tuesday and discussed plans for her first 90 days, if elected, as well as her short-term goals.
Travers emphasized listening as key to her success as a community college president.
“I want to spend a lot of time watching and listening – that’s how I want to learn about this college.”
In addition she discussed the importance of accessibility, transparency, review and assessment.
Travers said she plans to meet with all faculty, staff administration, alumni, donors, foundation members and the Board of Trustees individually to get to know each person and his or her contributions to EWC.
She also listed summer school students and faculty, targeted stakeholders, community members, business and industry groups, economic development groups, farm and ranch organizations, Wyoming Community College Commission members, the University of Wyoming president and cabinet and other community college presidents as people she would like to meet in her first 90 days as president. And Travers hopes to extend that outreach into the communities EWC serves.
“I’m pretty excited about the (Goshen County) fair, I think it would be a great time to meet more people,” Travers said. “I want to get know people in this area as well as in the six counties (Platte, Converse, Niobrara, Weston, Crook and Goshen). We’re recruiting students and faculty members from those communities.

“I want to visit outreach centers, possibly hold ice cream socials. I like to sell a great college and this is a great college.”
Travers said she believes a retreat with the president’s cabinet is important to create a team to look at academic excellence and measurements, strategic plans, identify professional development needs, learn outcomes standards, create an instructional program development and review committee for new programs and expansion, discuss strategies for increasing degree production while cutting costs, assessment of scheduling, and preparations for the start of the FY2017-18 academic year.
“We need as many team members as we can get … and that starts with the president’s cabinet,” Travers said.
She expressed a desire to review all employee contracts, evaluations, supporting documents and timelines, departmental reports, previous targeted goals for student success, key financial reports, documents and projections, grants, as well as the college’s crisis management plan.
“I feel it’s critically important to have that piece in place,” Travers said. “I’d rather be prepared and not have something happen than not be prepared.”
Travers said assessing several areas is also critical to her 90-day plan, including professional development, financial operations, current practices, organization priorities, faculty and staff support, student retention, recruitment, completion rates, transfers, articulation agreements, operations, organizational priorities and how EWC functions, marketing recruitment and enrollment management.
“How do we teach our students … and how do we keep our students?” Travers asked.
As far as specific short-term goals, Travers said she hopes to strengthen the academic culture of the college, maintain a strong operational and fiscal environment, consider the meaningfulness of services for students, hold regularly scheduled round table discussions for all college employees, create and grow a leadership program, continue fundraising efforts for the Agricultural Technology Education Center, learn about school and community traditions and continue preparations for start of the FY2017-18 academic year.
“I want to be involved in an open house for a community celebration of the (Career and Technical Education Center),” Travers added.
In the future, she also said she would like to create a basic skills task force to teach students soft skills, begin a weekly presidential update, look at differential tuition, assess high-impact practices for learning and assess structural equity and its fit for EWC.
“We need to get students looking at (college) sooner and getting ready sooner,” Travers said. “I want to let members of the college and community know I am here for a reason … I want to be involved.”
Travers received a bachelor of arts in psychology, minor Native American studies, from the University of Montana, a master of science in community counseling from the UW/Casper College and doctorate in higher education and marriage and family therapy from UW. She also holds the following licenses in the State of Wyoming: Marriage and Family Therapist, Addictions Therapist, and Professional Counselor. She is also a National Board Certified counselor.
Travers currently serves as the Dean of the School of Business and Industry at Casper College, a position she has held since 2009.
From 2002-2009 she was the Department Head of Addictionology at Casper College. Since 1993 she has owned and operated her own consultant, meditation and private practice in Casper. She served as a treatment coordinator at Casper Alternatives from 2001-2002 and was an adjunct faculty member at Casper College from 2000-2001.
While attending the University of Wyoming she was a Graduate Assistant. She has served as the Executive Director, Director of Administration, and General Business Manager for the following organizations: Brain Injury Association of Wyoming, JETS Technology, Northern Arapaho Trust and Wyoming Senior Citizens, Inc. She also has over 10 years of counseling experience from 1979 to 1987 while in Montana.
She received the Wyoming Counseling Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, was nominated for the Outstanding Administrator Award in 2012, 2016 and 2017. She received the Rosenthal Outstanding Educator Award in 2009 and the Wyoming Counseling Association Outstanding Service Award in 2008. In 2007, she was nominated for the Rosenthal Outstanding Educator award and the Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Honorary, UW, 1999-present.