AACC President Dawn Lindsay plans to spend the 2016-2017 school year seeking funds for a new health and science building and updating the college’s strategic plan, she told Campus Current last month.

“These are two big things that are important to the college,” she said.

Lindsay said the college’s agenda centers around “retention and completion.”

Lindsay, who began her fifth school year as president in September, reflected on other major projects she has tackled during her time here.

“When I came here, it was solid,” she said. “So I did not come here to fix anything, I came here to continue building and growing [the college].” 

Since Lindsay’s first year, she has raised faculty salaries, which she said were stagnant before her arrival. Lindsay said the raises help keep AACC competitive among the state’s other large community colleges. 

“We’ve got an incredibly dedicated group of people who are very passionate and really care,” Lindsay said of the faculty. “When you’ve got that kind of talent here, it’s important to acknowledge that.”

Before taking AACC’s top job, Lindsay was president of the 44,000-student Glendale Community College in California.