Southeast New Mexico College Announces Four Finalists for Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement

SENMC Announces Four Finalists for Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement

After an extensive search, Southeast New Mexico College (SENMC) announces four finalists for the position of Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement. The finalists are Dr. Jennifer Schroeder, Chris Spaulding, Samuel Soliman, and Dr. David Campbell.

The finalists will visit SENMC throughout August as part of the final stage of the search process. Each finalist will participate in an open forum, providing community members, faculty, staff, and students an opportunity to meet the candidates and learn more about their experience and vision for the position. All open forums will take place from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in Room 153 at Southeast New Mexico College, 1500 University Drive, Carlsbad, NM 88220. Community members, faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend.

Dr. Jennifer Schroeder

Dr. Jennifer Schroeder serves as Executive Director for the Career Accelerator at South Arkansas College (SouthArk), where she provides executive leadership for workforce development, adult education, career services, corporate training, and student transition initiatives. Working across academic affairs, workforce development, and community partnerships, she leads strategic efforts that expand educational access, strengthen employer engagement, and align workforce programs with regional economic development priorities. Her leadership emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and creating pathways that improve student success while meeting the evolving needs of business and industry.

Prior to joining SouthArk, Dr. Schroeder served as Director of Academic Advising and Student Support at Columbia Southern University, where she led initiatives focused on student engagement, retention, and academic success in an online learning environment.

Dr. Schroeder holds a Doctor of Education from the University of Alabama, a master's degree in Elementary Education from Missouri State University, a master's degree in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Human Resource Development from Waldorf University, and a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Missouri Southern State University. She was recognized with the University of Alabama's Most Outstanding Graduate Student Certificate of Distinction in 2021 and SouthArk's Most Outstanding Employee Award in 2023. She is passionate about building partnerships that connect education, workforce, and community to create lasting opportunities for students and the regions they serve.

Chris Spaulding

Chris currently serves as the Interim Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Engagement at Southeast New Mexico College, where he has the privilege of leading programs that support the Department of Energy, local industry, and the community. Over the past year, he’s worked alongside an outstanding team to launch new workforce initiatives—including CDL, Radiological Control Technician (RCT), OSHA, MSHA, CPR/First Aid, and SENMC's first Workforce Training Catalog—while rebuilding key partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy and regional industry.

Before joining SENMC, he spent more than two decades leading complex government programs with organizations including Collins Aerospace, DataPath, General Dynamics Information Technology, and Edgewater Federal Solutions. His leadership journey began in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he served during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and even earlier as a U.S. Forest Service Hotshot firefighter—experiences that shaped his belief that leadership is rooted in service, teamwork, and trust.

Chris holds an MBA from Mount Mercy University, a BA from the University of Arizona, and PMP, PRINCE2, and Agile certifications. Outside of work, he is a Paul Harris Rotary Fellow, a VFW Lifetime Member, and an active Carlsbad community member. Above all, Chris is a proud husband of 29 years, father of three daughters, and grandfather to two grandsons.

Samuel Soliman

For over 25 years, Sam Soliman has built partnerships that connect education to economic opportunity. As vice president of two colleges in Indiana and Colorado since 2016, he has led workforce development and community engagement initiatives ranging from helping attract a Hershey Co. subsidiary that created new jobs and workforce training opportunities to building earn-and-learn programs with national manufacturers such as New Holland and John Deere and developing paid energy-sector apprenticeships with federal WIOA partners and state workforce development agencies.

Innovation and growth are also central to Sam’s work. Among numerous program expansions, he grew Northeastern Junior College’s online course offerings by more than 5,000% in three years, generating $3.5 million in unanticipated revenue, and was among the first nationally to present on how to use AI to make Credit for Prior Learning more accessible to non-traditional adult students. He has also helped secure more than $70 million in external funding for colleges and communities.

Sam holds degrees from Bethel University, Indiana University, the University of Nebraska, and Yale University and is completing his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership at the University of Colorado. He hopes to bring this same collaborative, growth-oriented approach to SENMC to expand opportunity, strengthen local employers, and improve the economic well-being of the communities it serves.

Dr. David Campbell

David L. Campbell, PhD, is a community college executive with more than 30 years of experience advancing workforce development, career and technical education, and community partnerships that strengthen regional economies. Throughout his career, he has served in executive leadership roles at several institutions, including Vice President for Workforce Development and Career-Technical Education at St. Johns River State College in Florida and Vice President for Workforce Solutions and Career-Technical Education at Northwest Mississippi Community College.

Most recently, Dr. Campbell served as Executive Director of the Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College, where he led the development and operation of a 143,000-square-foot advanced workforce training center. His work included building partnerships with business and industry, supporting major economic development initiatives, and aligning education with regional workforce needs. He currently provides executive consulting for workforce development and apprenticeship programs serving large-scale employers.

Dr. Campbell earned his PhD in Community College Leadership from Mississippi State University. Throughout his career, he has believed that the greatest strength of a community college is its ability to bring together education, business, government, and community partners to create opportunity for students, strengthen the workforce, and improve the quality of life for the communities it serves.

Southeast New Mexico College looks forward to welcoming each finalist to campus and encourages community members, faculty, staff, and students to participate in the upcoming open forums.