Joan Jaimes Appointed Director of Teaching and Learning

Joan Jaimes has been appointed director of Teaching and Learning in the Division of Academic Success at San Antonio College. She will report to Sobia Kahn, Dean for Academic Success.

Her main responsibility will be to provide resources and information about professional development opportunities and training to faculty and staff. She will collaborate with different departments at the college and district level including the Office of Technology Services, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, the Office of Learning Assessment, and the Student Learning Assistance Center, and Human Resources Faculty Development. In addition, she will work with the Ascender Catch the Dream learning communities initiative.

“I feel professional development is important to help staff and faculty fulfill their personal and professional goals by keeping them current with the most recent developments in teaching with technology, equitable pedagogy and other tools and resources to keep students engaged and encourage learning,” she said about her position, adding “this will help to empower them while meeting the learning needs of our diverse community.”

Jaimes, a former migrant farmworker from Brownsville and the daughter of Mexican immigrants, is the first in her family to obtain a college degree. She moved to Iowa to work in a pork processing plant and later began attending Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown. She started her career in higher education directing the Marshalltown Education Partnership at the college.

She conducted outreach to first generation college students and families and helped create partnerships to bridge diverse communities in Iowa. She served on many boards and commissions while living in Iowa. Joan is a founding member of Iowa’s Al Éxito, an AAUW initiative that guides middle school students on their path to college.

In 2015, her experience in cultural bridging and Latin@ educational outreach took her to Washington, D.C., where she worked for Department of Education as an Awareness and Outreach Specialist for Federal Student Aid.

Jaimes is a 2013 fellow of the National Community College Hispanic Leadership program, a 2013 fellow of Iowa State University’s Leadership Institute for a New Century and a 2020 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Graduate Fellow.

She earned an associate degree from Marshalltown Community College, a bachelor’s from Buena Vista University, and a master’s in public administration from DeVry University. Jaimes graduated in December of 2019, with a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University. Her research focus is using technology to create a college going culture in Latin@ homes.

–SAC–