RIO GRANDE COUNTY – During the Rio Grande County Board of Commissioner meeting on Jan. 22, Adams State University President David Tandberg provided a brief update and introduced ASU’s new Vice-President Jake Rissler. 

“I recently gave what was called a state of the university address, it was open to the public. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on where we’re at as an institution. I started as interim in 2022 and have been in the job for over two and half years. We have seen some great progress. Adams State has always done some great things, but we’ve had some challenges,” said Tandberg. 

Tandberg said that with those challenges, the university made some priorities for not only the president but staff as well. 

“One priority was being better at connecting with the Valley and I have always thought of Adams State as the Valley’s university. I was a graduate of Adams State, and my wife is. The Valley and the Valley-first approach has been really important to me and the leadership at Adams State,” he said. 

According to his bio provided by Adams State Rissler, “Recently served as the Director of Institutional Advancement at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Neb. In his role at Adams State, Rissler will oversee Public Relations and Marketing, Alumni Relations, Development, and the Adams State Foundation. In his role at Mid-Plains Community College, Rissler served as the executive director for the North Platte Community College Foundation, acted as college liaison for the McCook College Foundation, built and maintained strong relationships with individuals and industries with vested interests in the institution, developed alumni relations, and engaged in community activities/service throughout the college’s 18 county service area. He served as director of development for the Chadron State Foundation prior to the community college position.” 

Tandberg said the university plans to be an open, accessible university that will reach out to the students of the Valley. 

“I think we have seen some progress there. Since 2022, to this point, we have seen a 73 percent increase in students from the Valley. In comparison, we were at a pretty low point in 2022,” Tandberg said. 

Tandberg has made it a point to visit every high school in the Valley on a yearly basis to talk to the leadership and to help recruit students. 

“We love all of the Valley schools, and we love the community of the San Luis Valley,” Tandberg said. 

Commissioners thanked Tandberg for his time and invited him to visit for future updates when his schedule allowed.