Dr. Michele Haney, the former president of Red Rocks Community College (RRCC), received the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award from the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) earlier this month.  

Nominated by the students on their respective campuses, the award recognizes retiring college presidents who have demonstrated unwavering support for student success initiatives leading to stronger pathways to completion, transfer, and employment. She joins eight other honorees who have taken an active interest in supporting high-achieving community college students and cultivating student leaders on their campuses. 

“These college leaders have made student success a priority throughout their career,” says Phi Theta Kappa President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “This award is special because it comes directly from the students, and it is evidence of the gratitude they feel for the support for them and students like them, both inside and outside the classroom.” 

Dr. Haney recently completed a 16-year tenure as RRCC president. Under her leadership, RRCC became the first community college in the country to offer a master’s degree, launching a Physician Assistant Studies program that celebrated its first graduate in 2019. She also spearheaded a successful philanthropic campaign to build the college’s Arvada campus. 

In recent years, Dr. Haney positioned RRCC as a premier regional partner. In 2021, she helped launch the Mines Academy, which guarantees RRCC students admission to any four-year degree program at the prestigious Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Haney also worked with Northrop Grumman to launch the first government-recognized cybersecurity apprenticeship in Colorado in 2019.  

Dr. Haney has dedicated her career to serving CCCS. Prior to joining RRCC, she was the president of Morgan Community College from 2003 to 2008 and served as vice president for instruction and student services and chief academic officer at Front Range Community College from 1992 to 2003.