President
JAY W. HELMAN
President
Western State College
of Colorado
Jay Helman came to Western in 1989 as Assistant Professor in Kinesiology and Head Men's Basketball Coach. Three years later, in addition to his coaching and faculty responsibilities, he was named Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation. He was named Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1996 and, in February of 2002, became Western's 13th President.
His B.A. degree in English Literature is from the University of Santa Clara in California. He also earned an M.A. in Psychology from California State University at Sonoma, and a Ph.D. in Exercise and Sport Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 1988.
As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Helman had direct responsibility for the supervision of eight academic departments, Admissions, Registrar, Academic Support Services, the Library, Computing Services, Institutional Research, Service Learning, and Extended Studies.
He has been responsible to the Office of State Colleges of Colorado for academic program reviews, grants and other assessment-related reports mandated by the State; represented the College on the board of Trustees Academic Affairs Council; made recommendations to the President on faculty tenure, promotion, and sabbatical decisions; made recommendations to the President on searches and hires for new faculty and academic staff; and served as a member of the President's Cabinet.
He has written a number of articles for academic publications and made presentations to a variety of organizations.
During his five-year tenure as Head Basketball Coach he was honored twice as Coach of the Year, had two teams qualify for post-season national tournaments and had an excellent graduation rate of student-athletes.
Jay W.
Helman
President
Western State College
Gunnison, CO 81231
970 943-2114
jhelman@western.edu