Office of the President
A Message from President Heiser
When I arrived in Flagstaff in January 2023, I came prepared to listen. I traveled across Coconino County, from Flagstaff to Page, meeting with students, faculty, staff, community members, partners, and critics. What I heard were stories of passion, dedication, and lives changed by this college.
That listening shaped everything that followed. And what I found in Coconino County, and at CCC specifically, is something genuinely worth building on: a college that has deep roots in its communities, faculty and staff who show up every day for their students, and a region that needs and deserves a strong community college.
My commitment to this institution and to the people of northern Arizona is simple. CCC must be accessible to everyone who wants to learn, excellent in everything we do, and deeply connected to the communities we serve. That is the work we are doing together every day.
I am honored to serve as CCC’s sixth President and CEO, and I am grateful to do this work alongside some of the most dedicated educators and staff I have encountered in over two decades in higher education.
Dr. Eric A. Heiser
President and CEO
Coconino Community College
About Dr. Heiser
Dr. Eric Heiser proudly serves as the sixth President and CEO of Coconino Community College. He has worked in higher education for over two decades, beginning as a full-time faculty member and progressing through increasingly senior leadership roles. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Colorado State University.
Before joining CCC, Dr. Heiser served as the inaugural Provost of Central Ohio Technical College, where he served as Chief Academic, Student Support, and Workforce Officer. In that role he was a principal architect of the college’s Guided Pathways program and led efforts to eliminate remedial education through co-curricular and multiple measures placement.
Dr. Heiser began his career as a faculty member at Central Wyoming College, where he taught business, management, and criminal justice and also served as a director and workforce training coordinator. He later spent six years at Salt Lake Community College, first as an Associate Dean and then as a Dean, where he and his team built one of the nation’s largest Competency-Based Education programs, earning national recognition across multiple outlets.
A nationally recognized scholar and practitioner in competency-based education and academic innovation, Dr. Heiser has delivered more than three dozen conference presentations and keynotes and published several articles on these topics over the past 15 years. He was appointed as a content expert to the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse, advising on best practices in career and technical education and guided pathways. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Competency-Based Education Network, an international network of institutions and organizations dedicated to improving graduation rates and eliminating equity gaps.
Presidential Priorities
Dr. Heiser’s leadership at CCC is guided by five strategic pillars that reflect both the college’s current strengths and its commitments to students and communities across northern Arizona.
- Thrive in a Complex World: Equipping learners to adapt, think critically, and succeed in a rapidly changing environment.
- Career and Economic Mobility: Building programs that lead to life-sustaining wages and long-term economic resilience.
- Stronger Communities, Multi-Generational Impact: Creating programs and partnerships that deliver lasting benefit across generations.
- Integrity and Stewardship: Upholding the highest standards in every area of college operations.
- Student Access and Support: Building pathways and systems that help every student succeed, from entry to completion.
President's Report & News
Contact Us
Office of the President
2800 S. Lone Tree Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86005
928-226-4217 president@coconino.edu
Staff: Kirsten Mead, Assistant to the President