Cochise Newsroom

Cochise College President Emeritus Dr. Karen Nicodemus and Cochise College alumnus Alfredo Romero recently joined the board of the Cochise College Foundation.

 

Nicodemus, of Palominas, led the college as president from 1997 until she retired in 2009. Her tenure at the college, which dates to the mid-1980s, began with volleyball and women’s basketball coaching roles. She also served as a faculty member in sociology and health and physical education, served as chair of the academic division that included those areas, and moved into administrative leadership roles in planning, assessment and instruction. After retirement, she provided educational consulting services. Nicodemus comes with fresh non-profit experience. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Patches’ Happy Pastures, a relatively new equine rescue and sanctuary targeting senior horses whose owners can no longer care for them.

 

“We’re excited to welcome Karen into the fold,” said foundation board President Larry Borger, Bisbee. “Her passion for higher education and the students of Cochise College is obvious, and with her experience in many roles with the institution, she lends a perspective that few others can.”

 

Romero, of Douglas, has dedicated 26 years of his career to education. Currently, he is the correctional education program supervisor at the Arizona State Prison located north of Douglas. In addition to teaching there since 2006, he has taught social studies, science, U.S. history, philosophy and construction trades at the Center for Academic Success, Douglas middle and high schools, and Cochise College, from which he graduated with an associate of arts degree in 1995. He also holds a bachelor of arts degree in secondary education/social studies from the University of Arizona and a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the American College of Education. Romero was the Arizona State Prison Complex – Douglas Administrator of the Year in 2022 and the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry Southern Region Supervisor of the Year in 2023.

 

“We are excited about Alfredo’s enthusiasm for students of all ages, and his ability to relate to Cochise College alumni will serve us well as the college considers ways to engage its former students,” Borger said.

 

The Cochise College Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization. Its vision is that a Cochise College education is accessible to all who wish to attend. Its mission is to promote student success through scholarships, program support and capital development.

 

More than 750 Cochise College students received scholarships totaling $637,000 last academic year. The foundation also provided more than $330,000 for academic programs and about $9 million, the result of a bequest, to help the college construct the first residence hall on the Sierra Vista Campus. Fourteen volunteers and the college president serve on the foundation board. Directors may serve two five-year terms. Nicodemus and Romero began their terms on July 1.

Credits

• Writer

  Denise Hoyos

• DATE

  September 09, 2025

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