VPAA Snare to retire in January 2020

Chadron State College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Charles Snare announced Friday, that he’ll retire in January 2020. 

He made the announcement at last week’s faculty and staff meeting, surprising a few in the audience,  said one faculty member asked not to be identified.   

Director of College Relations Alex Helmbrecht said the college has no immediate plans to fill the vacancy until Snare retires on Jan. 10, 2020. 

“We’ll decide an approach to replacing him soon,” President Randy Rhine said. “How we will go about it and who is going to help with that is still to be decided.” 

Snare started at CSC in 2006 as the dean of Liberal Studies. During his time at CSC he also served as the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and the dean of Teaching and Learning. 

In 2012, he ascended to as vice president of academic affairs.  

Before his time at CSC, Snare worked in a multitude of different fields and cities across the United States. 

“You want to put the institution in a better place when you leave than when you came, and I hope I did that. To retire now is the right time for both me and the college,” Snare said in a press release issued Wednesday. “If I did my job properly, people won’t remember me two or three years down the road because they are taking the things we worked on together to the next level. 

“It’s time for a fresh approach to come in and it’s a good time for Karen and me to be immersed in another life adventure,” he said.

In the release Snare also elaborated about the various positions he’s held through a lifetime career in higher education. 

“As for professional roles within higher education, my experiences have spanned a diverse set of higher education systems, traversed three regional accreditation entities, and encompassed a spectrum of roles and duties from adjunct to tenured faculty member to various administrative positions,” he said on his CSC website staff profile. 

Among his accomplishments, Snare led Chadron State through its accreditation in 2017, netting a perfect “Met,” on all criteria required by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting agency. He also was instrumental in developing the CSC’s new mission, vision and institutional values statements, released this summer.

Snare’s announcement to retire came as a surprise to some faculty members and administrators. 

“The timing is always something you are surprised by, but it also was not shocking,” Rhine said. “For Charles, he felt the decision was the right one for him.”

Helmbrecht also offered a personal view.  

“I have always enjoyed working with Charles,” Helmbrecht said. “He has always shown great leadership and has been instrumental in the department of academics here.”

After concluding his announcement, he left the podium to a standing ovation.