Carol Himes has been Department Chair of the Culinary Arts Department at Pueblo Community College for over 25 years. She received her bachelor's degree in history at Cornell University. She earned her master's in education from Boston University. Before coming to Pueblo Community College, Carol taught social science at Cherry Creek High School in the Denver area. Her work in the food service industry has run the gamut of line cookery, dining room and cocktail service, hosting, and managing an institutional food service operation.
As Department Chair of the Culinary Arts department, Carol has been active in developing and revising curriculum since the inception of the program. In June, 2005, the department received its renewed accreditation from the American Culinary Federation. The program at PCC is viewed as a leader in Culinary Arts and Hospitality throughout the state of Colorado. In addition to its affiliation with the American Culinary Federation, the Culinary Arts program is closely affiliated with the state and national restaurant association. It is a participant in the ManageFirst program of the National Restaurant Association and offers courses through the National Restaurant Association's Education Foundation.
Carol also has been active in several campus organizations. She is a member of the Mentoring Committee which matches new faculty with experienced mentors and follows the development and training of new faculty throughout their first year. She has been Assistant Chair of the Assessment of Student Learning Committee, which provides guidance for all instructional areas in the college regarding assessment of students in the classes.
In her personal life, Carol is married with two daughters, Beth and Heidi. Her husband, Rich, works part-time with the American Medical Response Ambulance Service. Beth is married and teaches at Aurora Hinkley High School. Heidi is currently the Human Resources Supervisor at Copper Mountain Resorts.
Carol has a passion for skiing and other outdoor activities and spends as much time on the slopes as possible.
Her educational philosophy can be summarized as: "It is our obligation to provide as many opportunities for student learning in as many formats as possible. Students must be the cornerstone of all educational activities and our successes can only be measured by those of our students."