AWC names Reetika Dhawan as Dean for Career and Technical Education

Arizona Western College named Reetika Dhawan as the Dean for Career and Technical Education after serving as co-chair of the Mathematics Division for three years.

Dhawan transitioned to the Dean position in August and plans to challenge the current mindset regarding the career and technical fields.

She believes the community and business partners are in need of a talented workforce that has a skill set that is refined while earning a certificate at schools like Arizona Western College.

“I hope to help the community expand their views of the career and technology career choices, especially when there is a high demand in the fields,” said Dhawan.

Dhawan found in talking to the community business partners, there is a greater need than expected in fields that Arizona Western College currently offers. However, she does want to explore working closely with these partners in advancing the caliber of skill sets and knowledge of the graduates. She wants to have AWC graduates match the needs of the community partners.

“With the booming manufacturing and technology (industry), we need for our economy, we need the career and tech programs to be evolving to meet the requests,” said Dhawan.

Dhawan moved to the United States in 2007 from India to teach physics and math in the high school district in La Paz County.

In 2008, she began working full-time for AWC at the La Paz Learning Center. In 2010, Dhawan moved to the Yuma Campus to teach Physics, Astronomy and other math courses.

Dhawan received the 2017 Yuma County Teacher of the Year for the College and University category.