The Southwest Colorado Community College has named Anita Seamans to be its Law Enforcement Academy coordinator.
Seamans, who has 32 years of experience in law enforcement - 21 as a police detective and 11 as a patrol officer - comes from San Antonio, where she also was a police instructor for 26 years with the Regional Academy. She has a doctorate of philosophy in organizational leadership from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.
"This is a dream job for me," said Seamans, who started work on Monday.
Seamans said she hopes to start continuing education for officers at SCCC, with courses in leadership development, patrol, criminal investigation and telecommunication.
"Right now, they have to go all the way to Denver to get training," she said.
The Law Enforcement Academy, which is at 33057 U.S. Highway 160 between Mancos and Cortez, graduated nine students last month during a ceremony in Durango. The academy boasts a 98 percent passage rate on the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification test.
The academy starts Aug. 10 and is accepting applications. The academy is 18 weeks long, and classes are eight hours a day, five days a week. Graduation ceremonies are held in December and May.
Applications are due by July 8. Visit www.EnrollSouthwest.org and click on the "Apply Today" tab at the bottom of the page or call 970-564-6202.