Dr. Donald Weasenforth
After 17 years of service to Collin College and its students, Dr. Don Weasenforth will retire at the end of May.
While in his most recent position as vice president/provost of the Frisco Campus he oversaw campus operations, planning, and academic affairs, Weasenforth has served the college in a number of capacities as it grew throughout the years.
However, Weasenforth didn’t always know he wanted to work in higher education.
“My earliest memories are of wanting to become an actuarial statistician, but when I decided to study languages, I first thought of working as an interpreter for the United Nations or FBI,” Weasenforth said. “I was drawn to higher education when I taught French at the University of Illinois.”
Weasenforth, a Maryland native, has an extensive background in linguistics and foreign languages. He received his baccalaureate degree in French from Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland, a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Illinois in Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After receiving his doctoral degree, Weasenforth took a position as an assistant professor at The George Washington University in Washington D.C. from 1995-2003.
Weasenforth first came to Collin in January 2003 as a professor of English as a Second Language (ESL) and later served as a professor of English Composition. Simultaneously, he was also a Collin student playing violin in the string ensemble.
In 2011, he served as the dean of academic affairs for the Developmental Education Department then as dean of academic affairs for the Plano Campus from 2013-2017. In 2017, he assumed the role of associate provost of instruction for Collin College, and in 2018 became the vice president/provost of the Frisco Campus.
Weasenforth said his greatest memories of working at Collin College are the ones that illustrate the commitment that his colleagues had to the success of students.
“One of many examples is the additional effort that faculty and staff invested in the restructuring of Developmental Education,” he said. “The implementation of an advising program and the reorganization of programs within Developmental Education required a significant investment of time and effort.”
During his time here, Weasenforth led a string quartet in a performance of a Georg Philipp Telemann concerto for a public concert at the Plano Campus. Weasenforth was nominated by his students for the Faculty of the Year Award. He also helped lead faculty in facilitating large extracurricular initiatives and worked with them to create and transform programs to benefit students.
“Many of the lasting university partnerships that we enjoy today are the result of Dr. Weasenforth’s leadership,” said Dr. Neil Matkin, Collin College district president. “As the college continued to grow, so too did Dr. Weasenforth. As vice president/provost of the Frisco Campus, he has worked diligently to forge lasting partnerships and mutually beneficial relationships with the community, local school districts, and universities seeking to serve Collin students. Don is the epitome of professionalism, and we are sad to see him leave Collin College.”
Weasenforth said the moments he has shared with students and colleagues will leave him with lasting memories.
“I am profoundly grateful to Collin College for the many opportunities for growth that I have experienced,” he said. “I will continue to cherish the memories of all the wonderful people with whom I have worked at Collin over the last 17+ years. I cannot think of a more satisfying way to live life than to promote the education/training of thousands of students and support faculty and staff in that effort.”