With 34 years of experience serving six different colleges, Deanna (Dee) McCormick has brought her skills to Simpson College to serve as Vice President of Business and Finance. 

McCormick most recently served as Financial and Chief Operating Officer at Albion College in Michigan before eventually retiring. McCormick’s love for higher education drew her out of her short-lived retirement. 

“After I failed miserably at retirement, retiring the month before COVID hit, I started a consulting business to assist small colleges with financial issues, including such issues as coaching CFOs, writing policies and procedures and developing long-range financial forecasting models,” McCormick said. “I was hired by Simpson in September 2021 to work with the finance department on those very issues.”

McCormick was subsequently named the Interim Vice President of Finance and Business in December of 2021. After going through the interview process, she accepted the full-time position in January. 

Having been in her new position for a couple of months now, McCormick said she is happy with her decision. 

“I have a great love for higher education and what I do. I realized retirement was not for me as I wanted to stay engaged in my work,” McCormick said. “I receive a significant amount of satisfaction from seeing students move through the educational process, grow in knowledge and character and move into satisfying careers.” 

McCormick said that she has already seen plenty of challenges and opportunities in her new position. This includes the opportunity to hire new staff members due to retirements and resignations, something that McCormick said she will work diligently on to hire the right staff for the right position.

McCormick said she is ready to face these opportunities and challenges with her new team. 

“I feel at home here and plan to use the depth and breadth of my experience to further the mission of the college and elevate the student experience in whatever way I can,” McCormick said. “Simpson has a very dedicated board, senior leadership team, faculty and staff that I thoroughly enjoy working with. The dedication to students is one of the strongest I have seen in my career.” 

McCormick said she is looking forward to creating a high-performing team across her division that will provide exceptional customer service and continuously improve their skills and abilities. 

“I am a firm believer in professional staff development at every level in my division and always try to promote from within to create a path for talented employees,” McCormick said. 

In her personal life, McCormick loves to travel with her husband David and has been to a number of countries during their 36 years together. They and their two cats will make Indianola their home this month. 

“I love to have fun as life is too short to sweat the small stuff. I can be a practical joker at times and enjoy making people laugh, something we should all do more of,” McCormick said.