In a testament to her remarkable contributions to education and community development, Heather Rinkenbaugh, the dean of Online, High School, and Community Learning, as well as the interim vice-president (VP) of Academics has been honored as one of the Wichita Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. This prestigious recognition celebrates her dedication, vision and impact on the educational landscape.
Photo Courtesy Heather Rinkenbaugh
From the time she was young, Rinkenbaugh has wanted to be involved in education in some way. She was an education major when she first started college, but then switched to psychology. Rinkenbaugh started at Butler as an administrative assistant in Student Life in 2011. At the time it was a job that was helping her pay the bills while she was finishing up her bachelor’s degree. In that role, she was able to interact with students and help prepare for events and assist in connecting students with support services. That’s where her passion for higher education started.
“Watching students grow and achieve their dreams and being able to support them along the way has been the greatest part of my career,” Rinkenbaugh said. “At the heart of who I am is serving others and I cannot think of a greater career than changing the lives of students. Serving others runs deep in my family, my biggest influence has been my father (Bill) who has spent his entire career in higher education. I served in that administrative assistant role and took every opportunity I could to learn and grow. That led me to the Director of Residence Life position, the Director of High School Academic Partnerships Position, and the Dean of Online, High School & Community Learning position.”
She has always found that each role we take prepares us for the next. We say yes to the opportunities that come to us, and our willingness to work hard and be coachable is what grants us the opportunities to grow and advance. Rinkenbaugh is grateful for the mentors she has had along her journey and the ways they invested in her to make her who she is today. Stepping into the Interim VP of Academic’s role has been another amazing learning experience and she’s been fortunate to serve in that role with Phil Speary who has helped her learn as well.
“Being named to the 2024 class of 40 Under 40 is truly humbling and an honor,” Rinkenbaugh said. “As I met and learned more about the other members of the class, I felt so blessed to be able to meet and build another network of colleagues across the greater Wichita area. This group is doing amazing work in our communities and I feel honored to be a part of it and to also showcase the amazing work being done at Butler. We have an amazing team, and I am extremely proud of the work we do.”
She believes her work ethic, passion and dedication are key components of why she received this recognition. Again, she has had amazing mentors and colleagues that have been a part of her journey that have helped shape her. She is passionate about the work she does and outside of the work, she loves to grow and invest in others. To her, this recognition is about coming together and shaping the future of our communities. It takes leaders willing to step up and come together to make great things happen. In addition to that, it means that we invest in those around us so that the work continues beyond our ability to lead and serve.
“In my role as dean, I get the absolute honor of leading the teams that serve our students in various locations and populations,” Rinkenbaugh said. “Our Ed Tech team ensures that our faculty have the training and support they need to teach online, including assisting in maintaining the quality standards of online course development. We also oversee the administration of Canvas, our LMS to make sure classes are populated and ready for students and faculty each term, and ensuring the system runs smoothly. Our high school team serves high schools in our designated service area through dual enrollment and also our Early College Academy. We have locations at McConnell Air Force Base that includes the Butler Service Center where we serve not only the military students, but any student who needs services or wants to take classes on base. We have locations at Marion and Council Grove where we serve high school, traditional, and non-traditional students in rural communities. Most recently, we added the El Dorado Correctional Facility program to our team where we have the opportunity to offer education programming to incarcerated students, helping reduce recidivism. I get to lead this team with Christy Streeter, Associate Dean and I couldn’t be more proud of the work our team does. As far as the Interim VP role, I get to lead with Phil Speary to provide leadership to all of Academics. We help guide policy and procedure, encourage forward progress on academic goals and vision in alignment with the college’s mission and strategic plan. We serve as members of the Executive Council, helping lead and make decisions for Butler as a whole.”
She always has the goal and aspiration to learn and grow. Rinkenbaugh wants to be the best version of herself and that requires daily dedication to being better than she was the day before. That includes failure and learning, because our greatest times of growth usually come from a learning experience. Serving in the interim VP role has helped solidify her desire to seek a full-time VP role and maybe even a presidency at some point in her career, but those are titles and her true aspiration for her career is to continue to learn, grow, lead and serve to make Rinkenbaugh better and to help those around her do the same.
“My advice would be not to seek the recognition, but to focus on the passion you have for your work,” Rinkenbaugh said. “Passion isn’t something you go out and find it’s something within. When we see obstacles or challenges in our communities and we collaborate to solve them, that’s where passion comes out. When we work or serve from that passion, people notice. The recognition is secondary and a result of people seeing the passion for the work.”
“Just want to thank my colleagues, friends, family, and mentors for their support,” Rinkenbaugh added. “I also want to congratulate the Class of 2024 40 Under 40 for their recognition and to the Wichita Business Journal for recognizing and encouraging the work happening in the greater Wichita area.”