Dear Highline Community,
I’m deeply saddened to inform you that former faculty member and Dean of Instruction for Professional-Technical Education Alice Madsen passed away on Sunday, June 4, 2023. At present, we have no additional information from the family as they have requested privacy. We will share details as they become available.
Alice began at Highline College in the early 1990s as a faculty member of the Education department where she spent the first half of her career and also served as department chair. Upon retiring in 2019 as Executive Dean of Instruction, Alice was described as a lasting Highline legacy who was influential, trustworthy and worked at Highline with humility, intelligence and dedication.
Alice was a champion for professional-technical programs and helped lead major international initiatives by writing grants that created opportunities and strengthened partnerships with Indonesia, Egypt, South Africa and Namibia, among others. Alice led the integration of I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) and played a major role in the Achieving the Dream initiative awarded to Highline by the Lumina Foundation.
Working alongside Raegan Copeland, Alice was also instrumental in securing funding for the Sustainable Ag department, formerly known as Urban Ag. Alice never let a “no” stop her from doing the important work.
She served on the Executive Board for Workforce Education Council, the Washington State Dean’s Academy Advisory Board and the Workforce Development Council.
Alice had over 30 years in teaching experience, many of which were in special education. She participated in a multi-year development of Washington State Skill Standards for Paraeducators and Early Childhood Education as well as the development of Washington State Core Competencies for Paraeducators. She developed “Building a Functional Curriculum,” a curriculum guide for staff working with people who have developmental disabilities. She also assisted in the research, writing and implementation of “Language Development for Multi-Handicapped Students.”
During her time at Highline, she served on several committees, including the Faculty Resource Center Advisory Committee, Standards Outcomes Competencies Committee, Diversity Globalism Committee, Tutoring-Learning Center Committee, WorkFirst Committee, Tenure Working Committees, Strategic Planning Committee for Programs, and more.
Academic Affairs will be planning a celebration of life later this summer. If you are interested in contributing or participating in this effort, please contact Carrie Davidson or Emily Lardner.
Alice was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
Sincerely,
John
John R. Mosby, Ph.D. (he/him)
President