Dr. Joe
DeHart

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  Dr-Joe-DeHart Dr. Joe DeHart is a native Iowan and currently serves as Provost of the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Newton Campus. He has been employed at DMACC since 2002 initially working within the President’s Office as the Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant to the President before becoming Provost in 2017. He earned his PhD and MS Degrees from Iowa State University in 2007 and 1996 respectively. He earned his BS Degree in General Science from the University of Iowa in 1988. Dr. DeHart began his career teaching math and science at an alternative high school for dropouts and students at risk of dropping out at Iowa Valley Community College in Marshalltown, Iowa. He was later promoted as an administrator for similar programs in Grinnell, Iowa Falls, and Tama.

During his tenure as Provost of the Newton Campus, Dr. DeHart has expanded programming to match current student interests and workforce needs in Jasper and Marion Counties. The Newton Campus is home to Iowa’s only Court Reporting Program that transitioned to an all-virtual, real-time delivery format in fall 2022 resulting in record enrollment for fall 2023. In 2020, Dr. DeHart collaborated with faculty to implement the Iowa Culinary Institute’s Baking and Pastry Arts Program at Newton resulting in increased enrollment each year. Also, under Dr. DeHart’s leadership, the Electrical Trades Program has increased enrollment by 65 percent and added a registered apprenticeship option for students.  Dr. DeHart is very involved in the community highlighted by his service as the Board President for the Newton YMCA, Advisory Board Chair for the Newton Salvation Army, and member of the Newton Development Corporation Board of Directors. Also, in his time at DMACC, he has matured the institution’s use of data from static reporting to data analytics and has been recognized nationally for his contribution to improving the use of data to improve teaching and learning in higher education. Dr. DeHart has led various college-wide initiatives while at DMACC including strategic planning, accreditation, assessment of student learning, and continuous improvement.

Born in Grinnell, Iowa, Dr. DeHart’s family moved to Newton in 1970. His wife, Becky, is currently a Mathematics Professor and began her career in community colleges in 1998. All their children have attended or graduated from a community college. The power of community colleges to improve the lives of students, their families, and communities has been experienced personally by the DeHart family.

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