A Literary Life

By Kate Jonuska

Lee Trovas likes to quote the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who wrote, “You could not step twice into the same river.” Trovas, the interim director of Webster University’s Colorado Springs campus, explains, “He means that everything is constantly changing. If you just stand still, you’re moving backwards. That’s why education is so important.”

Ranked by US Weekly as one of the “Best Universities — Masters,” Webster was founded in 1915, now has 107 campuses worldwide and has been serving the Springs since 1978 with their accredited solely graduate-level curriculum. Taking Trovas’s recognition of change seriously, Webster is proud to offer some of the most innovative specialized programs in the educational community today.

“We serve both military and civilian populations as well as the Department of Defense,” he says. “And we work on what I call the applied theory. You learn from people who have done it, not who have just studied it. We hire only practicing professionals to teach, no matter the subject.”

Specialization: Procurement and Acquisitions Management, Henry Taylor and Ramon Gonzales

In a town where the military and government are involved in so many careers — even for civilians — Webster attracts many students looking to get involved in procurement and acquisitions, learning how to manage the development, procurement, contracting and channeling of material, services and systems. In other words, these are the specialized professionals who get things done, who manage the transfer of goods, services and ideas between agencies — an in-demand skill, for certain.

“I’m in the medical field, and I never really thought I could get a foot in that career,” says Ramon Gonzales, a recent graduate. “And here was Webster with a master’s degree and a certificate in it. There’s the foot in the door. That’s great. It’s been great ever since.”

Gonzales was interested in government contracting, and Webster not only accommodated his busy life as a working single dad, it also has opened the door to his dream job, a job he’s filling out the paperwork to begin. “This is the No. 1 job I wanted and I’m going to get it because of Webster,” he says.

Graduate Henry Taylor had a similar experience. After being laid off from one company, he landed his current position directly due to his studies at Webster. “(My manager) clued me in afterwards that during our interview, that’s something that leaned him in my favor over other applicants,” says Taylor, who explains that the manager knew most of Taylor’s instructors, who he held in high esteem in the tight-knit contracting society of Colorado Springs.

“The other schools I’ve went through, I’ve never ran into instructors that had the depth and the background that these people had,” he continues. “It’s not just their bread and butter but their heart and soul. Everyone of them I had owned their own consulting company or owned their own business or have been in the business for 20-plus years. People know them.”

Both procurement grads would heartily recommend both Webster and their field of concentration to anyone interested in procurement and acquisitions. Taylor notes, “Webster has done me well. It’s done so much for me.”

CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article, which published in the June 14, 2009 Springs Jobs.