DCTC instructor recognized as a top Hispanic leader in Minnesota
Harold Torrence | DCTC Supervisory Management Instructor
Harold Torrence, an instructor in the Supervisory Management and Multicultural Management programs at Dakota County Technical College, has been named to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota 25 on the Rise, an award that recognizes 25 Latino men and women under the age of 40 from around the state who have contributed immensely to their communities across a wide range of areas, including business, government, law, finance, entrepreneurship and education.
A native of Valencia, Venezuela, Torrence also teaches occupational and general education Spanish at the college. He holds both a Masters of Arts in Management and a Master in Public Administration from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in education, or Ed.D.
“I am very honored to join this select group of people,” Torrence said. “Through this award, individuals in the Hispanic community are acknowledged for their many contributions, which often take place behind the scenes. They are doing good things for the private, public and nonprofit sectors.”
Torrence originally came to the United States on a Venezuelan national scholarship. He brings a far-reaching background in international business, consumer sales and marketing to his teaching position at DCTC as well as a passion for thoroughly understanding the increasingly multicultural dimensions that shape modern businesses, organizations and higher learning institutions.
“I want to continue helping my community by developing an even stronger, research-based teaching process,” Torrence said. “We need to continue learning about the things we do right and the things we can do better. What we do has to make a difference.”
Torrence believes in the exceptional power of the college’s Multicultural Management program, which works on a learning community-based concept while driving home the idea of personal and professional development.
“This is a program that can turn people around,” he said. “As with our Supervisory Management program, we want people to learn as a community because they become stronger and more effective leaders.”
Torrence went on to say that without the support and opportunities provided by DCTC, he would not have been honored with the HCCM 25 on the Rise Award. “I have been empowered to do my job at DCTC,” he said. “It’s beyond delegation—it is empowerment. We can accomplish great things at DCTC because of the trust we have in each other.”
With his wife, Liliana, who sits on the board of directors of the San Miguel Middle School of Minneapolis, and their two children, Jonathan, 7, and Susana, 3, Torrence resides in Woodbury, Minn. For the past nine years, he has served as choir director for Holy Rosary Church in South Minneapolis, playing guitar to his wife’s piano.
HCCM will be honoring the 25 on the Rise awardees Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley, Minn. Sandra Vargas, CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation will emcee the awards. UNIVISION will tape the event for airing Saturdays in December on local Channel 13.
