Published: March 17, 2017

Caroline Himes

Retiring Director of the Office of Industry Collaboration Caroline Himes

The Research & Innovation Office (RIO) is hosting a reception on Tuesday, March 21, at 3 p.m. to recognize Caroline Himes, director of the Office of Industry Collaboration, who is retiring after 19 years of serving in various roles across the university.

Himes first joined the Boulder community when she moved to Colorado in 1992 to become the controller for a Boulder startup. In 1997, she joined the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) as the executive associate director in charge of finance and operations.

While at LASP, Himes was responsible for a number of projects and processes, including managing a new building addition under budget, catapulting LASP to the forefront of export control on campus and evolving the organization to the earned value reporting system in advance of the rest of the university. She also facilitated the development of LASP finance and human resource units into more professional, high-efficiency groups.

In 2013, Himes became director of the newly-formed Office of Industry Collaboration, where her experience in both large and small companies, as well as with PIs (principal investigators) and university programs, positioned her ideally as a connector and facilitator of collaborations.

Among the numerous committees and working groups which she has served, Himes was the co-founder of the Meetings of Institute Administrators, the precursor to the Research Administrators Meet (RAM), and served on groups for Office of Contracts and Grants reviews, the initial PeopleSoft implementation and various research faculty issues.

She also served on a number of search committees involving Facilities Management, Human Resources, the vice chancellor for Research & Innovation and other administrators across campus.

If you go
What: Retirement reception for Caroline Himes
When: Tuesday, March 21, 3 to 5 p.m.
Where: Old Main, third-floor Heritage Center
RSVP: Email colisse.franklin@colorado.edu

Early in Himes’ career, after earning her BSBA in accounting from The Ohio State University, she gained experience in business consulting and computer programming in Atlanta. She then returned to Ohio State to complete an MS in resource economics. 

Soon after, she ventured to Washington, D.C., where she worked for a large power company, eventually becoming the controller for John Glenn’s presidential campaign in 1984. Himes then moved to Dallas, where she worked for high-tech firms (two of which were startups) in finance, treasury and accounting.

Over the years, Himes has served on nonprofit boards such as the League of Women’s Voters, Blue Sky Bridge, YWCA and the Center for ReSource Conservation.

In her free time, she participates in book clubs, enjoys hiking and snowshoeing and loves spending time with her dog Inca and cat Finch. Travel is another of Caroline’s favorite pastimes, and she has plans to kick off her retirement by exploring Europe and parts of the U.S.

To register for Hime's retirement reception, please email Colisse Franklin.