BENTONVILLE — NorthWest Arkansas Community College trustees were introduced to campus administrators on Friday during a board retreat.
Six of the nine trustees are new to the board. Every board position was up for election Nov. 6 following a new state law requiring two-year colleges to run elections by zones if one minority population is more than 10 percent in a college’s taxing district. The 2010 U.S. Census showed the Bentonville community college met that criteria.
Ric Clifford, board chairman, said it’s important for trustees to know how the college functions.
“It is something I picked up with time,” Clifford said. “We are not a managing board, We do not run the accounting department or the legal department.”
Multiple college administrators from finance, academics to marketing and public relations outlined what they do at the college during the retreat.
The board also was informed on statistics and the schools history by Becky Paneitz, college president.
One statistic was the make-up of the college’s population. She said 39 percent of students attend the school from Washington County and 53 percent from Benton County. The college had a total of 8,341 students enrolled in its fall semester.
Wyley Elliott, college vice president of public relations and development, said the meeting was a way for trustees to have a better understanding of the college.
“It was an opportunity for the new board of trustees to actually hear and view the duties and responsibilities of administration, including the provost and interim chief financial officer.” Elliott said.
Scott Grigsby, a new trustee, said he the retreat was interesting.
“I have always found people have an idea of what the college does but there is a whole lot more going on behind the scenes,” Grigsby said. He said he looks forward to understanding more specifics about the functions of the college as he serves.