The days are winding down on the tenure of NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s second president. As of Monday, Becky Paneitz will be gone. Evelyn Jorgenson will take the reins of the institution just about six weeks shy of the 24th anniversary of its birth at the ballot box.
Bentonville and Rogers school district voters did the region a favor in 1989 when they agreed to tax themselves to create a college without walls, a two-year educational setting to fill the unmet needs of the region in the shadow of the state’s flagship four-year university. Today, it’s a full-scale campus with 8,300 students.
The success of an institution relies on many people, not only the president. Trustees, faculty and staff, and, of course, the students contribute daily to not only their individual achievement, but the overall advancement of the facility. The position of president, however, represents the linchpin of leadership without which an organization will not thrive.
With this in mind, today we off er our congratulations to Jorgenson with well wishes for an outstanding start to her time at the helm of the college, and we tip our hats to Paneitz. Without question, the college is a better institution of higher learning after her 10 years as president. Facilities do not provide quality teaching, but quality teaching can be made more difficult without adequate facilities. Whether it’s the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development or the Center for Health Professions, these buildings are creating opportunities for students and, thus, our region.
On Paneitz’s watch, the college has experienced remarkable growth, having added five facilities on the main campus while spreading its reach with satellite centers.
It’s on the precipice of a new era with plans under way for its first permanent location in Washington County.
Enrollment is a result of many factors, but it doesn’t happen without strong leadership.
During Paneitz’s time, the student population has grown from 4,900 to about 8,300.
The school in 2012 maintained is accreditation through 2019-20.
She’s helped raise about $70 million for the college.
And in the process, the college has changed thousands of lives by making higher education, corporate learning, adult education, and other learning opportunities easily available.
Granted, this newspaper and others have been critical of Paneitz at times when her decisions, or decision-making process, did not reflect well on the college. Fortunately, those times during the last decade have been in the minority. The only value in referencing them today is to encourage the college administration under new leadership to learn from those mistakes and strive to do better.
Paneitz recently detailed what life will be like in retirement, part of which involves caring for her husband of 15 years and his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, a disease we despise because it robs the mind of its power.
We wish them well, and applaud the years Paneitz has spent invested in expanding the minds of Northwest Arkansas and making the future brighter for individuals. Her work will have a long-lasting impact on the region and beyond.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 06/26/2013