Community College Leaders Discuss Facility

Friday, January 10, 2014

JOHNSON — Some community and business leaders gathered Thursday to help shape the plan for NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s first permanent facility in Washington County.

It was the first in a series of four focus group meetings the college has scheduled over the next month. Evelyn Jorgenson, college president, said the focus groups are intended to give business and industry representatives a chance to provide input on how the facility could help them.

The input will guide the college in determining what type of facility it needs to build.

“We want to be sure we have programs that meet your needs,” Jorgenson said.

At A Glance

Focus Groups

NorthWest Arkansas Community College has three more focus group meetings planned to discuss its Springdale facility, all at the Northwest Arkansas Council Conference Room, 4100 Corporate Center Drive, in Johnson. The meeting times:

• 9:30 to 11 a.m. Jan. 22

• 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan. 29

• 1 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 4

Source: NorthWest Arkansas Community College

College officials have identified an area just west of Arvest Ballpark in Springdale for the facility. The college hasn't bought the land yet, but the Board of Trustees likely will consider a purchase in the spring, Jorgenson said.

The facility will not entirely duplicate what the main campus in Bentonville offers, Jorgenson said. There’s a gap in the area of career and technical education officials believe the Springdale facility could fill.

Sixteen people attended Thursday’s meeting along with several college officials. They included Doug Sprouse, Springdale mayor, and Ed Clifford, chief executive officer of The Jones Center and The Jones Trust.

Bob Arthur of Employer Advantage led the meeting, which alternated between small-group and whole-group discussions. Arthur’s questions revolved around ways the Springdale facility could best serve the area through specific career and technical education programs.

The discussion touched various topics.

Clifford brought up the issue of Northwest Technical Institute, which is about six miles from the site proposed for the college’s facility. It offers a variety of technical and career programs as well as community and adult education classes.

Many people don’t understand the difference between the institute and the college, Clifford said.

Archie Schaffer, a retired Tyson Foods executive, said officials need to figure out how to avoid a situation where the college and institute are duplicating services.

“This is the absolute best time to do something about that,” Schaffer said.

Jorgenson said after the meeting the college supports and wants to collaborate with all educational institutions in the area. The institute’s future is up to state legislators, she said.

“We need to find ways to complement each other,” she said.

Participants also seemed to agree collaboration with the Springdale School District is vital.

The district recently was awarded a $25.8 million federal grant. Part of that money will help develop the School of Innovation, which will give students a chance to graduate from high school with a college-level associate’s degree.

Jorgenson said the college could complement the district’s efforts on that front.

Michael Stewart, chief operating officer of Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, suggested the college focus on diversity in the work force.

“We need more bilingual professionals,” Stewart said. “I need nurses who can relate culturally to our patients.”

Stewart also mentioned the college should make affordability a priority in everything it offers to its students.

Heath Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities, said the region lacks a cohesive strategy to vocational training.

“It’s either inadequate or disjointed,” Ward said. “As a region we need to address that. Everything’s missing a little bit of something.”

Rich Davis of SourceGas Arkansas said basic academics should be emphasized along with whatever kind of technical training the college provides.

Jorgenson thanked everyone for their input.

“A lot of it is very much along the vein of what we’ve been thinking,” she said.