NWACC President Looking to the Future

NWACC president looking to the future

By Jamie Brunk Staff Writer //

Posted on Saturday, August 2, 2008

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It’s been five years (and one day ) since Becky Paneitz’s first day on the job at Northwest Arkansas Community College.

Friday marked her first five years as president of the rapidly growing school and Paneitz took a few minutes to reflect on her tenure so far.

“ It’s been a phenomenal period of time, ” she said.

Paneitz came to NWACC from Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N. C., where she served as the vice president for instruction. Her first major task as NWACC’s second president was to develop a strategic plan, which involved many meetings both within the college community and northwest Arkansas.

What resulted was a five-year plan that still guides the college in how to best provide services for students. Based on that strategic plan, the college then developed its master facility plan, which is in the process of being revised now.

“ They already had a master facility plan but everything in it had been done already, ” Paneitz said.

The first phase of the plan has already been completed — all under Paneitz’s leadership. The college is in the process of performing major renovations to Burns Hall, the student center is up and in use and the parking garage is filled with vehicles daily. Incidentally, the parking garage is the first in Benton County, a source of pride for the college.

Under Paneitz’s leadership the college has also expanded in several directions. First, the college developed a presence in Washington County with classes in Springdale. It also opened the College at the Crossings in Bella Vista and took over Fayetteville’s West Campus to create the Regional Technology Center. The college is also well on its way to owning buildings currently owned by Highland Oncology and NARTI.

The college has advanced in other areas besides buildings, however. When Paneitz first arrived, there were mostly adjunct faculty, she said. She’s worked to make the staff more of an even mix between full-time and adjunct faculty. There’s also been a slew of new programs developed including culinary arts, several business management programs, hospitality and retail management — just to name a few.

Paneitz also worked to revitalize what has become a major partner for the college — the NWACC Foundation. The Foundation, which she said wasn’t very active five years ago, is now nearing the end of its first capital campaign and has established a scholarship endowment fund.

If the first five years of Paneitz’s leadership seemed busy, look out for the next five. The college is about to break ground on its next construction project — the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development. She also plans to continue leading the way into more partnerships with both universities and with secondary schools, as well as the business and industry community, Paneitz said. She also plans to continue working to diversify the college’s revenue streams, develop more programs to meet program needs and possibly have a permanent Washington County presence.

Paneitz’s leadership is noticed by many of her employees.

Jim Lay, executive director of construction, said he’s admired her ability to get projects completed.

“ She’s very task-oriented, ” she said. “ It’s been a good five years. ”

Diana Johnson, vice president for learner services, said that when Paneitz first arrived, many at the college had gotten too comfortable with the way things already were.

“ She jump started us into looking at new ways to help students, ” she said. “ She’s added a lot of energy to the college. ”