Pierpont Community & Technical College unifies under new interim president

Jul. 7—FAIRMONT — Six months ago, Pierpont Community and Technical College was faced with dissolution. For the first time since, it has a path forward.

That was the message Wednesday at the school's Advanced Technology Center, where officials from both within and outside Pierpont gathered to welcome the institution's newest interim president, Kathleen Nelson.

Nelson has an extensive background in community and technical college administration and recently left another interim president position at Glenville State University, where she held the office from 2019 to 2020.

Her contract is for 12 months but is contingent on Pierpont finding a permanent president, which the institution has been without since the departure of President Johnny Moore in December of 2020.

After Moore's departure, Anthony Hancock held the title of interim president, but he left with the end of his contract on June 30 of this year.

A turbulent past

Hancock sailed the school through some of its most troubling waters. The combination of the pandemic and two separate efforts to dissolve the college's autonomy defined his tenure.

The weight was piled on as Pierpont was officially separated from Fairmont State University in June 2021.

Following a failed attempt to recombine Fairmont State and Pierpont in the state legislature in 2021, the two schools agreed to formally separate and divvy up all property and bonds the two shared.

Just as the separation began to take shape, Pierpont's board of governors then pushed for a second merger earlier this year in the legislature, which also failed like its predecessor. The true reasoning for the merger is still unclear. The board claims it was a financial necessity, but the Pierpont administration argued that was not the case.

Since then, the relationships between the administration, the board and the faculty were badly bruised, and tensions were high.

Now, Board of Governors Chair David Hinkle said that it's time to commit and look at everything through a different lens.

"Over the last two years there have been a lot of things going on at this school and this board of governors just now has barely a year under our belts," Hinkle said. "So I think we have a better idea and with Dr. Nelson coming, this is a time for a reset."

A Restart

At Wednesday's introduction, both Nelson and Hinkle described a new path forward for the college. Hinkle described it as "hitting the reset button."

"This reset comes after years of the combination and the pulling apart of institutions and some of the chaos that comes from that process," Nelson said. "The reset is to refocus. We are a vital institution, and we are clearly a stand-alone institution. Now we need to really focus on what our vision really is."

Nelson's vision for Pierpont really puts the "community" in the moniker, community and technical college. She says that to really attain a future for the school, it has to go back to basics and take a look at the principles on which it was founded.

The central pillar among those being workforce development and a duty to the surrounding business community to deliver quality workers into the most-needed fields.

"We really want to dig into workforce development, and we think that's really a big need for the area," Hinkle said. "We want the workforce to grow and that's what we see as a big need."

Cautiously optimistic

Wednesday's announcement was attended by a crowd of individuals from around North Central West Virginia, including state lawmakers from Marion, Monongalia and Harrison counties.

With all the uncertainty that came with the merger proposition that failed earlier this year, the leadership and stability of the institution was called into question by both the school's faculty and lawmakers who struck down the previous merger in 2021.

State Sen. Bob Beach, D-13, was a loud voice against the merger and spoke out against many of the moves Pierpont's board made over the last several months.

Wednesday, after hearing Nelson speak about the plans for the future, he's optimistic.

"I can tell she's bringing true higher ed experience... I believe she understands the nuances that West Virginia offers and she's bringing us a fresh attitude," Beach said. "This talk of transparency and a fresh start means a lot to me. Just being able to reach out to someone and have them answer, that means a lot.

The faculty is also excited for the new leadership. Pierpont's faculty were vehemently against the merger, but now they are in lock-step with the board and administration. That state of harmony has been lacking for the last few months.

"I hope that we can show the community and the state that we are a foundational institution. We are not drowning, we are surviving," Faculty Senate President Vickie Findley said. "I look for this college to really grow and I look for partnerships and there's a lot off the table for what we can do."

On the administrative side, Provost Michael Waide said he and his cohorts are fully behind Nelson and her leadership and are looking forward to a bright future at Pierpont.

"[Nelson] is the leader who can help us move forward, but also help us look more into our own identity and find who we are as a college," Waide said. "She brings this approach that supports the building of trust and I think she will do so quickly not only in the college but in our regional community."

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.