Dr. Jeff Olson

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Dr. Jeff Olson

HARRISON, Arkansas - Dr. Jeffery R. Olson, president of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College in Orangeburg, S.C., was selected Friday, March 2 as the next president of North Arkansas College in Harrison.

The announcement was made at a special meeting of the North Arkansas College Board of Trustees. The motion to hire Olson was made by Louis Melton, the trustee who has served the longest period of time on Northark’s board, and seconded by Norma Ellis, the board’s newest member. The motion received unanimous approval.

“It is my distinct pleasure to be here today,” said Olson, who was introduced by Northark Board Chairman Jim Sprott to college employees and community members attending the session. “I greatly appreciate the trust that has been placed in me by members of the community and this board. Northark has an outstanding reputation, and I’m really overwhelmed by the opportunity to serve here. I know that it will be a wonderful experience.”

In introducing Northark’s next president, Sprott noted Olson’s outstanding credentials as a current college president and former academic administrator, program director, and instructor. He also mentioned Olson’s numerous community service activities at each stop in his career.

Olson has received several awards, including the 2000 International Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, 1998 David Pierce Organizational Leadership Award from the National Initiative for Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness (NILIE), and the 1997 Chairman's Award from the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce. He was honored in 1997 as a Distinguished Graduate of the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas. In 1998 his college received the Silver Paragon Award from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations for its web site.

Dr. Bill Baker, North Arkansas College’s founding president and the longest tenured public college or university president in Arkansas, will retire June 30. Baker started work as Northark’s first employee March 1, 1974. During the board meeting, Sprott praised Baker for leading the college with “distinction, courage and grace” for the past 27 years. Olson lauded Baker for his accomplishments and called him “the dean” of community college presidents in Arkansas.

In his sixth year as president of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, Olson previously was dean of occupational education at Coastal Carolina Community College from 1989 to 1991 and vice president of instruction at the same institution from 1991 until accepting the presidency at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College in 1995.

A graduate of the prestigious Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas in Austin with a Ph.D. in educational administration, Olson's first degree came from a community college. He majored in marketing and received an associate of applied science degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1967.

Early in his career, Olson taught for nine years at a two-year college. He was a classroom instructor at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wis., teaching several different business-related classes before moving into academic administration.

Describing himself as faculty-oriented, student-centered, and supportive of shared governance teams, Olson has been able to find consensus even in widely diverse settings. "I've demonstrated the ability to understand and lead cultural change in the college," he says. In his current and previous positions, each of his predecessors had served for more than 25 years.

Working in a rural setting is also a familiar role for Northark’s next president.

"I grew up in a small town and have worked in relatively small communities for most of my career," says Olson. "My current college is similar in many respects (budget, programs, number of faculty, size of service area, student enrollment) to North Arkansas College. I strongly believe that in a community such as Harrison, the college should be the preferred first provider of higher education and job training. It should be the nexus of economic and community development for the service area. I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to lead the college in that quest."

Technology has been a major theme during Olson’s tenure as a two-year college president in South Carolina. His current institution is a Cisco Partner, provides MCSE and A+ certification, and has a strong interactive distance learning program. "I support professional development, along with the hardware and software, to keep us state-of-the-art with regard to information technology," he says.

In the area of resource development, Olson has demonstrated the ability to generate increased local and state government funding for operations and capital improvements. His current college will be breaking ground later this year for a $5 million student center and student services building. He has also worked with performance funding issues, as well as measurement of critical success factors that describe student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.

Active in several professional associations, Olson has also been very involved as a volunteer in Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College’s service area. He has been active with two different chamber of commerce organizations, Rotary Club, United Way, the local arts council, music and theatre, and other service and civic organizations.

Olson and his wife, Sandy, have vacationed in the Ozarks, and he says they enjoy the region. "We feel a strong connection to the people and the area. Sandy's family has historical ties in Arkansas," he says. "We welcome the opportunity to take an active role in the community life of Harrison."

During remarks before the official board vote, Sprott described the search process and recognized the 20 members of the Presidential Search Committee. Members of that committee, representing college employees, Northark students and community members, screened 43 applications, interviewed nine semifinalists, and recommended five finalists to the North Arkansas College Board of Trustees. Each of the five finalists visited Northark’s two campuses, made presentations to campus and community groups, and was interviewed by the college’s board.