The Mid-South Community College board of trustees gave the go-ahead Wednesday for the president of the two-year college in West Memphis to submit a merger proposal to Arkansas State University System officials.
Officials initially projected that the ASU System would take over the 1,900-student college July 1. But, if everything progresses as they expect, administrators for both institutions said Wednesday that the 22-year-old community college that specializes in industry workforce training could become Arkansas State University Mid-South by Jan. 1.
“We have a number of staff folks from our side that have put in an extraordinary amount of research in preparing the document. Because of their efforts, this has sped up the process months ahead. Everything has gone very smoothly,” community college President Glen Fenter said.
The signed document will be sent to the ASU System for its administration and board of trustees to review for either approval or further negotiation. The ASU System is the state’s second-largest higher education system, with about 20,800 students and a total operating budget of $238 million.
Jeff Hankins, the ASU System’s vice president of strategic communications, said that once Fenter and ASU System President Chuck Welch are comfortable with a final agreement, it will be submitted to both boards for consideration.
“Dr. Welch and Dr. Fenter have had very positive discussions and good feedback from their constituencies,” Hankins said. “The process has been smooth because they both realize how mutually beneficial the partnership would be.”
Hankins said officials anticipate that each board will call a special meeting in the near future to finalize the agreement.
“If the boards approve the merger, the ASU System and Mid-South will proceed with the transition based on terms detailed in the agreement. We agree that it is possible the merger could be completed by Jan. 1,” Hankins said. “I do not anticipate a collaborative meeting between the boards since Dr. Welch and Dr. Fenter have the authority to negotiate the agreement.”
Fenter — who has been president of the college since its inception in 1992 — announced last week that he will retire from the community college June 30 to lead the newly formed Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce. He said Wednesday that he was unsure of his departure date given the possible earlier merger date.
“I would hope that I would be allowed to continue my position here through my announced retirement on June 30 to help transition the new leadership,” Fenter said, then added with a laugh, “I’d like to at least have my job through Christmas.”
Welch said last week that the ASU System would conduct a national search for a chancellor to lead the college and that the decision would be a collaborative one between “multiple college and community leaders.”
Shane Broadway, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said the merger will not have to receive approval or review from his agency, nor does it require legislative approval.
“The Mid-South campus at West Memphis would still have their own separate budget bill just like ASU-Beebe, ASU-Newport and ASU-Mountain Home does now. The only change if the merger is approved by both boards is their budget bill would now say ASU-Mid-South,” Broadway said.
The partnership discussions began in the summer, just a few months after Big River Steel announced a $1.3 billion “mini mill” project in Osceola, which is about 50 miles from the eastern Arkansas community college.
The project is expected to employ about 2,000 construction workers and more than 500 permanent employees when it is completed. Other supporting industries — such as Material Works Ltd., which expects to hire about 45 workers for its $20 million proposed facility — have announced plans to build adjacent to Big River Steel’s Osceola plant.
The merger with the ASU System, Fenter wrote in a blog post to faculty and staff, will “increase our appeal to investors, support industries, and employees and their families.”
The acquisition of Mid-South would add another college to the ASU System’s existing 10 campuses and branches — including the four-year, 13,000-student university in Jonesboro — throughout the state.