Wade Derden, one of three finalists for the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College chancellor position, came into his own as an educator while teaching at the school from 2001-2011 because he encountered students he never had before.
Some lived out of their cars, while others were battling perilous family and/or domestic situations, but all were "trying to find their way out of their bad" circumstances, Derden said Monday during a public forum at UA-PTC's main campus in North Little Rock. "That transformed me personally -- the mission of community colleges unveiled before me -- we give students a path forward, helping them turn the impossible into possible."
While the states and schools have "done a lot to address the financial needs of students in the past decade" -- which has opened college enrollment to more students -- "we haven't moved the needle much in terms of" success in college, he said. While financial constraints are certainly a hardship, "students need the support of a strong group of people -- a social network."
"You're unable to navigate the bureaucracy of higher education alone," Derden said.
He's seen this demonstrated in his own family, as well as with countless students, as "social networks are breaking or broken."
Making connections with students is invaluable, but "we're not connecting with them like we should be," he said. "In some ways, we are not speaking the language of our students, [and we] need to show them how educational attainment links to their goals, [because] the degree is the step to the end goal for students.
"We've got to be proactive and look at our policies and procedures on a continuous basis," he said. "We, as an institution, need to be thinking like [our students], and we owe it to every student to do everything we can to retain them."
Enrollment at Pulaski Tech has decreased for three consecutive years, down to 4,223 this fall from 4,425 in 2021, 4,833 in 2020, and 5,531 in 2019.
"What we're doing is not working," said Derden. But to him this is an opportunity to "be creative and break down old systems."
Higher education has a reputation for being "slow to change." He said that "we need to shake it up," and that includes involving the community by instilling a value of higher education in communities, he said.
"The solution to some of our immediate problems is to play the long game, to some extent," he said. "We have to be the college."
A college isn't books, buildings, and computers, but rather, "the people," and those people must engage community members, he said. UA-PTC ought to be integrated into its community "so people look to us for educational attainment."
UA-PTC should try to facilitate more paid internships so students get hands-on skills in the workplace, as well as having more events and community experts on campus, he said. It's paramount for "students and community partners to engage together."
While visiting UA-PTC, Derden met with various campus, community, and University of Arkansas System stakeholders, a procedure that will be followed for the other two candidates, as well. Ted A. Lewis, provost/vice president of academic and student affairs at Bluefield State University in West Virginia, has his public forum at 3:45 p.m. today in the Campus Center, while Summer DeProw, provost/vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at UA-PTC, will have her public forum at the same time in the same place on Oct. 24. Livestreams of the forum are accessible online, with details available at https://bit.ly/3g4Vh0E.
Among those in attendance Monday was Matthew Chase, an English professor at UA-PTC and member of the search committee who asked Derden about interacting with state legislators on funding and other issues if he'd become chancellor.
It seemed "very important," as Derden mentioned multiple times UA-PTC's unique role as the state's only community college in an urban setting, and in the Capital, Chase said. Chase plans to attend each candidate forum, as "it seems a great gauge" of the finalists for the job.
Derden "is a sixth-generation Arkansan who grew up in Central Arkansas and has served in education for more than two decades," according to the UA System. He first taught at Arkansas State University-Beebe on the Little Rock Air Force Base and at UA-PTC; upon appointment as a fulltime faculty member at the latter, Derden taught classes in history, political science, and the humanities.
"I love this state, and the people of this state," he said. "I passionately want to help students be successful, and I'm a classroom teacher at heart."
"This college has changed a lot since I was last here" -- although he did wear the same tie Monday he wore to the last UA-PTC graduation he attended as a faculty member -- so "I will involve you all in this vision," he said. "I'm not a person to think I have all the answers. I'm more collaborative [and] I'll ask a lot of questions."
"I want to know why we do things, and I'll challenge norms and push for innovation as chancellor," he said. "I'll expect everyone to support every student every day."
Derden, who received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, chaired the Social Science Division before becoming National Park College's vice president, and his thesis for his Master of Arts at UA-Fayetteville explored Southern masculinity and religion, according to the UA System. Derden, who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Hendrix College, is "a past-president of the Arkansas Community College's Board of Directors, a Governor Asa Hutchinson-appointee to the Criminal Justice Institute Board of Advisors, and a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission."
The UA-PTC search committee evaluated applicants from 17 states, and interim Chancellor Ana Hunt, who did not apply for the fulltime chancellor job, "will continue to serve as interim until one of the finalists is chosen and begins their work at" the college, according to the UA System. Hunt was appointed interim by UA System President Donald Bobbitt in June following the retirement of then-Chancellor Margaret Ellibee, who announced in January her intent to retire effective June 30.
UA-PTC, the UA System's largest two-year college, was established in 1945 as a vocational-technical school, but it has evolved through the years to meet varying education needs, according to the UA System. In addition to its main campus in North Little Rock, the college has locations across Pulaski and Saline Counties.