Kirkwood expansion focuses on success

Kirkwood Community College, for much of its 43-year history, has been synonymous with access.

Community colleges have a mission to serve Iowans in their home communities with education and job training, and that's a good tradition, Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich said.

Still, Starcevich envisions a Kirkwood where success is just as important as access.

“I want to take it from accessibility to success, making student success a priority,” he said.

To that end, Kirkwood this year added several developmental math teachers and “early warning” advisers to help struggling students. A College 101 program gives advice on college life.

These are ways Kirkwood officials hope to boost academic performance, retention and graduation rates, said Starcevich, who marks his fifth anniversary as president in January.

Plans also are in the works for a new student union to be built at the center of campus to house admissions, advising and student activities and lounge areas. It would connect all campus buildings via underground walkways. It's a dream project officials hope to have done in a few years if private funding is procured.

“I would envision that as a final piece of the puzzle for us,” Starcevich, 62, said.

His tenure has seen a flurry of growth at Kirkwood - in enrollment, programs and facilities.

“The board couldn't be more pleased,” said Lois Bartelme, a Coralville resident who chairs the Kirkwood board of trustees. “We're particularly pleased with his focus on student success and student achievement.”

A $25 million bond issue passed by voters in 2005 helped fuel much of the physical growth, from renovation of Kirkwood's library to expanded digital access at all 12 sites in its seven-county region to construction of the Jones County Regional Education Center.

Next year will mark the opening of The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, which will serve the culinary, culinary assistant, bakery, hotel/motel management and restaurant management programs - some of which have waiting lists.

Kirkwood saw record enrollment this year, with 17,841 students. Officials attribute much of the 17.4 percent increase to the economy, as workers look to retrain.

Because Kirkwood's varied mission includes work force training and services for the unemployed, it's important for the college to constantly adapt with new degree and certificate offerings, Starcevich said. Kirkwood expanded its welding program after requests from area industries, and officials hope to start an energy auditor degree program, piggybacking on green energy and sustainability trends.

Recruitment and retention of a high-quality work force is the No. 1 concern of the business community, said Shannon Meyer, president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Kirkwood plays such a pivotal, critical role,” she said.

Maintaining the level of services is especially key now, Starcevich said, as state budget cuts loom. Kirkwood received nearly $24 million in state aid this year, supplemented by $3.5 million in federal stimulus money, though 10 percent of the aid will be lost to budget cuts. The rest of the budget comes from tuition and property taxes, with a tax rate of 85 cents per $1,000 assessed value.