History of North Arkansas College
In 1973 a group of citizens met in Harrison to discuss the methods for establishing a community college. Due to the efforts of these founding fathers, in November of that year the voters of Boone County approved a millage to finance permanent facilities for North Arkansas Community College. The college opened its doors in 1974 with 225 students in the former Eagle Heights Elementary School and one year later moved to what is now known as the South Campus.
After construction of Pioneer Pavilion, the Student Center, and additional classrooms in 1980, a library and classroom construction project was completed in 1992. One year later, Northark was a partner in a “first” for Arkansas: North Arkansas Community College and Twin Lakes Technical College became the state’s first community college-technical college union. The facilities housing the former Twin Lakes Technical College became the North Campus of the college, which was renamed at the time North Arkansas Community/Technical College. On July 1, 1997, North Arkansas Community/Technical College was renamed North Arkansas College.
The John Paul Hammerschmidt Business and Conference Center opened in the summer of 1997. The facility houses the college’s information technology and business programs and features a display of awards, photographs, and other memorabilia from Harrison-native Hammerschmidt’s twenty-six years in Congress. The Bill Baker Amphitheatre, named after the college’s founding President, Dr. Bill Baker, was completed in the fall of 2000 on the South Campus. The venue includes over 750 permanent chair-back seats and space for several thousand more spectators in lawn chairs and blankets on the hillside.
Upon his retirement in 2001, Dr. Baker was the longest serving Arkansas community college president. Under his guidance, the college opened off-campus programs in Bentonville/Rogers and Mountain Home that led to the establishment of Northwest Arkansas Community College and ASU-Mountain Home, respectively.
Dr. Jeff Olson was selected March 2, 2001, as the second President of North Arkansas College. During his tenure, North Arkansas College has continued to expand to serve community needs. The college purchased the former Regions Plaza in Harrison, now its Center Campus, in 2005. The Center Campus features the L.E. “Gene” Durand Center, the renovated former bank building. The Durand Center includes several meeting rooms for community and continuing education courses and a central meeting room large enough to host banquets and other community events. Between June 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010, over 64,000 visitors attending 1,071 various events had been drawn to the Durand Center.
In early spring of 2008, North Arkansas College became the first community college in Arkansas to become a “Climate Neutral” campus committed to sharply reducing the college’s greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating efforts to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.
Although North Arkansas College celebrates its storied past, its future is bright as it continually strives for fresh, innovative ways to serve and nurture its current students as well as provide a new, inviting, and exciting environment to attract future ones.