The president of North Iowa Area Community College has announced plans to retire. Steve Schulz is a native of the Franklin County town of Geneva and he’s worked in the public education field for 40 years. Schulz predicts the state’s community colleges will be dealing with lower student counts in the years to come.
“The demographic cliff is not even here yet in terms of population,” Schulz says. “We’re going to have a 10-year period where the number of high school kids graduating from our schools in the area will decrease before we see a bump, based on the birth projection that we’re using and looking at.”
Schulz says younger people still need to consider pursuing careers in education. “That’s what’s driven me and my career. How can we make a difference? How can we enhance the lives of those people that we touch?” Schulz says. “You have to understand that because there’s lots of detractions right now, pay, behavior, some of those things, but I think getting young people engaged with faculty that love what they do, want to share that with the young people, I think that’s the best thing you can do, really show them that pathway and how rewarding it can be.”
The presidential search process will involve the formation of a search committee, while the NIACC Board of Directors is considering engaging with an executive search firm to identify potential candidates. Schulz is retiring in about eight months. NIACC has a student body of around 2,500.
(By Brian Fancher, KLMJ, Hampton)