David Warren Retires From A-B Tech, But Not Life
Former Chairperson of Criminal Justice Technology, current adjunct and minister David Warren.
It's 7 a.m. and David Warren unlocks the doors of Hemlock Building. Everything is dark as he switches on the lights, warms up his computer, and settles in his office with a cup of coffee and the local paper. He is familiar with this routine; he's been doing it for over 25 years.
December 15 will be his last official day as instructor, counselor, and many would say, founder of the Criminal Justice Technology program at A-B Tech. What led him to this point and this place started close to 36 years ago. It's 1967. Just returning from a tour in the Vietnam War, Warren is restless, and, in his own words, "stumbling around." On a whim, he enters the local police station in Statesville, takes the civil service exam, and is accepted onto the police force. While working as a police officer, he goes back to school and receives his A.S, B.S., then M.S degrees.
Then, again on a whim and as a favor for a friend, he gets in front of a classroom. He is hooked. He knows right then, right there that he is meant to be a teacher. "I'm basically a ham at heart," Warren says with his ever-present grin. Two weeks later, he leaves the force and actively pursues a teaching job.
It's 1978. Warren walks onto the campus of A-B Tech, where he is hired as the chairperson, sole instructor, and developer of the new Criminal Justice program. He has 12 students, is teaching both day and night classes, is a reserve officer in the Asheville Police Department, and is continuously implementing new courses. "I did it all during that first year," he says. His mission: Create a program that "offers a degree that was applicable to the field," Warren says. "I wanted the students to take the knowledge gained here and go back and be better police officers. My whole thing is credibility. I volunteered on the Asheville police force so I could keep my skill and knowledge level up to allow credibility with the Asheville Police Department"-many of whose members were his students.
One of Warren's many talents and loves-teaching criminal justice technology students
It's 1983. He gets call from the principal of Asheville High School (AHS) asking if A-B Tech could teach criminal justice classes at AHS. Because of scheduling conflicts, Warren cannot accommodate the principal, but he and then Vice President of Instructional Services Olin Wood do research and discover the recently formed Huskins Bill. This is all he needs to take his next step. He introduces Asheville High School to the Huskins Bill, which allows students at area high schools to take college-level courses tuition free while earning college credit. On top of his regular schedule, he teaches an additional 10 hours a week for free at AHS. Warren is proud to tell anyone that A-B Tech was the first community college to teach criminal justice under the Huskins Bill. He started with 40 students and one high school. Now there's close to 800 students at eight high schools. Because of his research and dedication, Warren has made it possible for countless area high schoolers to get a jump-start on their college education-tuition free.
It's 1996. Warren is ready to see where this path he's been on for the past 18 years will lead him next. For years, he was known as someone you could go to if you had a problem - personal, marital, job-related; it didn't matter. Warren would listen and counsel, for hours, days, weeks - even months - however long it would take. "I felt it was part of my duties to be available to my students, and not just in the classroom."
He decides to enter the ministry of the Methodist Church. He gets licensed, enrolls in the seminary and is assigned a congregation. "In my mind, it was a natural transition from teaching to ministry. You are serving others." Meanwhile, he is still teaching a full load at A-B Tech Monday through Friday, and on the weekends, performing weddings, funerals, and regular Sunday services.
It's 2003. Since October, Warren has been teaching as an adjunct. The program he started 25 years ago with just 12 students and one teacher has grown to an average enrollment of 125 students on campus, over 800 Huskins Bill students, and 16 faculty members. He has announced his retirement from A-B Tech, and has plans to devote himself to the two congregations he serves in Barnardsville. He has been appointed to coordinate the "Safe Sanctuary" program for over 1,000 Methodist churches in North Carolina. This is a program to ensure a physically and emotionally safe environment for the children of the congregations through screenings, monitoring, and background checks of church staff. He will implement the program, and take it around the state teaching others how to develop their own policies. To Warren, this is the perfect culmination of his lifetime of work. "As a police officer, I understand the law, as a teacher, I understand the classroom, and as a minister, I understand the church." It seems his life has come full circle.
Happily married for 37 years with a daughter and three-year-old grandchild, Warren is not a man even close to slowing down. When asked how he feels about retiring from A-B Tech, he answers in his usual forthright manner. "It's scary. This has been such a part of my life for so long. But it's time. I'm excited about taking a new career path, because I'm going to be using the things I've learned here to take me to the next step. I am a teacher, and teaching will always be a part of my ministry."