Vol. 13 Issue 2February 2007
 

Headlines

Bailey Announces Retirement After Four Decades of Service to College

President K. Ray Bailey at Graduation

A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey has announced he will retire Aug. 1, ending 41 years of service at the College.

A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey, honored as the most outstanding president in the North Carolina Community College System and one of the community's most influential leaders, has announced he will retire Aug. 1.

The college's Board of Trustees met Jan. 23 to begin the search process for his successor.

Bailey holds the record as A-B Tech's longest-serving employee, starting work as the director of Adult Basic Education in August 1966. He served as area coordinator of Supervisory Development, business manager, vice president of fiscal services, and vice president of administrative services before becoming president in 1990. Under his leadership, A-B Tech has been ranked as one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the country and consistently earned superior ratings on state performance measures for community colleges.

"I have been blessed with tremendous support from our Board of Trustees, Vice Presidents, faculty and staff," he said in a letter of resignation to Trustees Chair Harvey Haynes. "Together, we have changed the lives of thousands of students."

Haynes noted that while Bailey's retirement is a loss for the college, he is happy for him and his family on a personal level. "As sad as it may be to lose him, it's a great thing for him and (his wife) Glenda. That's what they've worked for for 44 years."

Bailey served as a teacher and coach at Clyde A. Erwin High School for three years before coming to A-B Tech. Under his tenure, the college has grown into a three-campus institution that enrolls more than 25,000 students in more than 50 curriculum programs and 1,200 continuing education courses. The college's third campus, in Enka, was added in the year 2000 when Bailey secured a donation of nearly 37 acres and three buildings from textile maker BASF Corp. - the largest donation of property ever made to a community college in the United States.

A native of Tullahoma, TN, Bailey earned a bachelor's degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a master's degree from Western Carolina University. He also has received honorary doctorates from Mars Hill College and WCU. In 2005, he was named President of the Year for the North Carolina Community College System, and the following year, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina's most prestigious awards.

Bailey has been known for creating effective partnerships with business and industry, other community colleges, schools, and four-year institutions to enhance the region's economic development. He has served as a board member and chair of more than 30 civic organizations, and was named one of the most influential people in Buncombe County in a survey of community leaders conducted by The Asheville Citizen-Times.

He has been the recipient of many awards, including the 2005 Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council, the Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence, a Professional Achievement Award from Western Carolina University, the Leadership Asheville Circle of Excellence Award, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman's Award, the Buncombe County Partners in Education Volunteer of the Year Award, and a Special Contributor Award from Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina.

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Presidential Search Forum

The A-B Tech Presidential Search Committee will hold a forum at 3 p.m. Feb. 7 in Ferguson Auditorium on the Asheville campus to solicit input from students, faculty and staff on the attributes it should seek in a successor to President K. Ray Bailey, who plans to retire Aug. 1.

“The Search Committee feels it is important that those who will be affected by this decision have an opportunity to speak to us regarding the traits and characteristics we should be looking for in a new president,” Committee Chair and Trustee Richard Hurley said. “We want to encourage students, faculty and staff to attend and give us their input.”

Appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees Harvey Haynes Jan. 23, the nine-member Search Committee is comprised of trustees as well as representatives of the students, faculty and staff. The committee will present a proposed timeline for the search to the Board of Trustees when the board meets Feb. 5.

Questions regarding the forum can be directed to Jo Ann Crompton at extension 112.

The Search Committee also will hold a forum to gather input from the community at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in Ferguson Auditorium.

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A-B Tech Ranked Among Fastest-Growing Community Colleges

A-B Tech is ranked among the fastest-growing community colleges in the country in a special report that appeared recently in a national publication.

With a 4.8 percent increase in its curriculum enrollment between fall 2004 and fall 2005, A-B Tech ranked 27th nationwide among institutions with 5,000 to 9,999 students, according to Community College Week. The college grew from 6,048 students to 6,337, an increase of 289 during the period.

President K. Ray Bailey attributed the college's growth to several factors. "It's due to our quality, as indicated by our superior rating (on the state's performance measures for community colleges), and our affordability. It's also the ability of our faculty and staff to help people who are transitioning from jobs that are being phased out to new jobs and opportunities for the first two years of college before they transfer."

For its Dec. 8 report, titled "Interpreting the Numbers," Community College Week analyzed U.S. Department of Education data on 1,138 institutions, dividing the colleges into four categories based on their fall 2005 enrollment: those below 2,500 students, those between 2,500 and 4,999, those between 5,000 and 9,999 and those with 10,000 or more. Two hundred and thirty-four colleges fell in the same category as A-B Tech.

Community colleges, junior colleges, tribal colleges, technical colleges and two-year campuses of four-year colleges were among the variety of campuses considered. Institutions were ranked by their percent growth in headcount, the full- and part-time enrollment in courses that lead to a formal award, certificate or degree.

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Volvo Donates Equipment To College »

 

Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designer: April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu