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A-B Tech chief to step down after 16 years |
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Tuesday, 09 January 2007 |
After 16 years at the helm of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, President K. Ray Bailey announced last week that he will retire effective Aug. 1.
Bailey has been honored as the most outstanding president in the North Carolina Community College System and one of the community‘s most influential leaders.
The college‘s Board of Trustees will meet 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 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, Tenn., 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.
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