A Conversation With ... Hal Higdon, Ph.D.

I have been really gratified about the level of support of education in this area, not just Springfield but the whole community. You meet people in the community, community leaders, business leaders, and they’re very supportive of education – not just OTC, but the universities, the private colleges and K–12. The strength of OTC’s programs is even better than I expected. Some people take over a presidency and have to fix a lot of stuff. I don’t.

What’s your professional background?

I came out of the business world. I got my degree at the University of Alabama in business. I grew up in a family business, and I worked for that business for several years. It’s engraving, rubber stamps, signs – a communication business. Then I went into human resources and work-force management at a community college in Alabama. In 1993, I (went) to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as the HR director, and eventually became the VP for administration, and then … came here this fall.

What brought you to Springfield?

I grew up in north Alabama in the Tennessee Valley, which looks a lot like southwest Missouri with lakes and streams and hills (and) four seasons. Headhunters call you all the time and try to get you to apply (for job openings). The gentleman who helped with (OTC’s) search called me, he said, “This one is the real thing. You’ve got to look at this one.” Any company that called me, I would never apply, but this time, I did some research, and I liked the city, I liked the area and I liked the school.

In August, OTC surpassed the 10,000-student enrollment mark, and classes will begin at the Ozark campus on Jan. 16. Can you tell us about other growth plans for the school?

The next area for us is Branson. We have a center there, but … Branson is not in our taxing district, and for us to grow down there, we will need Branson to want to come into our district. Right after the first of the year, we’re going to make a major push to meet with all of the leadership there, and hopefully the people of Branson will want to be in our district There’s some things we can do for them (in) entertainment, hospitality, tourism … (programs) that would be relevant to Branson, like culinary, production – all of the things that support the Branson tourism and entertainment industry.

What are some of the biggest challenges for higher education?

Lack of funding on a local and state level is what’s hampering us. OTC has the lowest tax rate of any community college in Missouri. We get 15 cents on the hundred-dollar. The state average is more than 30 cents. Because we have the lowest support, we have the highest tuition of any of the community colleges. That means that all the buildings you see here weren’t built with tax dollars. They were built with tuition. What we’ve got to do is convince our citizens that we’re worthy of a higher tax rate. And then on the state level – and this is not just OTC, but every community college and university … the state Coordinating Board has recommended a 12.6 percent (budget) increase this year, but I will be surprised if we get that. That’s up to the governor and the legislature.

What are some areas for which more training is needed locally?

On Dec. 11, our board of directors approved the leasing of the Price Cutter Park – everything but the baseball field. Our truck-driving institute will open there, probably in February. Truck driving is a huge industry for Springfield … but they have a severe shortage of truck drivers. I’ve been real gratified that trucking companies are donating trailers, trucks and money. They’re making it happen and we’re making it happen.

We’ve got a registered nurse program that’s going to start, probably in January 2008, because the hospitals need nurses.

We’re also looking at a major emphasis on fine arts. We have so many traditional-age students now. They want fine arts, so we’re looking at a downtown location (for) our fine arts.

Tell us about your family.

My wife, Nancy, teaches business law and accounting at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and my daughter, Alexendria, is 16. I’m on my own this year. My wife will come to Springfield this summer. Alexandria’s a junior, and she’ll stay on the coast and go on to college.

Is that separation hard?

It is, but I’m fortunate. We have a good airport here, and a good airport in Gulfport, so I can leave here on Friday afternoon and be in Gulfport in three hours. It’s not the ideal way to do it, but I’ve been surprised – just about every day in Springfield, I meet somebody who did the same thing – they moved here from Kansas City, St. Louis or Chicago.