Harrisonburg News
Campus News & Events
Retiring campus leader reflects on changes
Driving through the Shenandoah Valley on Interstate 81, it's impossible to miss the imposing National College Campus in Harrisonburg. The two-story, 30,000-square foot structure is home to nearly 500 students, and offers some of National's most exclusive programs, such as surgical technology and bachelor's degrees in business administration and information technology. That wasn't always the case, however.
"We had maybe 125-130 students at our peak," says Campus Director Jack Ekey. Tucked away in a shopping district, the campus had seven classrooms. The Harrisonburg Campus of National College was small but efficient.
Enter Jack Ekey. In 1998, the retired airline industry executive became an instructor at the Harrisonburg Campus. Like most National College instructors, Ekey brought an exceptional résumé in his field of business management, centered on a 37-year career with one of the world's largest commercial airlines. Having progressed from an entry-level position to executive roles with responsibility for more than 2,000 employees, Jack could relate to students those skills and attributes that would lead them to success in their future careers.
Before long, Jack was chair of the campus' business administration program, and served as representative to the institutional academic committee, where his knowledge and experience helped shape curricula for students all across National's five-state system of campuses. Then in July of 2002, Jack was asked to become Campus Director.
Under Jack's leadership, campus enrollment steadily increased, and by the fall of 2004 had reached more than 240 students-more than double what it had been only two years before. The 7,000 square foot campus was beginning to fill. "We're either going to have to move, or we're going to have to lease more space," Jack remembers telling National College President Frank Longaker.
The house that Jack built
Additional space was readily available to expand the campus that would roughly double its size. But there were other possibilities. President Longaker asked Jack what the college could do in a new facility. "I told him that I didn't see any reason why we couldn't continue growing at about the same rate that we had grown over the past couple of years," Jack recalled. "More importantly, I said I thought we could successfully develop new programs, based on emerging workforce needs in the region."
Site selection and negotiation took some time, but by 2006 construction was underway at the new location on Country Club Road. In January 2007, campus staff moved the campus lock, stock, and barrel to the new location.
The Harrisonburg Campus continues to thrive. A new associate degree program in information systems engineering met with such success that it was soon supplemented by bachelor's degree programs in information technology and database management. National's proven business administration bachelor's degree programs in management and accounting were also added. Associate degree programs in surgical technology and paralegal were established, strengthening the college's relationships with two of the area's most important employment sectors.
A lasting legacy
In the late summer of 2009, as enrollment approached 500 students, Jack announced his plans to retire as Campus Director at the end of the year. "Jack Ekey has done an exceptional job for us in Harrisonburg," says President Longaker. "He applied our philosophy, added substantial vision, and has transformed the Harrisonburg Campus in a positive way. He'll be a hard act to follow, but I have no doubt National College will be a fixture in the community for a long time to come."
