The president of Spoon River College is beginning his 12th year in the position with a contract extension in hand.
“It’s a great place to work, and the communities are very supportive of the college,” said SRC President Curt Oldfield.
The Board of Trustees added one year onto Oldfield’s contract. It now runs through June 30, 2026.
Oldfield said he enjoys the job.
“It’s home,” he said. “Being an alumnus of Spoon River College, I have a loyalty to Spoon River in terms of being a student there and a former faculty member.”
It’s also like home because his family is from the Farmington area.
Oldfield will be paid $182,000 this fiscal year, which began July 1.
What’s ahead
The board will meet later this month to finalize its goals for the president.
Oldfield said student recruitment and retention are important, and that student success remains his top priority. He said the college strives to help students complete their studies so that they can move on to the workforce or transfer to a four-year institution to finish their baccalaureate degree.
He credited the faculty with working hard to promote student success.
“From a leadership perspective, that’s really important to have faculty and staff all pulling on the rope in the same direction and that we all have that number one goal in mind: student success,” Oldfield said.
He said retaining faculty is another priority.
Oldfield also plans to continue working on the Macomb campus development plan. He hoped the project can be put out for bid and that construction can start during the next year.
Changing with the times
Oldfield said SRC is seeing a growing number of traditional-age students who come to be trained and then move into the workplace.
“Programs like our welding program, for instance, or some of our other programs that we are getting ready to launch have generated a lot of excitement because students want to move into the workforce and get that paycheck started as quick as possible,” he said.
He said the college is also retraining or re-educating more students who are 25 or older who either want to advance their education or have become interested in a different career path.
He said SRC has to be flexible about how and when classes are offered in order to attract such students.
The college has campuses in Canton, Macomb, Rushville, and Havana.
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