Your future, our focus
June 1990: Northwest offers summer classes in Yellowstone
The Northwest College Yellowstone Park Campus, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, opened in June 1990. The summer program in Yellowstone National Park offered classes from the end of June through the first of August. Most of the 135 students enrolled in 1990 were seasonal workers employed by TW-Services, the park's major concessionaire. The summer program was discontinued after four years.
September 1991: John Hanna is new president
After five years as director of the 19-community college system in Kansas, John Hanna became the college's fourth chief executive officer on Sept. 3, 1991. During his watch, the college passed an $8 million general obligation bond issue to build a Science and Mathematics Building and accommodate extensive campus remodeling. Hanna also guided the creation of a resource allocation process designed to help the college stay true to its mission during institutional changes brought about by declining revenues.
June 1996: College takes over U.S. Air Force housing site
The college enlarged its main campus by almost 23 percent with acquisition of the vacated U.S. Air Force housing site west of Powell. Trapper Village West, with more than 60 available apartment units, was opened to students in June 1996. Preference was given to married students, single parents, and students age 23 or over.
July 1998: Frances Feinerman assumes NWC presidency
After John Hanna's resignation in January 1997, Northwest launched a nationwide search for a new CEO. Mark Kitchen, NWC's Dean of College Relations and Development, served as Interim President during the year-long search. In July 1998, Frances Feinerman, campus director of the University of Alaska Southeast's Ketchikan campus, arrived at Northwest to assume the presidency. Using the results of a comprehensive market research study conducted during the previous year and input from a series of community meetings, Feinerman committed the college to creating a strategic plan before the end of her first year. She also took aggressive budget reallocation measures to reposition Northwest for the future and to prepare it for anticipated enrollment declines. She oversaw almost 90 full-time faculty and a 124-acre campus with 57 buildings, including five residence halls and 80 apartments capable of housing a total of 825 students.
