Fenter Says Decision To Leave Mid-South ‘Bittersweet’

An opportunity to leave a job he has had for more than two decades was difficult for Dr. Glen Fenter, president of Mid-South Community College.

“It is bittersweet. The people here are my family,” Fenter said in an interview on Wednesday (Dec. 3).

However, Fenter said the next chapter of his life will give him an opportunity to continue working on something he has enjoyed throughout his career: workforce training.

On July 1, Fenter will start work as head of the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce – a 501(c)(3) non-profit that will work on regional workforce development and narrowing the so-called skills gap.

In the past year or so, Fenter said the region has seen a lot of opportunities to build on those issues. He cited the possible merger between MSCC into the Arkansas State University System and the announcement of Big River Steel building a $1.3 billion steel mill south of Osceola as examples.

“The merger agreement is important. It is important to give our community the additional resources to help our community progress,” Fenter said. “With Big River Steel and the growth in Mississippi County, it will create more opportunities. It will create every possible way for a better quality of life.”

The steel mill, which is under construction, can benefit Crittenden County through another company wanting to locate in West Memphis or Marion, or seeing additional people move to the county, Fenter said.

As for the merger, Fenter said it will benefit both ASU and MSCC in multiple ways.

“(With Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce), it will try to strengthen the workforce in the Memphis MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). They wanted me to help work with Memphis. ASU will help as well. It will create a level of synergy. The agreement will be a mutually beneficial relationship that will benefit everybody involved. I can see the partnership develop and it can be beneficial in Eastern Arkansas,” Fenter said.

Fenter, who became president of the Mid-South Community College in 1992, has seen the college grow exponentially during his tenure.

The college, which one time offered science classes at nearby West Memphis High School in the mid-to-late 1990s due to a lack of classroom space, now has a renewable energy center named after former Congressman Marion Berry.

The college also works with several other two-year colleges in Arkansas in a multi-county workforce training program called the Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC), as well as other universities on programs.

One of those programs – a teacher education program with ASU – has provided a major foundation for advancing education and careers in the region.

“We have 50 teachers in classrooms in Crittenden County due to that program,” Fenter said. “It is a life-changing opportunity for the teacher. It is definitely a life-changing opportunity for the kids. And I would like to see many more like it.”

Fenter said the college has been blessed with good, strong results and the changes underway currently could serve as a further catalyst for advancement.

“If you do not believe God works miracles, you need to go to Mid-South Community College. We take pride in what has been accomplished. The merger with ASU and the synergy with Memphis can create an opportunity for Crittenden County that would have never happened,” Fenter said. “There is a lot of uncertainty and angst (about my leaving) but it is the right thing to do for this institution. My being in Memphis will strengthen the opportunities available and ASU will open the doors for the region as well.”