NWACC’s chief academic officer leaving school for private business

Dr. Ricky Tompkins, chief academic officer at NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, will be leaving the school to become managing director at professional development firm Grandslam Performance Associates (GPA) of Fayetteville.

Tompkins will remain at NWACC for the “several months” until his replacement is hired, according to a news release. His official start date with GPA is Sept. 1.

GPA founder and CEO Adam Arroyos said Tompkins’ hiring represents a “giant step forward” in advancing the company’s career transition practice.

“We’ve been building and testing our career transition model over the past two years, and we’re ready to make it a product available to the masses,” Arroyos said. “The need to disrupt the traditional outplacement model has been long overdue and employers and employees need a more effective model that helps them help each other to successfully adapt and transition as needed. We’re excited to have Dr. Tompkins help us achieve our vision of eliminating the need for outplacements.”

Tompkins will be will be officially introduced at GPA’s annual Workforce2025 Summit, scheduled Aug. 30 at Tyson Foods headquarters in Springdale.

“Over the last 10 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Adam and his staff on numerous projects and initiatives and we’ve always shared the same set of values and passion to serve,” Tompkins said. “He and his team have built a practice over the past six years that has quickly garnered a strong reputation of being a leading source of thought leadership, innovation, and impact. I look forward to building on this strong foundation.”