Brightwater culinary school executive director Glenn Mack tenders resignation

Glenn Mack has resigned as executive director of Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food. The culinary school in Bentonville is a division of NorthWest Arkansas Community College, and is the hub of the burgeoning 8^th Street Market in the city’s market district.

Mack submitted his resignation to NWACC President Evelyn E. Jorgenson on Monday (Oct. 15), according to a university spokeswoman.

Mack could not be immediately reached for comment.

“The faculty and staff of NorthWest Arkansas Community College are extremely appreciative of Dr. Mack’s work on behalf of Brightwater and NWACC and wish him the very best with his future endeavors,” the university said in an emailed statement. School officials did not offer any additional comments about the reason for Mack’s departure, or the process for hiring his replacement.

Mack is a native of Northwest Arkansas with a two-decades long career in culinary education, one which has taken him to areas around the world including China, Italy, Russia and Uzbekistan.

He was hired as Brightwater’s first executive director in June 2015 after a nationwide search. Before coming to Bentonville, he served as dean of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy in Singapore and before that as market president of Le Cordon Bleu College for the Atlanta-St. Louis-Boston market. He also worked as a journalist, covering the demise of the Soviet Union for Time Magazine.

NWACC’s culinary school had been housed in the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers since 2009, but was relocated to a state-of-the-art facility inside the 8^th Street Market — a repurposed former Tyson Foods plant — three years ago and took on the name Brightwater. The idea of the proposed academic shift for the program, NWACC said at the time, was to reposition its existing offerings to focus on farm, agriculture and nurturing the next generation of food entrepreneurs.

The expansion of the culinary school was made possible by three related grants from the Walton Family Foundation totaling more than $15 million. The grants helped pay for new facilities, enhanced programming, professional development, rebranding, equipment, staff and faculty.

“More than just a traditional culinary school, Brightwater has established itself as an indispensable educational asset for the region — and as a destination for diehard foodies,” the foundation noted in a 2017 blog post.

Brightwater is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the American Culinary Federation.