National Park College (NPC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

. It was founded in 2003 as a result of a merger between Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute. It is now one of the state's largest

s, enrolling 3,000 students annually in credit programs and an additional 3,800 students in non-credit programs. Tuition at NPC is less than half that of Arkansas' universities. The name of the college is derived from its location adjacent to

Hot Springs National Park Hot Springs National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Springs. Hot Springs Reservation was initially ...

History

National Park College was founded in 2003 as a result of a merger between Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute, which had been established in 1973 and 1969, respectively. In 2006, as part of its initial

capital campaign Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

, the college received a donation of 1.5 million dollars from Frederick M. Dierks of Hot Springs, who had been associated with a business and owned timberland and produced

pulp and paper The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is introd ...

, and that was sold to

Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...

in 1969.Fred and Louise Dierks' $1.5 Million Gift Allows Integration of Research Laboratories Into New Psychiatry Center
, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences press release, July 28, 2004 This was the largest cash donation in the history of Arkansas community colleges. These funds were purposed for a new nursing and health sciences facility. By December 2007, the college had raised an additional $900,000 for the campaign and initiated a joint program in early-childhood and middle-school teaching with

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, Henderson has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2,500 students. The campus is located on . H ...

. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005, NPC assisted students displaced from their home colleges by either enrolling them in its programs or finding colleges for them to enroll in. In 1994, when it was known as Garland County Community College, the college was

censured A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

by the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

for failure to abide by the ''1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure'' and ''1958 Statement on Procedural Standards in Faculty Dismissal Proceedings''. , the censure remains in place.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Community colleges in Arkansas Education in Garland County, Arkansas Educational institutions accredited by the Council on Occupational Education 2003 establishments in Arkansas Universities and colleges established in 2003 Two-year colleges in the United States