New WVNCC President Talks About Importance Of His College
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New West Virginia Northern Community College President Andrew Langrehr hasn’t been in the position long, being announced in June as the newest person to hold that role. Yet it hasn’t taken him long to see how important the college is to the Ohio Valley.
“At its heart, Northern is about opportunity,” Langrehr told those attending Tuesday’s meeting of the Wheeling Rotary. “A community college can change the direction of a person’s life, but its impact reaches well beyond the individual student.
“It helps employers find developing talent,” he continued. “It supports local economic development and it gives people a way to build skills and pursue a future without having to leave the region that they are in.”
Langrehr said WVNCC does all those things in the Ohio Valley. He came to Northern after serving as as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at St. Louis Community College, where he provided leadership for campus presidents, online education, institutional research, curriculum and assessment, accreditation, and strategic planning across the multi-campus institution. He worked in several leadership roles at that college.
“I’m very excited to be in Wheeling,” Langrehr said. “The college and community have been extraordinarily welcoming. As I’ve stepped into the presidency at Northern, one of my priorities has been to listen and to learn. I want to understand what matters to our students and to our community partners. And I’ve been making a point of getting out in the community, meeting people and learning more about the opportunities and challenges in the Upper Ohio Valley and the communities Northern serves.”
One thing he has been very proud of since arriving is WVNCC receiving an award from the Friends of Wheeling for its renovation of the B&O Building, the main building on the Wheeling campus. While he said he’s simply enjoying the rewards of the hard work of people who were here before him, he understands how much of a point of pride it is for the college.
“It’s quite a gem,” he said. “I’m really excited about the award and what it means about their hard work.”
As for the future of the college with him at the helm, Langrehr said he wants to continue building on Northern’s strengths.
“That means keeping students at the center of our decisions, supporting the faculty and staff who do the daily work and remaining a strong and responsive institution by deepening our partnerships throughout the community that we serve.
“It also means being willing to ask good questions,” he added. “Are we making it easier for students to enter college and to stay on track? Are our programs connected to the needs of employers in the region? Are we making it easier for students to enter college and to stay on track? Are our programs connected to the needs of employers in the region? Those are ongoing questions and we should be willing to hear honest answers on those things.”