Heidi Popham Named Executive Vice President Of GNTC

  • Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Heidi Popham
Heidi Popham

Heidi Popham, vice president of Institutional Effectiveness at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), was named executive vice president by Pete McDonald, president of GNTC. In her new role, Ms. Popham will continue to be responsible for Institutional Effectiveness and will now also be responsible for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Adult Education.

Mr. McDonald cited Ms. Popham’s decades-long career with GNTC, service to the community, and her extensive professional achievements as key factors to her being named executive vice president.

“GNTC is very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Heidi Popham as executive vice president,” said Mr. McDonald. “Dr. Popham joined the college staff in 1995 and has held many positions in the Office of the President.”

The change is intended to distribute the leadership responsibilities to operate more effectively given GNTC’s large footprint which includes six operating campuses, multiple Adult Education centers, and the Aviation Training Center.

“Dr. Popham will serve as a critical member of our college leadership to improve student success across all six college campuses, adult education programs, and economic development programs serving the citizens of the nine counties of the Northwest Georgia region,” said Mr. McDonald. “She has also served as the team leader for the GNTC planning and implementation of the student success initiative under the ‘Achieving the Dream’ national consortium.”

Dr. Popham began her educational career in 1995 as executive assistant to the president at Coosa Valley Technical College, which would later become GNTC. Her responsibilities included coordinating the daily functions of the president’s office, serving as liaison with the board of directors, and planning special events. In 1998, she took on additional duties as an instructor for Continuing Education Department and Academic Affairs and taught intermediate and advanced computing applications.

In 2007, Dr. Popham became the director of Institutional Effectiveness and was promoted to vice president in 2009 around the same time that Coosa Valley Technical College was merging with Northwestern Technical College to become GNTC.

As vice president of Institutional Effectiveness, Dr. Popham coordinates the development of GNTC’s program goals, objectives, policies, and standards. She maintains operational goals for each administrative unit and each academic program. 

Dr. Popham is the primary GNTC accreditation liaison with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC) and designs and executes the plans for maintaining accreditation status. She oversees the strategic planning process for GNTC and annually evaluates the progress of the college’s goals.

Dr. Popham is also spearheading “Student Success Track It!” a major campus-wide initiative that focuses on student retention, persistence, and completion.

“’Track It!’ is GNTC’s commitment to our continuous focus on student success,” said Dr. Popham. “Through the analysis of school data and conversations with faculty, staff, and students ‘Track It!’ is refining the services and resources provided to students to be more success-oriented.”

Other leadership roles that Dr. Popham has served in her educational career include president, Institutional Effectiveness peer group for the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), 2014-15; graduate, TCSG Leadership Academy, 2013; member, Rome Rotary Club; graduate, Leadership Rome; and volunteer, Communities in Schools.

Dr. Popham earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, master’s degree in Adult Education from the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, and doctoral degree in Adult Education from UGA.

She is a resident of Silver Creek and has been married to her husband Kurt for 31 years.

 

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