Richard Shank
Columnist
Hutchinson Community College (HCC) is a major economic driver in Hutchinson and annually pumps $400 million into the local economy, according to Dr. Tricia Paramore, the school’s president. In a July 15 keynote address to the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon held at the 1861 Club on the Kansas State Fairgrounds, Paramore provided a wide range of statistics about the myriads of curriculums and courses of study available at HCC.
Dr. Paramore is no stranger to HCC, having served for 17 years as a dean at the school, followed by a two-year stint as a vice president. On July 1, 2024 she was installed as the college’s eighth president and hit the ground running with a long list of ways to take the college into the future.
In 2028, HCC will pause to celebrate its centennial as one of the state’s oldest community colleges.
In a PowerPoint presentation to approximately 100 business leaders assembled for the luncheon, Dr. Paramore told how HCC saw its origin in 1928 at 7th and Walnut Avenue, within the city’s original Hutchinson High School. Eleven years later, following the college’s acquisition of a strip of land adjacent to the 13th and Plum Street, the school built its first building, Lockman Hall which remains in use by the college where Dr. Paramore has an office.
Dr. Paramore pointed out that Kansas is served by 19 community colleges, including HCC. “Eleven percent of all community college degrees in Kansas are earned at HCC, second only to Johnson County Community College in Overland Park,” Dr. Paramore said.
In the school’s first year of operation, 170 students were enrolled. “Today, HCC’s student enrollment is approximately 5,000 with 2,500 of the students on campus,” Dr. Paramore said. “HCC’s student to teacher ratio is 18 to 1.”
Dr. Paramore explained the community colleges are divided into service areas. “Included in the HCC service area is Reno County, McPherson County, Harvey County and half of Rice County,” Dr. Paramore said. “Approximately 40 percent of the HCC students come from our service area.”
“There are 33 high schools within our service area and, each year, hundreds of students from these high schools get a jump start on their college education by taking courses at HCC,” Dr. Paramore said.
“HCC provides 78 areas of study and each year we graduate approximately 1,700 students, second in Kansas only to Johnson County Community College in number of graduates,” Dr. Paramore said.
As Dr. Paramore clicked off a long list of college majors available at HCC, the audience was left to think there is something for almost everyone. Among the majors and certifications available are welding, firefighting, cosmetology, para legal training, public safety, fine arts theater, and nursing. “Fifty-four percent of nurses at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center are graduates of HCC,” Dr. Paramore said. “About 54 percent of our students are enrolled in career and technical programs.”
Other highlights included in Dr. Paramore’s 25-minute speech included:
—Tutoring programs are available to all HCC students.
—Free mental health counseling services are available without charge to all students.
—HCC is home to a nationally recognized honors program.
—86 percent of all students utilize financial assistance programs including scholarships.
Dr. Paramore, an avid sports fan herself, is married to Lonnie Paramore who this spring concluded a 17-year career as Haven High School basketball coach, and will continue his career this fall in the same position at Halstead High School.
So, it came as no surprise to the Chamber of Commerce audience when Dr. Paramore launched into a discussion of HCC’s athletic successes which, as she pointed out included 11 national championships, ranging from Football to Spirit Squads. “Many of the student athletes are from low-income homes and are the first generation in their family to attend college,” Dr. Paramore said. “More than 50 percent of the athletes would not have attended college had it not been for a sports scholarship.”
Also, Dr. Paramore spoke of a highly successful apprentice program, which 59 Hutchinson employers are currently participating in. In one case, an employer at the luncheon meeting pointed out how he permanently hired an HCC intern following her apprenticeship with his firm, a story often told in the Salt City.
These days, colleges often hit the road to provide courses and services for nearby towns. To accommodate the growing need for providing classes in other cities, HCC has opened service centers in McPherson and Newton to assist residents in those cities.
Also, HCC provides teaching to inmates incarcerated at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility and, to date, approximately 100 inmates are enrolled. And, for those wishing to fulfill the requirements for a GED, a high school level graduation equivalent, HCC also has a program to make that happen.
Dr. Paramore, like her seven predecessors, adheres to the college’s mission statement, “Expanding the tradition of excellence through learning and collaboration.”
