April 16, 2008

East Arkansas Community College-Forrest City
Press Release

Lee Griffith of Russellville, Arkansas has accepted the position of Director of Administrative Services at East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City. Griffith formerly served as the Associate Director of Workforce Training for the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education.

At EACC, Griffith will be involved in the management and coordination of several federal grants the College has received including the Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC) initiative, and the University Center. He will also oversee the Eastark Secondary Career Center. The ESCC was created in 2004 through a collaborative effort by EACC, area school districts, and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. ESCC provides area high school students with the opportunity to pursue career programs, and by completing coursework students may receive high school and college credit. The Eastark Secondary Career Center provides students with hands-on training in a variety of high-demand technical fields.

Griffith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Arkansas State University and a Masters in Vocational Education through the University of Arkansas. He has completed some post-graduate work in vocational administration through the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

 Griffith has many years of experience teaching at the high school level in agricultural and horticultural programs. After serving in the Vocational Division of the Department of Education where he supervised agricultural programs in high schools in eastern Arkansas, Griffith also worked as a program manager for secondary centers in Arkansas and managed a system of 18 secondary career centers. As Associate Director of Workforce Training, the secondary center system grew to a total of 24 centers, 15 of which operate on community college campuses in Arkansas. In that capacity he also provided oversight for Arkansas’ Technical Institutes.

“I am excited about the opportunity to join the staff at EACC, said Griffith.”  “My involvement with the secondary center at EACC will allow me to have worked in all levels of the system.  I’m looking forward to working with the administration of the area high schools and EACC as we work together to provide programs for the area high schools.”