Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994                   TAG: 9408250015
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS                    PAGE: 18   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Medium

COLLEGE PRESIDENT SEES HIS JOB: LETTING THE TEACHERS DO THEIRS

"I came to work at New River Community College in 1972, and I've been with the Virginia community colleges for all but two years," said Barnes, who became the New River president in 1991.

Under Barnes, the school has worked diligently to help the region's spate of laid-off workers, a product of the recent recession, get back on their feet.

"New River Community College has been among the most active colleges in the Virginia community college system in working with displaced workers," he said.

Enrollment this year is expected to number somewhere between 2,400 and 3,500. The figure is never fully determined until the first week of classes.

A few changes are in store at New River as the school year unfolds, as its students will see.

First, the much-publicized training activities for the expanding Volvo-GM plant in Dublin will start in the next couple of months. The training and retraining will go on for five years, part of a state-brokered deal to keep the plant in the region.

"New River has been identified several times as being one of the [community] colleges in the state tied more directly to industrial training," Barnes said.

In keeping with that tradition, the new school year also brings the now-under-construction New River Valley Regional Center for Economic Development.

On the aesthetic side, look for the school's recently completed landscape master plan, which may grow to life in the coming years. Walking trails and picnic grounds will be featured on campus.

Barnes came to New River after serving as president of Paul D. Camp Community College in Franklin for three years. He served within the administration of the Virginia Community College system as vice chancellor for instructional programs and student services. In an earlier stint at New River, he was the dean of academic and student affairs.

Barnes is married, with three grown children. He has a doctorate in education from Virginia Tech.

As far as he's concerned, the focus of his job is to let the teachers do theirs.

"I look up to teachers," he said. "I cannot imagine any occupation on this earth more fulfilling than helping young people and promoting their growth and development."