HutchCC News

Hutchinson Community College President Carter File announced on Thursday his intent to retire in 2024.

File submitted his request to the college board of trustees indicating his intent to retire effective August 31, 2024.

"My time at HutchCC has exceeded any expectations I may have had when we made the decision to come here. The leadership of the board, our faculty and staff, and of course the students has made coming to work every day a real joy," File said Thursday.

File is the college's seventh president. He started at HutchCC in 2005 as the Vice President of Finance and Operators. He was elevated to the presidency in July 2014. His retirement will end his more than 24-year career in higher education.

The college will conduct a national search to replace File. The search will be managed in-house and will be led by a search committee that will be named in the coming weeks. 

To help combat food insecurity amongst its campus community, Hutchinson Community College has launched a student food pantry located in the Rimmer Learning Resource Center.

“Nationally, nearly 60% of college students experience some sort of food insecurity”, shared Debbie Graber, a HutchCC counselor in its Student Success Center. “It’s a proven statistic that food insecurity can directly impact a student’s academic performance and their ability to complete their degree. We feel this is a step we can take to positively impact that.”

The food pantry is made possible through a grant from the Kansas Board of Regents. The pantry will initially serve only non-perishable items with the goal of adding refrigerated storage to allow for expanded offerings to benefit students.

Those interested in supporting the pantry can contact Debbie Graber at graberd@hutchcc.edu or by phone at 620-665-3581.

Dr. Temple Grandin will present the final Dillon Lecture of the 2023 season when she appears at the Hutchinson Sports Arena on Tuesday, October 31 at 10:30 am.

Dr. Grandin has shaped her career around the research and understanding of animal behavior and stress through the lens of her own experiences navigating life with autism. 

Dr. Grandin currently serves as a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, which honored her as a Distinguished Professor in 2022, where she teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design.

Throughout her life’s work, Dr. Grandin has pioneered the design of livestock handling facilities with modern methods that improve animal welfare and productivity. Dr. Grandin continues to help more than half of the cattle in North America today through the use of her groundbreaking animal handling technology. Facilities she has designed can be seen in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and more. Dr. Grandin has authored over 400 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare, and facility design.

A prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior, Dr. Grandin has also written more than a dozen books, including Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport, and The Autistic Brain, just to name a few. Her books Animals in Translation and Visual Thinking have been featured on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Tickets to the lecture will be available beginning at 9:45 am the day of the lecture at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Grandin will appear at a press conference for members of the media prior to the lecture.  The press conference is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. in the Media Interview Room of the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

2023 is the 42nd season for the Dillon Lecture Series on the HutchCC Campus.  For more information on the Dillon Lecture Series or to become a patron, visit www.hutchcc.edu/dls or call Becky Rogers at 620-665-3505.

Trapped alone in a Utah canyon for nearly a week and pinned by a half-ton boulder Aron Ralston had to choose between his hand and his life. He chose survival — amputating his own limb, rappelling 65 feet and hiking seven miles to rescue.

Ralston will bring his amazing, inspirational story home to Hutchinson at 10:30 am on September 26 when he appears as part of the Dillon Lecture Series at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Ralston's heroic story is the subject of the film "127 Hours," starring James Franco and directed by Oscar-winning Danny Boyle. Boyle's film, based on Ralston's 2004 New York Times bestselling autobiography, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," received six Oscar nominations, including "Best Picture."

Following a miraculous rescue spearheaded by his mom and with the aid of prosthetics he helped design, Aron returned to his outdoor passions, completing elite mountaineering projects which remain unrepeated even to this day. Attendees credit Ralston's story with encouraging them through disease, disability, and loss, even saving their lives from suicide and depression.

Aron's incredible triumph in the face of insurmountable odds inspires audiences to harness the power of their deepest motivations, relationships, and mindset to transform personal and professional "boulders" into their blessings. Today, Ralston continues to pursue high-altitude adventures, advocates for wilderness protection and tries to keep up with his two spirited children, Leo and Elisabetta.

Tickets to the lecture will be available beginning at 9:45 am the day of the lecture at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Ralston will appear at a press conference for members of the media prior to the lecture.  The press conference is scheduled at 9:45 a.m. in the Media Interview Room of the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

2023 is the 42nd season for the Dillon Lecture Series on the HutchCC Campus.  For more information on the Dillon Lecture Series or to become a patron, visit www.hutchcc.edu/dls or call Becky Rogers at 620-665-3505.