“Dealing with the students is the fun part,” Jim Blackburn said of his new post as director of Jefferson State Community College's Pell City campus.

Jim Blackburn was enjoying the quiet of an early Friday morning in his office at Jefferson State Community College’s Pell City campus.  

“We don’t have classes on Fridays during the summer,” he explained.  “We have between 300 and 400 students enrolled now, and that will double in the fall.”

Newly arrived from Jeff State’s Shelby County location, Blackburn is in his first month as the local campus director.  Holding degrees in public administration and agency counseling, he began working in education 32 years ago as an admissions counselor at the University of South Alabama.

Reflecting on his life in academia, he identified the most enjoyable aspect of his work, explained the local school’s role in post-secondary education, and offered advice to students entering college.

What’s involved in being the campus director?:  “At a small campus like this, everything.  Scheduling classes, financial aid, admissions, basically everything that happens.  The director’s sometimes the one they call when the toilet overflows.”

His favorite part of the job:  “That’s easy to answer.  The students.  The paperwork can get overwhelming and mundane, but dealing with the students is the fun part.”

The role of Jeff State’s Pell City campus:  “To make education accessible.  That’s one of the missions of the two-year college system.  We offer general education course work that is applicable toward most degrees when students transfer to a four-year school, as most of our students do.”

His goal for the Pell City campus:  “To continue to serve students and improve our course offerings as we are able to as the student population grows.”

The rising cost of education:  “You will see across the country that enrollment has risen at two-year colleges as the economy has gone down.  As the economy goes down, our enrollment goes up.  A number of our students complete their general course work here, live at home, and commute to Jacksonville State.”

How he was directed to a career in education:  “Like a lot of people, I knew someone working in the field.  There was a gentleman who befriended me and gave me some guidance that I chose to apply when I graduated from Auburn.”

On being a mentor for students:  “It’s extremely important and very rewarding.  A lot of students today don’t have families who have gone to college.  They come in looking for direction and help, and they’ll find it in different places.  It could be an instructor, a staff member, or a campus police officer.  That person may not be able to answer all of their questions, but they can direct them to the proper location and be a good influence for them.”

The best advice he ever received:  “Work hard, and keep your nose to the grindstone.”

Advice for college students:  “What we often see is that students need to learn how to allocate their time and develop good study habits, which they most likely have not had in the past.  It doesn’t seem to be easy to tell friends or co-workers that you have to take time to study.  It’s easier to say that you can’t go to the lake this weekend because you have to work than it is to say you can’t go to the lake because you have to study.  Look at school as you would a job.  If you decide you’re going to study every night from 7 to 9 p.m., for example, and stick with that, you’ll be successful.   You’ve got to make a commitment to your studies.”