By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As many people think of Barton Community College, the instant thought is to the main campus situated just outside of Great Bend. The college has also been tied with two of the largest military forts for years, providing specialized training and educational classes and opportunities to thousands of military personnel.
Barton has been associated with Fort Riley, between Junction City and Manhattan, since 1984. The junior college established a campus at Fort Leavenworth in 2012.
Barton Vice President of Instruction Elaine Simmons said the college and fort campuses have worked hard over the years to provide the
best education opportunities to the men and women that are stationed at the two
forts.
"It is incredible what can happen when a group of people, such as those that work at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, come together to serve their functional responsibilities but feel that they are part of the organization for which they work," said Simmons. "It has been a tremendous change and tremendous things are happening."
With heightened deployment cycles within the United States Army, enrollment
numbers have dipped slightly the last couple of years at both the Fort Riley and
Fort Leavenworth Barton campuses.
Barton Community College Board of Trustees
member Don Learned remained impressed with the college continuing their
services at both the remote locations despite the challenges.
"I'm amazed at how people up there fall over themselves, thanking us," said Learned. "People in Great Bend have no idea of what they think about Barton up there. It's wonderful. We're helping people but we're also helping our own image."
Barton also has an outreach site located at Grandview Plaza where courses are
provided in Hazardous Materials Handling, Emergency Management, Emergency
Medical Technician and Paramedic programs.