Preventing Hunger

[DALLAS, NC, March 10, 2020] On February 7, 2020, Mr. and Mrs. Nazural Chowdhury presented a $6,200 gift to the Gaston College Foundation to expand the College’s Food Bank in honor of Dr. Patricia Skinner’s Retirement. The Food Bank at Gaston College was established for the benefit of all Gaston College students who face the challenges associated with food insecurity.

In addition to direct supplies, the Foundation accepts designated gifts for the food bank to ensure students do not go hungry. Donations may be made by clicking here and selecting Gaston College Food Bank as your designated contribution.

Preventing Hunger

Gaston’s Eighth President: Dr. Patricia Skinner

In 1994, Dr. Patricia Skinner became Gaston College’s first female president. Upon her retirement in March 2020, she became the longest-tenured president in the school’s history. Skinner led Gaston College through significant technological advancements during her time at Gaston. “That’s the biggest change,” Skinner told the N.C. Community College ednc.org website just before her retirement….

Gaston’s Seventh President: Paul Berrier

When President Scott retired, Gaston College turned to a familiar face for interim leadership. Paul Berrier, a staff member since 1974, stepped into the role. He started at the college as Gaston’s director of campus development, later becoming vice president for human relations and vice president of administrative services. Berrier served as interim president from…

Gaston’s Sixth President: Wayne Scott

Wayne Scott’s journey from NASA physicist to Gaston College’s sixth president was somewhat of an unconventional path in higher education leadership. Scott, a Chattanooga native, earned degrees from the University of Chattanooga, William & Mary, and Ohio State before his tenure at NASA from 1962 to 1965. At Langley Field, he contributed to shield development…

Gaston’s Fifth President: Robert Howard

Dr. Robert Howard stepped into the role of Gaston College president in August 1979, following Dr. Joseph Mills’ resignation that May. Initially serving as “acting” president, Howard officially took the helm on August 27, 1979. A Charlotte native, Howard moved to Gastonia at age 5 in 1924. He pursued his education at Mars Hill Junior…

Remembering Marshall Rauch

Few people in state history have touched as many lives as Marshall Arthur Rauch before his death this week at 102. A native of Manhattan, N.Y., he moved to North Carolina in 1940 to play basketball at Duke University, where he met his wife when they were both 17 years old. He became a popular…

Trustee Spotlight: Dr. Bobbie Rowland

Women’s History Month is the perfect opportunity to honor one of the school’s female pioneers, former longtime Gaston College trustee Dr. Bobbie Haynes Rowland. A 1951 graduate of UNC Greensboro, Rowland was named Professor Emeritus of Child and Family Development at UNC Charlotte after her 37-year tenure at that school ended, Rowland was Gaston College’s…