Less than a year after declaring its independence from Eastern Arizona College, Gila Community College is settling into its new identity — not with hesitation, but with purpose.
“This really has been the year of figuring it out,” said GCC President Dr. Janice Lawhorn. “Every system, every process, every program had to be rebuilt or reimagined, and we’ve done it.”
Since officially separating from EAC in July 2025, GCC has moved swiftly from transition to transformation. The fall semester brought over 1,500 students to its Globe and Payson campuses. This spring, another 376 students enrolled, pushing the total headcount to more than 2,000 for the academic year. While exact enrollment figures are still being finalized, the trend is clear: momentum is building.
“We’re not just functioning, we’re thriving,” said Dr. Jan Brocker, President of the GCC Governing Board. “The fact that we’re operating like any other community college in the state within our first year is a credit to our staff, faculty, and the community that stood behind us.”
On the surface, the college is still familiar, but behind the scenes, nearly everything has changed. GCC now manages its own student information systems, HR, payroll, course registration, advising, and academic planning. 150 faculty and staff made the leap with the college, many of them long-serving professionals who helped build what GCC is today.
“We had 98% of our faculty and staff stay with us,” Lawhorn said. “They brought history, heart, and a deep belief in what this college can be.”
Those employees have done so much more than adapt — they’ve taken ownership, including spending evenings and weekends helping the college achieve candidacy status. They helped design a new set of institutional performance goals around course completion, job placement, and licensure pass rates. Staff also helped prepare for accreditation milestones, including the planned March follow-up visit from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
“Achieving candidacy was a major win,” Brocker said. “Now we’re focused on full accreditation, which will lead to the normal eight-year review cycle. The systems are in place. We’re proving every day that we belong in this space.”
One of the clearest signs of GCC’s new direction is the expansion of programs tailored to the region’s needs. Current new offerings include medication assistant certification, as well as programs in nail technology, electrical fundamentals, and hairstyling, with more scheduled for the fall.
The college also launched its associate degree in nursing program, approved last year by the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
“We’re designing programs that prepare students for good jobs in their hometowns,” Lawhorn said. “Healthcare, skilled trades, and public safety are high-demand careers in Gila County, and we want to be the first choice for that training.”
With a focus on various initiatives at the Gila Pueblo campus, support will continue from the Gila County Board of Supervisors. A proposal was submitted to help fund new workforce initiatives and infrastructure improvements. These include ADA-accessible restrooms, grant-funded plant maintenance programs, and an electrical training program at the Globe-Miami Regional Training Center.
One of the most anticipated developments this spring was the submission of GCC’s application for federal financial aid eligibility. While approval through the U.S. Department of Education takes time, it’s a crucial step toward offering Pell Grants and other Title IV funding — something GCC students haven’t had access to since the separation from its previous institutional partner.
In the meantime, the community stepped in. Scholarships from the Pinal Mountain for Higher Education in the southern part of the county, Aspire Arizona Foundation, and Friends of Rim Country in the northern part of the county, as well as contributions from individual donors, ensured that students didn’t miss out on opportunities for financial reasons.
“That outpouring of support was incredible,” Brocker said. “It showed just how much this college means to Gila County.”
As GCC looks toward the future, the focus is shifting from transition to sustainability. One important conversation now underway relates to Arizona’s constitutional expenditure limit — a 45-year-old cap that restricts how much public community colleges can spend, even when funds are available.
“This isn’t about raising taxes, it’s about ensuring that we can use the resources we already have to serve our students,” Lawhorn said. “The voters of Gila County have always supported this college, and we’ll continue to be transparent about what’s needed.”
In March, GCC will host community celebrations at both campuses, March 11 in Globe and March 12 in Payson, to mark its progress and invite residents to see the transformation firsthand.
“There’s a lot to celebrate,” said Lawhorn. “We’ve launched new programs and built a college that reflects the needs and values of Gila County.”
“There’s so much joy this year,” Brocker added. “We had the right people, at the right time, doing the right thing. And now we’re seeing the results.”
From strengthened dual enrollment with local high schools to increased certificate completions and transfer rates, GCC’s journey toward independence is already bearing fruit.
And, as Lawhorn put it: “At times, the road was rocky, but the new path the college has blazed will serve the residents of Gila County well into the future.”
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