Longtime FVCC President Jane Karas Announces Retirement

After 25 years, Flathead Valley Community College will prime for new leadership as Jane Karas, the school’s long-time president, announced her plan to retire at Monday’s board meeting.

“FVCC has been my home for the past 27 years, and you, my family,” Karas said. “My heart is here, and a piece of it will always be at FVCC. We accomplished a great deal together. My success, our success, is due to all of you: FVCC trustees, faculty, staff, students, foundation board members and our community. When I leave at the end of this year, it will be bittersweet. I am so proud of what we have built together, and the the lives we have touched.”

Karas’ retirement will be effective Dec. 31. Board chair Callie Langhor said the board is in the process of developing a presidential search process and timeline. In a press release put out Tuesday morning, the college announced it will mount a national search for Karas’ replacement.

In an interview with the Beacon, Karas said during her 27 years with the college — 25 of which she served as president — she has watched it evolve from a “well-kept secret” to a school that has met the valley’s education and workforce needs.

“I think also at that time, public perception of two-year colleges was very different than it is now — that people thought of a community college 27 years ago, that maybe you went if you weren’t able to get into a four-year college or go into the workplace” Karas said. “But as we all know, community colleges and FVCC in particular is an especially great place to start your education, whether you (are pursuing) post-secondary education, whether you want to go get a four-year degree or you have an education in training to go right into the workforce from high school.”

At the meeting, Karas also touted the many achievements and strides FVCC has made under her leadership. Those included growing the campus from four buildings to 13; building a residential hall on campus, a rare commodity for community colleges; expanding degree and certificate options; growing partnerships with K-12 education and other higher ed institutions; and setting enrollment records. Her tenure as president also saw the building and development of the Wachholz College Center through the “One Community, One College” campaign, which raised nearly $30 million.

As she finishes out her final year at the school and the board plans for a leadership transition, Karas said she will focus on continuing efforts to expand the college’s Trades Institute building. Matching the Flathead Valley’s trades industry growth, the college has seen booming trades programs.

She also touched on continuing efforts to adjust the community college funding formula. She explained the funding formula has a base with several variables that doesn’t get finalized until the end of each biennium — meaning the state’s community colleges don’t know what their appropriations will be year-to-year, making budgeting a challenge. In the interim, Karas plans to continue advocating for changes to the formula. But codifying any changes won’t happen until the next legislative session, which begins in 2027. It’s a project Karas’ successor will have to see to the finish line.

But just because she’s finished at the end of the year, it doesn’t mean Karas has lost focus.

“I’m focused on the next 10 months of the needs of our students and our community, ensuring that the college continues to do what it does best, which is help our students be successful and that our community’s needs are met,” Karas said.

The board room was filled to the brim with faculty members Monday, who met the news with a standing ovation. Benjamin Barckholtz, the president of the FVCC faculty union, credited Karas as a “mover” who made the school’s vision a reality, helping to carve out a role for the school as threefold: education, continuing education and building a place of community in the Flathead Valley.

And during the FVCC Foundation’s annual report at the meeting, Tagen Vine, the foundation’s chief development officer, said a college president’s role, in part, is overseeing major gifts and donations.

“I just want to say how great it’s been to have a leader of this organization who understands philanthropy and has created relationships now for decades,” Vine said.

Langhor, the chair of the board of trustees, said Karas would leave the college in a position of strength.

“Because of her leadership, this institution is stronger, more responsive to the news of our region, and better-positioned for the future,” Langhor said. “She has guided this college through change, with courage and clarity, always keeping students at the center of every decision.”

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