As president of Talladega College, Dr. Billy C. Hawkins is known as a turnaround expert among higher education leaders. Now, as chair of the 37 presidents of United Negro College Fund (UNCF) institutions, Hawkins is sharing his turnaround skills with others.
When Hawkins, a Kent, Ohio native, arrived at Talladega in January 2008, he faced an immediate crisis. Enrollment on the 50-acre campus had shrunk to 280. And, in addition, the school was mired in debt, faced loss of its accreditation and the physical plant was in disrepair. Despite these obstacles, Hawkins saw promise.
Coming of a successful revitalization of Texas College, which he piloted to regain its accreditation and increase enrollment by 82 percent, Hawkins was sought by boards of other struggling schools. He says he chose Talladega “because the institution, from its inception, always stood for academic excellence.”
He engaged in a vigorous outreach campaign seeking partnerships with local and state — public and private — entities that could assist in a physical makeover of the college. Some of the liaisons, especially the state prison, raised their eyebrows, but Hawkins persevered.
“I reached out to the city of Talladega and they became my partner,” says Hawkins. “I used volunteers from Honda — they have a volunteer program with their employees. The state of Alabama has a work release program, so I formed a partnership with the prison system and told the warden we needed workers.”
The result was an eager crew assigned to do maintenance, groundskeeping, painting and other long-needed upkeep on the campus.
“In the 12 years I’ve been there, we’ve renovated every building on the campus,” he says. “People see it today and say it looks wonderful, and I couldn’t have done it without these workers — we don’t call them prisoners; we call them our community workers.”
