Nunley aims for continued growth as Area 30 director

Thursday, June 2, 2022
Having served as Area 30 Career Center assistant director under Lora Busch since 2008, Chad Nunley will take over as executive director in July. He looks to continue fostering a culture of student and staff success, as well as enhancing and expanding Area 30’s programs.
Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

Having worked with Lora Busch at Area 30 Career Center for the last 14 years as assistant director, Chad Nunley will soon take over from her as executive director. Coming into the role, he is looking to build upon its programs while continuing to foster a positive learning environment.

Area 30’s interlocal board of trustees officially approved Nunley to succeed Busch at its regular meeting on May 9. Meanwhile, the board accepted Busch stepping down as such in March.

A Lapel native, Nunley graduated from Lapel High School in 1985 and went on to study fisheries and aquatic science at Purdue University. Having gotten interested in aquaculture, Nunley then, on the encouragement of a professor, went to graduate school at Virginia Tech to study fishery management and graduated in 1992.

After coming back to Indiana and getting married, Nunley worked for a year at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in its water quality division. They then finally moved to Putnam County, as Nunley became an assistant in the agriculture program at South Putnam High School.

South Putnam was then a national pilot site for aquaculture education, and Nunley had already connected with teachers who were sent to Virginia Tech to gather ideas and strategies. As such, teachers from across the country came for workshops. Being on this cutting edge in aquaculture education was exciting for him.

“During my graduate work, I came to South Putnam to help them put in some of their first tanks,” Nunley related. “I was always talking with South Putnam because they were always needing information, corresponding with them about grant money. We were able to hire an assistant position, and that’s how I got started.”

After being the assistant for two years, Nunley established a natural resource management-type class at South Putnam through Area 30 in 1995, while Busch got her landscaping class under foot at the same time. Wanting to help foster South Putnam’s program through Area 30 was a focus then, and this was appealing to him in terms of influencing such growth through administration.

Before they became assistant director and executive director, respectively, in 2008, Nunley and Busch learned about administration of CTE centers through a cohort headed by the Indiana Association of Career & Technical Education Districts (IACTED). This was part of having a transition plan together as then-Asst. Director Busch eventually took over from Mike Walton.

Both he and Busch then set out to perpetuate a positive culture at Area 30, especially when it comes to having an environment that was welcoming for students and staff.

“I think that forming those relationships with students, to help them with their future regardless of what that future looked like, I saw how important it was to make those connections,” Nunley said about transitioning from teaching to administration at Area 30. “I wanted to be able to continue that on a larger scale.”

Part and parcel to that environment has been offering a breadth of programs. It remains of note that Area 30 had eight programs and about 150 students enrolled in 1995. Now it has 18 programs with about 360 students. In the background, it has been making strides to change how CTE is viewed by students, parents and the community, as well as always building on what Area 30 has.

“There are very few programs that we have that don’t offer certifications and dual credits,” Nunley said. “I won’t say they didn’t exist, but they weren’t viewed the same as they are now. It (vocational education) wasn’t viewed as a place where students came to get dual credits for college, or maybe not get certifications that are directly applicable once students graduate.”

Nunley emphasized that Area 30 still should be for “all levels of students” going into either post-secondary education or the workforce after graduation. This is as there is a continuing shift in perceptions about the college track, in which many advocate that not everyone has to go to a four-year school to be successful, whatever that might mean.

He pointed to quality instructors and professional development as crucial initiatives to elevate teaching and foster connections with local industry and early-college opportunities. Investing in staff then means maintaining the culture of exploration they have wanted to develop. Creating such a culture takes time, but Nunley believes this is at the heart of Area 30 as a place of learning.

“We see all the industries regionally and locally that need good skilled workers,” Nunley said, providing that many employers want to come to Area 30 and get in front of students. “I think that’s one of the things that we need to continue to improve upon, is our relationships with all of the local industries, building more partnerships.”

Ultimately, Nunley said that Busch’s legacy at Area 30 revolves around continuous improvement, development of the building’s culture and investing in and celebrating students’ and teachers’ successes. While there might be big shoes to fill in this stead, he wants to carry on this growth.

“I think she (Busch) would be happy to know that we’re gonna continue on with the improvements she’s overseen the last 14 years,” Nunley said. “Those things won’t be left behind, they will just be built upon; and we’ll continue to put Area 30 at the forefront of students’ and parents’ and the community’s mind of how important it is as part of their educational prospects.”

Nunley’s contract at Area 30 will be effective July 1. At the same time, Busch is to become the executive director of IACTED, which advocates for CTE centers throughout the state.

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