HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Wallace State Community College President Dr. Vicki Karolewics was recently recognized as the recipient of the 2022-2023 Emma Marie Eddleman Citizen of the Year by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce. The award was presented at the Chamber’s annual gala held recently at Stone Bridge Farms.
A lifelong passionate advocate for community college education, Dr. Vicki Karolewics led the transformation of Wallace State Community College in rural Hanceville, Alabama, into one of the top community colleges in the nation since becoming president in 2003. She believes that education improves lives and communities, generationally. Through her leadership, Wallace State has served tens of thousands of individuals with higher education and training. She has created and nurtured new programs to meet business and industry demand, and to support economic development and community growth. Wallace State now offers approximately 200 programs leading to degrees or certificates as well as short-term training. She has been a champion for programs sponsored by the Chamber, like youth leadership and career exploration, and she was instrumental in beginning partnerships like Cullman Area Workforce Solutions, that create synergy and bring community and education partners together for the betterment of the area.
Wallace State’s service to the community spans ages, including: Let’s Pretend Hospital for second graders, youth STEM camps, the Educational Talent Search program beginning in middle school, dual enrollment and fast track programs, hosting the Cullman County Schools Fast Track to Industry partnership program on campus, free adult education and GED classes, community and continuing education and the WALLi program for senior adults. She has opened the campus to countless community and Wallace State events such as Fine and Performing Arts programs, museum exhibitions, athletics games and open houses, as well as outside events like science fairs, Miss Sr. Cullman County, high school ball tournaments, high school graduations and countless more. She established a business incubator for the Appalachian Region, and has since incubated several new businesses, including ZeroRPM, Sequence Health, and currently, D B Technologies.
Dr. Karolewics steered the college and so many students and parents through the pandemic, providing consultation and leadership, including vaccine clinics on campus and connecting and providing students with resources to meet basic and educational needs. This semester, Wallace State’s enrollment is up 24 percent, outpacing the community colleges across the state and nation.
Community is not only part of the college’s name, but essential to the way Dr. Karolewics views the college’s mission of service and part of the fabric of her leadership. Wallace State’s mission statement, developed under her tenure, is: Wallace State Community College is committed to learning that transforms lives and communities. In support of its mission, Wallace State is committed to student success through a student-centered, innovative, engaging and supportive learning environment, teaching excellence, respect for uniqueness and diversity, strategic partnerships that advance community, workforce and economic development, cultural enrichment of the area served by the college and accountability and integrity.
Wallace State not only provides access to higher education and training, raises the educational attainment rate of the community it serves and the profile of the community for prospective business and home buyers, but it also cares about those it serves in a holistic way, providing more than 5,000 students each semester with access to wraparound services such as a food pantry, mental health counseling, free tutoring, access to dental care and more. She established the Wallace State Future Foundation, which has raised millions for student scholarships.
The accolades Wallace State has received as an organization, like those Dr. Karolewics has received personally, reflect her passion for service and for excellence. Wallace State has been ranked among the nation’s fastest growing community colleges by Community College Week, named an Achieving the Dream Leader College for its commitment to student success, a three-time Aspen Prize Nominee, ranked among the top 10 percent of community colleges in the country, a National League for Nursing Center for Excellence, NC3 Leadership School and All-Steinway School. It is ranked among the Top 3 in the south for workforce development, was selected as one of 30 colleges in the nation to lead the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Pathways Project and rated the most preferred community college in Alabama by high school students taking the ACT. Wallace State has been repeatedly recognized as a military-friendly institution.
Dr. Karolewics serves on the American Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors, and has held many community, state and national civic and professional leadership roles. She was recently appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey to the Alabama STEM Council and by Lt. Gov. Ainsworth to the Alabama Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Associated Technologies. She chaired the Alabama Community College System’s College Readiness Task Force, among other initiatives. Dr. Karolewics has been recognized among the Birmingham Business Journal’s Who’s Who in Education, Business Alabama’s Movers and Shapers and Alabama Media Group’s Women Who Shape the State.
Dr. Karolewics has served on the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, including serving as past Chair and past Total Resource Campaign, and has recently been appointed to the new Cullman Tourism Bureau and is a former Cullman Oktoberfest Burgermeister. She has served on numerous boards including Victims Services of Cullman, the Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama, the Cullman Regional Medical Center Community Affairs Committee, the Field of Miracles Committee, United Way of Cullman County and the Faith-Based Recovery Initiative, and as a member of the Children’s Policy Council. She is the recipient of the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award, The Cullman Times Distinguished Citizen of the Year, the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce Lucille Galin Public Service Award, the Insight into Diversity Giving Back Award, and the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction by Phi Theta Kappa.
Others recognized alongside Dr. Karolewics at the Chamber’s event were former EMA director Phyllis Little, who received the Lucille Galin Public Service Award and Cliff Fountain accepting the Small Business of the Year Award for Cullman Quick Copy.
