In the first episode of Winging It: Unscripted Conversations with the Hot Springs Community, NPC President Dr. Wade Derden interviews Mary Zunick, Director of the Hot Springs Sister City program.
Dr. Wade Derden is a sixth-generation Arkansan. While his early years were spent in the delta along the banks of the Mississippi, he grew up in central Arkansas. His love of the state and its people have centered his 20-plus year career in education.
Dr. Derden first taught as a part-time instructor at ASU-Beebe on the Little Rock Air Force Base and at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock. Upon appointment as a full-time faculty member at PTC, he taught classes in history, political science, and the humanities. Next, he chaired the Social Science Division at National Park College before becoming the Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has served as the Executive Vice President for Advancement and Government Relations from April 2023, until accepting the Presidency in July 2024.
Dr. Derden received his Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas. His research focused on the social and cultural factors in a community that may predict students’ choices to attend college and their likelihood to complete a degree. His thesis for the Master of Arts at the UA explored southern masculinity and religion. His Bachelor of Arts degree in history is from Hendrix College.
As a child who studied in the library while his mother took classes at the nearby ASU-Beebe campus, Dr. Derden is living proof that a comprehensive community college can be a transformative force and a powerful economic development tool with generational impact. His commitment to postsecondary education in Arkansas includes service as the president of the Arkansas Community College’s Board of Directors. He also collaborated with college leaders from across the state and University of Arkansas faculty to develop a graduate program in the College of Education and Health Professionals for community college leadership.
Governor Hutchinson appointed Dr. Derden to the University of Arkansas’s Criminal Justice Institute Board of Advisors. As a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, Dr. Derden often travels to colleges in the heartland.
Dr. Derden is married to Angie Macri, an Arkansas Arts Council Fellow. They and their four children enjoy exploring the natural beauty and history of Arkansas.
