Within a few minutes of meeting Dr. Neil Nuttall, his priorities – family and faith – become obvious. What is also apparent is his desire to be a part of the community in which he has chosen to spend the next segment of his career and his life.
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Within a few minutes of meeting Dr. Neil Nuttall, his priorities – family and faith – become obvious. What is also apparent is his desire to be a part of the community in which he has chosen to spend the next segment of his career and his life.
Dr. Nuttall, who recently began his duties as president of North Central Missouri College, is just getting to know Trenton and likes what he sees, not just at NCMC, but in the community as a whole. Leaving his position as superintendent of schools in Clovis, NM was a calculated move, one he sees as vital to reaching his goals as an educator.
?You know, you set career goals and my ultimate goal was always to be in higher education. As I pursued my educational opportunities, I always had in mind that was where I was headed,? he said
?About a year ago, things came together for me. It was the right time to move as far as my family was concerned and it was the right time for me to make a move into higher education. My son was married and away at college and my daughter is 25, raising her own family. So the time was right.?
Dr. Nuttall looked at opportunities in several states, including Oklahoma (where he had spent many years as an educator), Nevada and Missouri. A native of Albuquerque, NM, he has lived in several areas during his life. In fact, he spent his seventh, eighth and ninth grade years of school living in Turkey, where his father was stationed with NATO forces, so he had no fear of moving to a new area.
?I have always traveled and I?ve never been afraid to move, never been afraid to meet new people or had the fear that ?I don?t know anybody there.? There are lots of nice people all over the United States and lots of nice people all over the world for that matter. That?s not to say there?s anything wrong with those who grow up in one place and stay there. But for me, my walk in this life has taken me in another direction. I find roots in the community I?m in.
?Coming here was an important choice for me. In my 34-year career, I have been fortunate to have had a number of successes. It was a decision about where I want to invest the next period of my life. I wouldn?t want to go where I couldn?t be successful. So it was a real conscious choice to come to NCMC.?
Dr. Nuttall said he feels he can add something to the equation at NCMC. But having said that, he also points out he wanted to come to a place where he could learn from the people who are already here.
?I?m not the kind of person who has to be the one with all the answers. What I have to be willing to do is to ask a lot of questions, find the resources we need and meet the challenges we?ll face…I have to be able to trust and believe in the people around me. I?m the college president, I?m not the center of the universe.?
While Dr. Nuttall enjoys talking about the college and the role he hopes to play in the continued success of the institution, his real passion lies with his family. He and his wife, Susanne, will have been married for 35 years this month and his pride in her accomplishments outshines that of his own. Also an educator, Mrs. Nuttall was the runner-up for New Mexico Teacher of the Year last year and was the first nationally board-certified teacher in New Mexico outside of the Albuquerque metropolitan area. He calls her a ?key element? in an arts magnet school in Clovis and noted that she and her students will open the New Mexico legislative session next Sunday with Shakespearean sonnets.
?Obviously I?m very proud of her,? he says about the woman he calls ?truly my best friend.?
The family also includes a 25-year-old daughter, Natalie, a teacher?s aide and part-time student with twin two-year-old daughters, Kynsley and Kennedy. One gets the feeling that Dr. Nuttall wouldn?t mind a bit if his new friends in Trenton ask him about the little girls. He might even share a photo of them.
Dr. and Mrs. Nuttall also have a son, 21-year-old Nathan, a strong safety on the New Mexico State University football team who is majoring in community health. While the trip may be a little longer, Dr. Nuttall said he plans to be in the stands when his son plays.
?The difference is I?ll be flying now, not driving,? he said.
Dr. Nuttall said physical exercise, both aerobic workouts and lifting weights, is his only real hobby, although he enjoys attending sporting events and looks forward to attending activities related to the college. Outside of that, he said, his favorite thing to do is to spend time with his family.
Talking about religious faith does not often go hand-in-hand with public education, but Dr. Nuttall said he has a strong faith, is glad to be in a ?God-centered? community and looks forward to being involved in the community?s churches and civic organizations.
?The better I know the community,? he said. ?the more effective I can be as president of this college.?