Gail Knott named MPCC Administrator of the Year

For more than 25 years, Knott has helped expand MPCC’s reach across central western Nebraska, growing the college’s outreach efforts from a small operation in her Ogallala home to a network of community campuses, learning centers and educational opportunities serving communities across the college’s 18-county service area.

Knott joined MPCC in 2000 as a campus coordinator. At the time, the college’s presence in communities outside North Platte and McCook often consisted of a local point of contact who helped answer questions, collect payments and distribute course materials.

Knott’s first office was in her basement.

Today, Knott oversees Outreach, which includes Business and Community Education and MPCC’s community campuses and learning centers in Broken Bow, Imperial, Ogallala, Valentine and Benkelman.

The growth of those locations has been one of the highlights of Knott’s career.

“I really enjoyed establishing the community campuses’ physical presence and their facilities,” she said. “They’re phenomenal. And for the communities that get to have one, it really is an integral resource.”

The expansion was not necessarily part of a master plan when Knott began her career at MPCC. Instead, opportunities arose as communities expressed needs and the college found ways to respond.

One example was the Imperial campus, which began when MPCC leaders learned a recently closed pharmacy had left a new, largely unused building available. The college purchased the building and transformed it into its first dedicated community campus.

“It’s kind of like they planted something,” Knott said. “Is it going to wither and die, or will it take off?”

It took off.

Knott’s role has grown along with the college’s outreach efforts. After serving as a campus coordinator, she eventually moved into leadership, succeeding her former supervisor, Bruce Dowse, and later becoming dean of outreach.

Throughout that evolution, Knott has remained focused on connecting communities with educational opportunities.

“I think the accessibility to everyone is what’s important,” she said. “That’s why we have our community campuses. That’s why we do outreach. It really is a resource that is for everyone.”

Knott is particularly passionate about serving adult learners who may have started college years ago, need a new skill or career, or are returning to education after interrupted plans.

She remembers working with adults in Ogallala who were nervous about walking through the college doors and asking for help.

“I think we forget, when we think about college and higher education, we think of carefree young people. And the truth is, I’m most proud of the services we provide for the adult learner.”

For Knott, those students often have the most at stake.

“They want a new skill, a new career, to finish something they started and life got in the way,” she said. “And it meant so very much to them. It wasn’t a given. They had to make some big sacrifices or adjustments to get what they wanted to get.”

That belief in accessibility has remained a driving force behind Knott’s work and the continued development of MPCC’s outreach efforts.

She also has witnessed significant changes within the college during her tenure, including a greater sense of unity across the service area.

She credits the college’s leadership, administrators and communications efforts with helping create a stronger sense of one college serving one region.

Knott is quick to share credit with the people around her.

But it is her go-getter spirit, practical approach and constant encouragement that have helped her build relationships with communities and colleagues while keeping the focus on finding solutions to local needs.

Her message to anyone considering community college is straightforward.

“Don’t be afraid to try. Don’t be afraid to reach out,” she said.