Facilities & Operations Director Retires After 25 (and a half) Years

“It’s all about the students.”

Director of Facilities & Operations Garry Stark said this about five times while remarking on his 25-and-a-half years working in NIC’s F&O (Facilities & Operations) department.

The unassuming Headwaters Complex building was packed for Stark’s retirement party. Even the man who hired him two-and-a-half decades ago, Roger Brockhoff, was there. People were all smiles in the presence of the humble Stark, who was enamored with the turnout.

“I apologize for hiring him,” Brockhoff said, jokingly- his lighthearted comment reflected the mood.

Stark said he never had the opportunity to go to college, but sent his three children to NIC and the University of Idaho.

“I started out as an electrician,” Stark said. “We started upgrading the lighting for energy conservation.”

Though the student experience is largely divorced from interaction with Facilities & Operations, their hands are responsible for much of what student life is like at NIC.

“The best team I was on was called the ‘tech-fit’ team. It was with IT, they’re who I replaced the lighting with. We set up the classrooms the same in order to have the best student success,” said Stark.

Present at the party was NIC President Dr. Nick Swayne, who Stark extended his gratitude to regarding Swayne’s stance on the Board of Trustees and accreditation situation.

Head Softball Coach Shay Chapman also shared a sentiment, thanking Stark for the year she lived with Stark’s family while she was a softball player for NIC.

“Garry was always thinking about the students,” said administrator Sarah Garcia, who spoke up mid-party to praise Stark’s approach to his job throughout his career. “Any time we encountered a problem, his first question was always, ‘what’s best for the students?'”

In his quarter-century career at NIC, Stark helped create the learning environment students now have. At the college on the lake, even at facilities & operations, it’s all about the students.