After 47 years of watching Sampson Community College grow — and working to help it grow — Dr. Bill Starling has decided the time is approaching to step away.
Starling, 71, has announced plans to retire sometime in the spring, bringing to a close a career at SCC that has spanned nearly half a century, including nearly a decade as president.
For Starling, the decision wasn’t prompted by one particular moment. After 47 years serving the college in different capacities, he simply believes the time has come.
“I’m 71 years old, and at some point you recognize that it’s time,” Starling said in an interview Tuesday. “I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had a wonderful career here, and I’ve had an opportunity to serve a place and a community that means a great deal to me.”
Few people have had a better vantage point from which to witness the transformation of Sampson Community College than the SCC president.
Starling remembers a campus that consisted essentially of one primary building and a metal building. Today, SCC continues to expand its footprint, with construction of its new Health Sciences building underway and an extension of its truck driver training facilities planned at the industrial park.
For Starling, some of the reminders of just how much time has passed are literally rooted in the campus.
“I planted some of these trees out here 40 years ago, with the shovel in my hand,” he joked. “Now some of them look like they’re about on their last legs.”
The trees may provide a humorous measuring stick, but the changes surrounding them tell a much larger story.
Buildings have been added, programs have expanded and generations of Sampson County residents have passed through SCC’s classrooms on their way to universities, careers and skilled trades. Starling said watching that progression has been one of the great rewards of his career.
“When you think about what was here and then look at what we have today, there’s a lot to be proud of,” he said. “And we’re still growing. That’s the exciting part. The college is still moving forward.”
That growth can also be seen in SCC’s enrollment, something Starling believes reflects the changing needs of Sampson County and the college’s willingness to meet them.
There was a time, he recalled, when college leaders constantly preached the value of learning a trade and encouraged students to consider technical education. Today, those classrooms are filled with students pursuing credentials and degrees that can take them directly into the workforce.
“We used to preach trade, trade, trade,” Starling recalled. “We wanted people to understand there was a good living to be made and a good career to be had in the trades. Now you look at the number of students taking advantage of those programs, and it’s tremendous.”
The growth did not happen overnight.
Starling remembers periods when the college’s progression seemed to slow and enrollment or expansion appeared somewhat stagnant. Then, as often happens over the life of an institution, momentum returned.
“You go through cycles,” he said. “There are times when things may seem a little slow, and then all of a sudden you hit that boon. We’ve been fortunate to see that growth, and our enrollment numbers are a reflection of what is happening here.”
Starling is quick to deflect credit away from himself.
He said the accomplishments of SCC during his presidency are a reflection of the faculty, staff and administration surrounding him, along with a Board of Trustees that has entrusted the college’s leadership with continuing to move the institution forward.
“This is one of the best faculty and staffs I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with, and that’s no slight whatsoever to anybody who came before them,” Starling said. “We have some tremendous people here who care about this college and care about our students.”
He also expressed appreciation for the confidence SCC trustees have placed in him and his administration throughout his tenure as president.
“I’m humbled by the confidence the board has shown in me and in our administration,” he said. “You don’t accomplish these things by yourself. It takes a lot of people working together and believing in what you’re trying to do.”
By announcing his retirement well ahead of his anticipated departure, Starling hopes trustees will have ample opportunity to conduct a thorough search for the college’s next president rather than feeling rushed to make one of the most consequential decisions facing the institution.
“I wanted the board to have plenty of time,” he said. “They need to be able to go through the process, vet candidates properly and find the person they believe is right to lead this college into the future.”
And once that person takes the reins, Starling intends to let them lead.
He recalled the courtesy extended to him by his predecessor, who remained supportive of SCC but did not interfere with decisions after leaving the president’s office. Starling said he intends to extend that same respect to whoever follows him.
“I’ll always be a fan of Sampson Community College, and I’ll always be an advocate for it,” Starling said. “But when I retire, it will be time for the next president to lead. My predecessor did that for me. He didn’t try to tell me what I needed to do or get involved in things, and I think that’s the right way to handle it.”
That does not mean Starling will stop caring about what happens on the campus where he has spent most of his adult life.
Sampson Community College and Sampson County are personal to him. After 47 years, the institution’s history and his own have become difficult to separate.
He has watched buildings rise, programs begin, students become graduates and graduates become leaders in the community. He has watched a small campus become an institution that continues to expand its reach while remaining rooted in the county it was created to serve.
“I’m a Sampson County guy,” Starling said. “This is home. To have had the opportunity to spend 47 years serving this college and serving the people of this community is something I’m very proud of.”
There are still months of work ahead before Starling officially leaves the president’s office. Construction continues, students continue to arrive and another academic year is underway.
For now, he isn’t treating his announcement as a farewell.
But after nearly five decades at Sampson Community College, he can look around the campus — from the trees he planted decades ago to the buildings now rising nearby — and see plenty of evidence that he is leaving a much different institution than the one he first joined.
And when the time finally comes to leave, Starling said he will do so appreciative of the opportunity he was given and confident that SCC’s growth will continue long after his tenure ends.
“I’ve been blessed to be here,” he said. “I’m proud of where this college is, I’m proud of the people who work here, and I’m excited about where it’s going.”