Dr. Stephen Vacik was named the seventh president of Hinds Community College in 2020, bringing with him more than 25 years of community college experience. Dr. Vacik’s move to unite all six Hinds campuses as “one college” has been instrumental in establishing a long-term vision for the college, furthering Hinds’ mission to move people and communities forward and fueling the purpose, passion and professional growth of students.

Hinds plays a pivotal role in Mississippi’s educational and economic landscape and Dr. Vacik continues to grow the college’s long legacy of marrying its associate degree and certification programs to the current and future workforce needs of the community, region and state. Under Dr. Vacik’s leadership, Hinds is making room for even more students. The Utica Campus recently opened a new, three floor, 183-bed residence hall, Heritage Hall. On the Rankin Campus, a new Health Sciences Complex, 160,000-square-feet and four floors, will consolidate the bulk of Hinds’ health sciences programs in one place. And the college recently broke ground on “The Commons,” a Rankin Campus student residence hall with a dining facility and space for a wellness center. The projects are made possible through funding from local, state and federal sources.

Dr. Vacik has been instrumental in the formation of partnerships with Accelerate MS and the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District to provide education and training that supports high wage, high demand jobs in our area, leaning into areas that offer the greatest job opportunities – including cybersecurity, aviation, health sciences and the trades, while maintaining our transfer curriculum to prepare individuals for additional educational opportunities.

We are also providing traditionally marginalized citizens with real support to achieve their education goals through unique programs like The Learning Circle, which offers evening classes with free childcare and dinner, so parents can begin or continue their college career.

Hinds received $8.63 million in federal dollars for FY 2025 to fund five projects, including the Hinds STEM Training Academy and the Information Technology Workforce Transition Program. Hinds is a designated Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and is working to strengthen the cybersecurity workforce through certifications and an associate of applied science degree program. The college also created the Workforce Innovation division, which focuses on awareness and training in the fields of Virtual and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 and Data Analytics.

Under Dr. Vacik, Hinds’ partnerships with industry are flourishing. Hinds and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are working together on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education initiatives to equip students with the skills needed for in-demand jobs as Mississippi experiences a surge in state-owned and private sector data center developments. In addition, the college has a partnership with John Deere at the Diesel Technology Academy in Richland to grow the number of John Deere equipment technicians, in huge demand across the country.

Dr. Vacik has also overseen creation of a new terminal at the college’s J.B.W. Airport in Raymond and the relocation of Hinds County’s WIN Job Center to the Jackson Campus.

At the same time, the college is highly focused on serving the needs of both traditional and nontraditional students. The Aspen Institute named Hinds as one of the 200 institutions eligible to compete for the 2027 $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s premier recognition of high achievement and performance among two-year colleges. Hinds was ranked the #10 online college in the U.S. by Newsweek in 2025 in an annual listing of the top 250 online undergraduate and graduate programs. Hinds was recognized by Intelligent.com as Best in the South for its associate degree programs and as Most Affordable in Mississippi among two-year colleges. Intelligent.com considers factors like curriculum quality, graduation rates, reputation and post-graduate employment in its ratings. Additionally, Hinds was voted top community college for 2025 by Mississippi Business Journal readers.

Dr. Vacik has been instrumental in improving the Hinds student experience at each campus, including bringing the first full-service, community college Chick-fil-A to the Raymond Campus, a Pizza Hut to the Utica Campus and adding Student Hub to each Campus.

Dr. Vacik continues to look for ways to leverage funding, partnerships and programming to meet the needs of traditional and nontraditional students, always with an eye on offering accessible, affordable and career-focused programs that serve our students and benefit our communities and industry.