About Dr. Vacik

Stephen (Steve) Vacik is the seventh President of Hinds Community College. Dr. Vacik assumed leadership of Hinds Community College in 2020, and has nearly 25 years of experience working in various roles with community colleges in four states.

One of his primary focus area has been on uniting all six campuses operationally to support the  “one college” concept in order to better help Hinds students find their purpose, passion and profession.

To that end, he has committed to improving students’ experiences at each campus, including adding a Student Hub on the Jackson Campus in 2022 and new dining options, Pizza Hut on the Utica Campus in 2022 and, on the Raymond Campus in 2023, the first full-service community college Chick-fil-A in the nation.

Also, on the horizon are a new Health Sciences Complex on the Rankin Campus, expected to open in 2025, and a new residence hall on the Utica Campus, expected to open in December 2024, both made possible through funding from local, state and federal sources.

He has fostered capital improvements to existing structures on all six campuses, including significant upgrades to career-technical facilities on the Raymond Campus and existing residence halls on the Utica Campus.

Bolstering workforce training projects has been a high priority under his leadership. The Hinds County WIN Job Center has been relocated to the Jackson Campus. The expansion of the Maritime Center in Vicksburg is ongoing.

Other major workforce projects include a 2023 partnership with John Deere at the Diesel Technology Academy in Richland, the opening of the Emerging Technologies Training Center at the Mississippi Center for Innovation & Technology (MCITy) in Vicksburg in 2022 and a new terminal at the J.B.W. Airport in 2021.