By Lauren Ebben:
Amarillo College graduate and retired employee Paul Matney has been a part of the AC community for 50 years, and during that time he has seen a lot of changes.
He first started out as a student at AC in 1967 before moving on to the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from West Texas A&M University with his master’s, he became an instructor and professor and taught in mass communications for 25 years before moving on to work in administration for another 10 years. He was officially named as AC president in 2009 and retired in 2014. The Matney Mass Media Program was named in his honor.
“AC has had many achievements, the most important one probably being its size,” Matney said.
From when it was first established in 1929 to now, AC has certainly grown. What started off as one main campus on Washington Street has now increased to a total of six campuses, the most recent one opening in Hereford in 2005.
“To see the college grow has been so surprising,” Matney said.
Along with the number of campuses, the passing of several bonds, one in the 1960s and another in 2007, has also helped AC fulfill its goal of “changing lives and creating futures,” Matney said.
“I always appreciated the partnerships at AC as well,” Matney added. Collaboration with programs like Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Museum of Art, KACV-FM and the Suzuki program has turned AC into a “unique college,” according to Matney.
Looking back on his 35 years of hard work and dedication, Matney has nothing but good times and fond memories.
“My favorite memories are working with the people at the college,” he said. “We have a terrific faculty and to see the way students’ futures change was great.”
“I was always really proud to say I worked at Amarillo College,” he said.
Leave a Reply