Wayne Community College has tapped Craig S. Foucht as its new Wayne Business and Industry Center executive director.
For Foucht, who has been a Wayne Community College employee for close to 15 years, the new position is a natural progression.
“I am a Wayne Community College graduate. My wife is a graduate of WCC. I love and believe in this institution. I know all the good things we do,” Foucht said.
Foucht, a 1999 WCC graduate, taught in the college’s automotive program and rose to head the transportation department. He was named a Distinguished Chair in 2009.
He grew up a “military brat,” which gives him insight into that aspect of the county’s economy and workforce. Foucht was born in Ohio and came to Wayne County at age 10. He lived on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base until he graduated from Eastern Wayne High School in 1992.
While Foucht hasn’t lived all of his life in Wayne County, this is his home. His father retired from the Air Force here and his parents stayed. He married Nikki, “a local girl from the Elroy community,” and they and their children live in La Grange. “We’ve got roots here,” he said.
Foucht took advantage of one of East Carolina University’s degree completion programs for students who hold an associate degree and in 2012 was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Industrial Supervision.
Now he is the liaison between the college he adores and the businesses and industries in the county he loves.
“This is what drew me more to the job than anything else. I get to sell Wayne Community College to businesses and industries,” Foucht said. “It is something I’ve done for one area, now I get to do it for the whole college. This is the part I am excited about.
“I get to deal with the chambers of commerce and the development alliance. I’m very excited about that, too,” Foucht said.
Under the umbrella of the Business and Industry Center are the Small Business Center, Specialized Industry Training, Military Business Center, and Soft Skills Training. From his professional, academic, and personal backgrounds, plus having owned two home-based businesses, Foucht sees the value of each of those areas. He talks glowingly about the coordinators in each area and is eager to see them continue the work that has impressed him so far.
Foucht will be working on economic and workforce development and growing the WORKS (Wayne Occupational Readiness Keys for Success) Initiative started by his predecessor, but one aspect of his job description that will be different is his responsibility for the training center that will be located on Dixie Trail. It currently houses the Business and Industry Center and is slated to become the home of several of the college’s Applied Technologies programs.
“The center has the potential to be a shining star and a beacon of light and potential for Goldsboro and Wayne County,” Foucht said. He will have a major role in getting it up and running and keeping it going.
The center will provide training for students seeking college and continuing education credit as well as employees of industries with specialized training needs, and Foucht wants it to serve as a incubator for community members with entrepreneurial ambitions.
“The center is a win-win-win situation,” he said.
To learn more about the Wayne Business and Industry Center, go to www.wayneworksnc.com/ or contact Foucht at cfoucht@waynecc.edu or 919-739-7003.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves around 12,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.