Seward County Community College
Seward County Community College welcomed a familiar face in a new office as the spring 2026 semester opened.
Business & Industry Director Norma Jean Dodge moved into the office of SCCC registrar.
The process felt familiar to Dodge: 15 years ago, with her four children old enough to attend school, she swapped the role of stay-at-home-mom for the lead position at B&I.
Now, with her youngest poised to graduate from Liberal High School, Dodge is taking on a similar challenge.
“When I came to Seward, I was ready to go back into the workforce, and I remember feeling nervous and excited,” she said. “I held a similar job in Garden City many years before, but I knew I had a lot to learn. Dale Reed, who trained me for the B&I role, always said, ‘at Seward, we bleed green,’ and my response was, ‘What the heck does that mean?’”
Dodge and her husband Jim, an attorney, soon discovered what Reed was talking about.
“We really dove into being part of Seward,” she said. “My kids kind of grew up here, from hanging out in my office after school to Kids College in the summer. All four of our kids took classes as concurrent high schoolers, and two attended as college students.”
Five years ago, Dodge and her husband founded Detours, a student Bible study group on campus, and a few years after that, she partnered with instructor Amy Thompson as club sponsors for the college honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.
“With Detours, it was Jim and me to start, now we have a team of five leaders,” Dodge said. “Every Thursday, we look forward to being there for them. The prayers they need, the questions they have, the challenges they face — some of them are far, far away from home, and it’s been really nice to be there for them. I just had this desire to find something where I could work more closely with the students. It’s been great, but I noticed the students would tell me, ‘NJ, you say you’re on campus, where are you?’ As the B&I director, I was not easy for them to find. Moving to main campus is something I’ve looked forward to.”
Along with office location, Dodge’s duties will change dramatically. At B&I, her role included event planning, community liaising, and working with industry partners, especially oil and gas professionals.
“That was my hardest decision,” she said. “Leaving the people who started the Gas Compressor Institute and Measurement and Pipeline Institutes. Some of those members have been there 20, 30 years, and are great to work with. We’ve worked together to transform those big Institutes into the Southwest Energy Institute, which is short courses rather than a huge conference. It reflects the ups and downs in the energy industry, and I’m really going to miss that.”
Dodge’s enthusiasm for lifelong learning, from children’s classes to community outreach to on-the-job-training, is contagious, and she’s confident the coworkers in B&I will continue to provide opportunities for the community.
Meanwhile, she will be focused on learning the ropes as registrar.
“A lot of people don’t realize the registrar is essentially the record-keeper for our students, helping with enrollment, and ensuring accuracy for compliance services,” she said. “It’s very detail-oriented, and requires accuracy and careful record-keeping. Over time, we ensure a smooth transition for students when they start and when they move on.”
Dodge said she looks forward to working with the registrar staff members she’s joining, and tackling the challenge of a new skill set.
“From B&I, I have experience setting up courses and tracking them through our college system, so that’s a benefit. And while change is scary, my family really cheered me on: ‘Mom, you can do it,’” she said.
The Dodge offspring are not the only ones.
“I am excited for Norma Jean to bring her organizational and time management skills to her new position,” said SCCC President Brad Bennett. “She has proven over time that when she commits to a project, she will see it through, and she does that because she has a heart for our students.”
Vice President of Academic Affairs Luke Dowell said he’s excited to welcome Dodge to the academic side.
“Her organization, leadership, and attention to detail will be a great benefit to our team and our students,” he said.
