(Radio Iowa) – The president of Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City plans to retire on May 15th after serving 15 years in the role. Dr. Terry Murrell started at Western Iowa Tech in 2007 as vice president of instruction. Last year, Western Iowa Tech agreed to pay 23 students from Chile and Brazil who were in the country with J-1 “exchange visitor” visas a combined five-point-three MILLION dollars to settle claims they were mistreated in a job training program in 2019. Last summer Murrell told reporters the program didn’t live up to Western Iowa Tech’s standards or meet the expectations of those students.

“The J-1 program is complex. It’s complicated and I don’t know that we fully appreciated that when we stepped in and all of that is my fault,” Murrell said. The two lawsuits that were settled alleged the college secured the visas for the students, who worked in local factories and the college used part of their paychecks to offset tuition and other student expenses. Murrell announced last year that the cost of the settlements would be covered by the college’s insurance provider. “We got too deep into something that we were not overly familiar with and we didn’t do a good job and not doing a good job certainly had implications to those students,” Murrell said last summer, “and to those students I would say: ‘We wish you luck and we hope you’re able to pursue your education and your career goals.'”

During Murrell’s presidency, the community college nearly tripled its graduation rate, added athletic programs and established a food pantry, health center and expanded mental health services. Murrell says serving alongside Western Iowa Tech’s faculty, staff and students has been one of the greatest privileges of his career.