Next week, the Des Moines Area Community College Board of Trustees will begin the search for a new Board Chair following the resignation of Joe Pugel of Newton. Pugel is the longest serving Board Chair in the 59-year history of DMACC, having held the position for 23 years. His last day with the college will be this coming Monday.

Pugel moved to Newton after starting his career in Marshalltown with Lennox Industries. He became a Senior VIce President with the Vernon Company and President of Vernon subsidiaries. He retired from Vernon in 2010. He’s been on the DMACC Board of Trustees since February 1997, and has been unanimously elected Chair each year since. Pugel says it’s been a privilege to contribute to the success and growth of DMACC students and the college as a whole. He added that witnessing students achieve their goals and thrive has provided him great joy and fulfillment.

Pugel joined the DMACC Board of Trustees in February 1997 as the District Five, which includes the communities of Newton, Knoxville, Pella, Prairie City, Monroe, Lynnville, and Sully, along with the Southeast Polk and Twin Cedars school districts.