Keitha Carlton, former Controller for Paris Junior College, has returned to PJC to take on the role of Vice President of Business Services.
“We are excited to welcome Keitha back to Paris Junior College,” said Dr. Stephen Benson, PJC President. ”She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her time in higher education. Keitha will be a great addition to the Leadership Team of the College and will help us maintain the strong financial management we expect here at PJC.”
Carlton grew up in Paris and has fond memories of PJC.
“While I did not attend PJC after high school,” Carlton said. “I did take piano lessons there in the summer when I was younger and many family members were first generation college graduates because of PJC. My husband is a PJC alumni. My mother taught as a dual credit instructor for PJC. The College has always been a part of my life.”
Carlton obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington.
“My first job after the University of Texas at Arlington was as an accounting clerk at Walter Virden Associates,” Carlton said. “I was hired because Walter attended PJC and recognized where I was from.”
Her professional roles included being staff auditor/senior auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ft. Worth, where she worked with clients such as Bombay, American Quarter Horse Association, and Cash America. She went from Analyst to Senior Manager at Greystone Communities in Las Colinas. Moving from Technical Editor to Executive Editor for Thomson Reuters in Fort Worth, Carlton helped implement a complete revision of their book-based, self-study products to be in compliance with regulatory standards for instructional design and continuing professional education for certified public accountants.
When the family decided to move back home to provide a smaller environment for the children’s education, Carlton was able to become involved in the world of higher education as Controller at Paris Junior College. She then became Director of Accounting/Associate Vice President, Controller – Student Financial Services for Collin College in McKinney, prior to returning to PJC.
“I continued to live in Paris while working at Collin,” said Carlton. “I was learning a lot while working there. After a change in administration at PJC, I visited with the new president and he told me of the changes that were occurring, so I thought it was a good time to return.”
One of those changes is the move of Financial Aid into the Business Services Division.
“It was a good time to take the things I learned at Collin and bring them here,” said Carlton. “There are a lot of changes occurring in financial aid and I think we can improve our processes between the two offices to enhance the student experience.”
Since the state funding model is now based on student success, Carlton says the offices are making changes in the software to help students and PJC take advantage of that new focus to benefit both students and the College.
Carlton went through a major system change while at PJC before, and then participated in a similar conversion at Collin College.
“I like converting and working on the systems, because it helps you see where you can make improvements,” said Carlton. “We’re going to go through the same thing here with a reboot on our Jenzabar software and I think it will help identify areas where we can make changes.”
In addition to her professional roles, Carlton gained expertise serving on the audit review and annual financial report committees of the Texas Association of Community College Business Officers.
Carlton graduated from Clarksville High School and met her future husband there; they married in 2001. Her husband has been a firefighter with the City of Fort Worth since that time. They have two children, McKenzie and James.
McKenzie graduated from Paris High School in 2021 and will graduate from Texas A&M University this month. She will pursue a master’s degree in accounting and has an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Tulsa this summer. James is a homeschool student who will graduate this month. He already has had a successful career as a BMX and pump track athlete.
“Before I returned to PJC,” Carlton said, “I heard a lot of good things about the administrative team and since returning, I’ve seen a lot of good communication and positive changes. We have a lot of challenges ahead and I like reaching out and working with local schools and the other communities that we are in.
“We want to continue using our system to get information out to students to make paying and payment plans easier. We have a lot of students on financial aid and there have been a lot of changes to the FAFSA. Financial Aid compliance is important to us for the college as well, but also in making that whole experience for the student easier. This is a great time to start taking classes at Paris Junior College.”
PJC closed for winter break on December 13 and reopen on January 6, 2025. Spring classes start on Monday, January 13.
