Dr. Frank Hoffman truly believed in the value of community colleges. His family supported this belief through the establishment of the Frank Hoffman Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of his service to the College from 1957 to 1982.
Dr. Hoffman joined Mason City Junior College (NIACC’s predecessor) as an accounting instructor and retired as vice president of NIACC. His 34-year career included teaching, textbook writing and college administration.
A family statement regarding the reason for the scholarship establishment said, “Education, its pursuit, its delivery and its utility were (Dr. Hoffman’) primary emphases.”
Dr. Hoffman wrote Accounting Fundamentals as a resource in teaching accounting to adults for use in managing their personal and business affairs. This text is in its fifth edition and is now available both in book and computer disk forms.
“Frank believed that everyone ought to have business training, even if only to run their own lives,” said Margaret Hoffman, Frank’s wife.
In addition to education, Dr. Hoffman’s passion was playing the theatre organ. He began playing the organ as a youth and kept this interest through his entire life. Margaret said that after Frank’s retirement in 1982, he played three organ concerts daily for his own enjoyment.
NIACC has benefitted from the Hoffman’s generosity in the past. The family donated a Rodger theatre organ for the North Iowa Community Auditorium and established a fund for the sponsorship of annual organ concerts. Additional funds were used to purchase and plant a sugar maple tree as the centerpiece of NIACC’s outdoor classroom.
The Hoffmans passed on their love of education to their four children, all of whom have earned graduate degrees in their field.