This month, the PCC Foundation is featuring a conversation with Keith Kinlaw, Dean of the Construction and Industrial Technology Division at Pitt Community College.
With deep roots at PCC that stretch back to his days as a dual enrollment student, Keith has spent nearly two decades shaping programs, mentoring students, and helping build the skilled workforce of our region. His journey reflects a full-circle commitment to education, community, and opportunity.
Q. Where were you born and raised?
A. Greenville, N.C.
Q Tell us about your experience at PCC and a little about your educational background …
A. I’ve been connected to PCC for most of my life. My mom was the registrar, so I grew up running around the Vernon White Building during late registration on the weekends. It’s a place I’ve known for a long time.
I officially started as a dual enrollment student at D.H. Conley in 1999, taking a drafting class where we hand drew the blueprints for the live house project here at PCC. After high school, I enrolled in Building Construction Technology and ended up helping build that same house. That was a pretty full circle moment for me.
In my last semester, I needed an elective and picked Welding Technology without really knowing where it would lead. That decision changed everything. I finished the welding program in three semesters and realized I didn’t just enjoy the trade, I enjoyed helping others learn it.
I started teaching as an adjunct in 2005 while running a wood and welding shop at ECU, and in 2010 I came back to PCC full time. That’s when I knew I was home. Since then, I’ve moved from instructor to coordinator, chair, director, and now dean.
Q. What is your position at Pitt Community College and how long have you been here?
A. I’m the Dean of the Construction and Industrial Technology Division here at PCC. I started as a welding instructor back in 2005 and just never left.
Along the way, I’ve worn a few different hats, from welding chair to leading the Computer Integrated Machining program and serving as director of the PCC-PCS Technical Academy. In 2025, I stepped into the interim dean role and was named the permanent dean later that summer.
Q. Tell us a little about your family …
A. I’m married to my wife, Pattie. She’s a violinist, plays in the bluegrass band Hank, Pattie and The Current, and is also a member of the Long Bay Symphony. She’s classically trained but has carved out her own style, which is pretty cool to see.
We also have a son, Grady. We’re a pretty musical family, so there’s usually something being played or worked on around the house. Between the music and Grady keeping us on our toes, there’s not a whole lot of quiet time at our house.
Q. What are some of your favorite hobbies?
A. Most of my free time is spent with my family. We enjoy playing bluegrass music together, so there’s usually something being picked around the house.
When we’re not doing that, we’re outside. Surf fishing at Cape Lookout, rock crawling in the Jeep, hunting with Grady, we stay busy. Every season brings something different, and that’s something I really enjoy.
Q. What is one thing most people wouldn’t know about you but would find interesting?
A. I wasn’t a traditional student, and school didn’t always come easy to me. It wasn’t until I found the trades that things really clicked.
I’m wired to think on my feet and solve real-world problems, and the trades gave me a path where those strengths mattered. That changed everything for me.
Q. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received and why?
A. The best advice I ever received was from my dad. He told me you can do anything you want to do, good or bad, you just have to deal with the consequences. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but what he meant was it’s your life, you’ve got to own it.
Later on, I realized if I was willing to do the work, I could do just about anything.
Q. What do you love most about working at the college?
A. What I love most is the ‘five or 10 years later moment.’ You run into a former student you may not even remember at first and they start telling you how PCC changed their life.
Then they tell you what they’re doing now, and it reminds you why the work matters.
Q. In your words, what is the PCC Foundation’s purpose and how does it assist students?
A. Until recently, I didn’t fully understand the role of the PCC Foundation. But getting to work more closely with them, I’ve seen that it’s not just about scholarships or naming opportunities.
The Foundation provides support for students in ways that traditional funding just can’t. It fills the gaps, meets real needs, and helps students stay on track when life gets in the way.
In a lot of ways, it’s a safety net for our students, and that makes a real impact
Q. What is the importance of the new Welding building to PCC and the region?
A. The new welding building is a big deal for PCC and for this region.
It allows us to train more students with the right equipment in an environment that reflects the real world. That’s critical with the demand we’re seeing for skilled welders.
At the end of the day, it’s about community. Our role at PCC is to build up the people and workforce in this region and leave it better than we found it. This building helps us do exactly that.