Roger L. Worsley, former president of Laredo Community College in Laredo, Texas, became chancellor of SAU Tech in 1996. In 2001, he reported that 112 former employees, a fifth of the work force, of the 73-year-old but since closed International Paper plant in Camden, were at SAU Tech seeking educational credentials for other jobs, many with state financial assistance. He noted that many of the jobs for which the workers were training were in computer networking and electronics, openings mostly unavailable in Camden and the South Arkansas region. Once the skills were acquired, the workers would largely be leaving the Camden area.