Registration is now open for the VIRTUAL 2020 NCACCT Leadership Seminar. The seminar will be held online on Friday, August 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Click here for more information.
Registration is now open for the VIRTUAL 2020 NCACCT Leadership Seminar. The seminar will be held online on Friday, August 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Click here for more information.
From Challenges to Opportunities: Higher Education in the COVID19 Era
By Suzanne McDade, Senior Associate & Project Manager at Moseley Architects
As we enter the summer of 2020, it is hard to believe that so much of what has become the norm was basically unimaginable just months ago. In a matter of days our nation worked tirelessly to pivot, changing our workplace and education culture to accommodate a safer at-home strategy, making public health the highest priority. Cultural shifts like social distancing, working from home, and online learning have all become part of our daily lives. Realistically, they may be a new normal.
Perceived originally as challenges, we are embracing opportunities for what our future can look like beyond the current pandemic. At least that is what we are encountering at Moseley Architects. As a design firm who specialize in education, clients often engage us to help think through the paradigm shifts in teaching pedagogy or new operations and how those changes will affect physical space. This rapid pivot has opened many opportunities for us to study the effect on the built environment. Our findings have been a series of trends focused on our ability to become nimble and reactive. However, we find that these efforts hold intrinsic value for the future of how we plan for and use campus building portfolios.
Workplace Culture
It’s estimated that only 4 percent of Americans were working from home prior to the pandemic. At its peak, this number grew to an estimated 38 percent. Employers took a crash course on implementing an agile workplace culture and many are finding there are advantages to supporting these operations. In higher education, there are many staff-supporting functions that work well off campus. Others lend themselves better to a hybrid model. Both strategies reduce on-campus density so that a single workstation is not required for every employee. This could lead to a net gain in real estate and allow other student-centric functions to use those spaces. It can also provide an availability for growth without additional building costs. We are engaged in a campus-wide study for Clemson University to help them evaluate their workplace culture, how they might shift to a more agile work model, and what kind of net space gains that can yield.
Workforce Development
Education focused on workforce development requires a particular amount of hands-on learning that can prove challenging in a physically distant culture. However, recent improvements to simulation-based learning makes it possible for students to participate in immersive learning from a distance. From welding to nursing, advancements in technology allow students to learn the fundamentals online. It seems this shift may allow for students to do much of their curriculum from a distance, with a concentrated portion of the semester allocated to hands-on practical learning. There is a value here in how often it would require students to travel to campus, yielding more flexibility for students who need to juggle obligations outside of school. We must balance this with an extra emphasis on the social benefits of learning. When students are on campus, educators must maximize that time to create a sense of community and belonging on campus to foster a collegiate experience.
Collaborative Learning
Recent design trends have contributed to an emphasis on collaborative learning, and even with the current value on maintaining a safe, physical distance, we do not see that going away. In fact, we see those taking an even greater priority over traditional learning spaces. Lecture-based curriculums made an easier transition to an online platform and may for many reasons want to stay there rather than head back to the lecture hall. The ability to record lectures for students’ on-demand use, including full functionality of replay, has proven to hold value for all types of learners. If this trend holds, this could drastically change the program needs for new buildings and find real estate within existing buildings for space reallocation.
Holistic Approach to Generational Learning
We could not have been better prepared to navigate the swift change brought on by the pandemic. The past several decades has brought about a technology explosion that bolstered our ability to be social and present, even while maintaining a physical distance. Some generations have navigated this shift easier than others. With the student populations for community and technical college comprising multiple generations who have distinct learning styles, we need to cultivate a holistic approach. This may include the emergence of additional student services aimed to help students navigate the technology needed to succeed, or even an opportunity to register for classes that offer either a traditional learning setting or an online platform.
Exterior Space
It’s no surprise that people are flocking outdoors after the government urged much of the nation to stay home for a suitable part of the spring. With current research supporting the idea that transmitting the virus outdoors is less likely than indoors, we see outdoor spaces becoming an asset. We’ve seen a trend towards capturing outdoor flexible spaces to serve as ‘pop up’ shops for student facing services. Everything from permanent functions like veterans’ affairs and advising to more rolling or temporary needs like freshman orientation. Dining and academic spaces can move to outdoor spaces with or without temporary facilities such as tents.
A Future of Opportunities
While the events that thrust us into this era are not anything we would have hoped for, the fact remains we are in a new era. Initially, we saw only the challenges of how to overcome the status quo of our new world. Now we see that there are opportunities to be gained from our new normal to propel us forward.
Special Thanks to…
Steve Hunt, Robeson Community College, VP of Workforce Development
Derek Hunter, Wayne Community College AVP of Administrative Services
Dr. Larry Keen, Fayetteville Technical CC President
About Moseley Architects
Moseley Architects is among the southeast’s most trusted public sector architects, offering exceptional design to higher education clients. They work to routinely deliver functional, efficient, and appealing solutions within rigorous budgets and schedules. Additionally, they offer experience and service gained through their work on over 100 collegiate projects. This includes extensive campus planning, programming, and design experience in a broad portfolio of collegiate projects, including academic, research, recreation, athletic, arts and student life. For more information visit: www.moseleyarchitects.com
Spotlight on Community College Leaders: Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute Trustee Jerry Church
By Ashley Blizzard, NCACCP/NCACCT Communication Coordinator & Events Manager
Having been a trustee for 24 years, Jerry Church believes the most important trustee attribute is having a servant’s heart. He said trustees need to remember they are there for the students. No matter what the situation is, people need to be treated with respect. “You owe it to hear everyone’s point of view. It’s okay to agree to disagree,” he says.
When he became a trustee in 1996 at Caldwell Community College, Church did not realize just how important the institution of the community college was. Of course, he was aware of the different programs they offered, but he did not realize what an economic catalyst the community colleges were. He had not given much consideration to the fact that community colleges help train employees of companies who move into the community or that they provide new training to those who want different careers. He was not aware of all the customized training community colleges provide to suit a company’s needs.
Church’s beginnings as a trustee were encouraged by his dad, who was a Caldwell County commissioner. His father wanted him to give back to the community, so Church told his father he would be willing to serve on the Caldwell Community College board if a position became available. To Church’s surprise, his father called him the next day and told him he was going to be a trustee. At the onset of his term, Church’s intentions were to serve his four years as trustee and then “ride off into the sunset.” However, 24 years later, he was just reappointed by the county commissioners to serve a seventh four-year term. “I’ve enjoyed [serving as a trustee] immensely. Of all the committees that I’ve served on and boards and different things, this is the one I’ve enjoyed the most.”
Church has a longstanding connection to the community colleges and has many reasons why the community colleges are so important to him. Perhaps one of the most important reasons is that he met his wife, Amy (of 38 ½ years), at Caldwell Community College. He said community colleges are important to his whole family. Other than the fact that he, his wife, mother, sister and son have all attended and/or received degrees from the community college, he said, “The community college is one of the cornerstones of the community. It’s important for what it does to improve the quality of life for our citizens. The community college system, as a whole, is one of our hidden gems and sometimes, it’s our best kept secret.” He went on to say, “There’s a thin line between bragging and stating facts.” He says sometimes the community colleges do not profess how important they are and do not “toot [their] own horns enough.”
Improving quality of life is just what Caldwell Community College did for Church. After graduating high school at the age of 17, Church said his parents were adamant that he would attend college. However, as he puts it, as a “hard-headed 17-year-old,” he was going to do exactly the opposite of what his parents wanted him to do. So, he took a job as an upholsterer in an upholstery factory. Looking back, Church has proclaimed himself “the worst upholsterer in the history of upholstering.” The day he stapled his thumb to a chair frame was a turning point for Church! He realized then that perhaps his parents may have been onto something regarding college, so he went to the community college and applied. He got in and has been connected to the community college ever since.
Church would advise new trustees to trust their leadership team. He said if trustees do not trust their leadership teams, they need to replace them. Trustees are in an oversight position and are not there to run the day-to-day operations of the college. As he states, “We are supposed to be flying the plane at 40,000 feet. We’re not supposed to be on the ground with them.” He said trustees must know what their roles are. Trustees at his college are willing to remind another trustee if they are doing the job of the staff instead of the job of the trustees.
The two issues that really stand out for Church that community colleges are facing right now are inadequate pay for instructors and staff and enrollment growth funding. Church says there is no reason we should lose instructors that go to the public school system because they can earn more money there than at a community college. As to enrollment growth funding, he says he thinks community colleges are likely to see an influx of students this fall due largely to Covid-19. Businesses will have layoffs; small businesses may have to close, and people are going to need to retrain in something else. Additionally, he thinks families are not going to feel good about sending kids to live in dorms. “We are going to need enrollment growth funding to help answer that call,” he says. Referring to Covid-19, Church says, “If anybody is prepared to adapt to a changing environment, it’s the community college system.”
At Caldwell Community College, Church is proud that Caldwell is always evolving to meet the needs of the community—from recruitment to training to retraining. He is proud of the partnership the school has with Appalachian State University (ASU) and the public schools. Caldwell has two high schools on the college campus—one of a technical nature and one is an early college. He said that some of their students finish high school and get two, two-year degrees. Some students will do that in four years and then go to the ASU Center on the campus and become a teacher, which saves them a lot of money and time. Church is also proud of the school’s Cobra Care Clinic (named after the school’s mascot.) In partnership with the West Caldwell Health Council, the onsite healthcare clinic is a model clinic where students receive free healthcare. Church is also very proud that the school has started two new athletic programs for men’s baseball and women’s softball, in addition to having men’s and women’s basketball. These athletic programs have not only helped increase their school’s enrollment by about 150 students, but it has given students more of a college life outside the classroom.
Church noted that Caldwell is fortunate to have two campuses—one at Caldwell and one at Watauga. He said the Watauga campus needs to be fully developed, and they are making progress on that front. They have just opened a new building there to get student services in one location. Additionally, he said he would like to see the school do more with distance learning, and Covid-19 has certainly forced them to do more in that area. So far, the results have shown that the school has done a good job of that.
Delving into his personal life a bit, Church’s interesting “start” at the upholstery factory eventually came full circle. In his words, “I failed as an upholsterer, but succeeded as a pencil pusher.” He received a second chance of sorts at Broyhill Furniture Industries as a staff accountant and worked his way up to becoming the executive vice president of operations for the company. He worked for the company from 1980 until he retired in 2008.
However, after a few months of retirement, Church started his second career as town manager of Granite Falls, North Carolina, in 2009. He remains the town manager there and is really thankful for the town (population 4,652), which he equates to Mayberry. He classifies Granite Falls, his family, the community college and Appalachian State University in the “what-he-is-most-proud-of” category. Church and his wife have a son (Isaac) and daughter-in-law (Faith) who live in Boone. Between the four of them, they have seven ASU degrees.
The best advice Church has ever received came from his dad during his career at Broyhill. Church was telling his dad about a problem he was having at work. His father confided that the problem was the same problem many people had: he said his son had 12 pies and only 10 fingers, and yet he was trying to keep a finger in each pie. His dad told him to find out which pie was the most important one—not necessarily his favorite one—and to “eat the daylights out of it.”
Church says most people who really know him would likely call him a workaholic. He admits he is involved in a lot; he is on several boards and involved in many community and church activities. After he retired from Broyhill and went to work for Granite Falls, people told him that he would never retire. However, he said to give him a few years, and he’s going to prove them wrong. “I don’t think I’ll go on the inactive list and will continue to volunteer, but as far as a paying job goes, I think I’ll be able to retire this time successfully.”
As a hobby, Church enjoys playing golf. However, he says he spends more time watching ASU sports than playing golf. When it comes to truly relaxing though, he likes to sit on his screened-in porch at home with his wife and watch the fireflies.
His best vacation ever was spent with his wife and son when the three of them spent about 10 days in the Pacific Northwest. The scenery and food were “amazing.” (He also noted that there is nothing like coming face-to-face with an elk, especially after having had an elk burger for lunch that day!)
Church’s bucket list includes a bit more traveling. He would like to go on an Alaskan cruise (and perhaps reschedule the Canadian Rockies trip he had to cancel for this summer due to Covid-19.) He would like to play golf with a group of his friends in Scotland. And once he does make that decision to retire, he would like for he and his wife to go on a barbecue restaurant road trip. (He fell in love with beef brisket in Austin, Texas.) Although he says his wife cannot eat it daily like he can, he says she will “tolerate it” for his retirement trip!
Aviso Retention now partners with 33 of the 58 institutions in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) to identify at-risk students and to provide technology-enabled holistic student support through predictive analytics, early alerting, messaging, and reporting features – built upon best practices – to increase student retention and degree completion.
Our focus has always been on two-year community and technical colleges who are often underserved. Aviso understands how two-year schools operate and the specific obstacles they face. We specialize in helping institutions align their people and processes with our technology to create opportunities for growth.
“Two out of every three students will rely on a two-year institution, whether that be through dual-enrollment in high school, earning a certificate or degree, or transferring to a four-year university,” says Alexander Leader, CEO of Aviso Retention. “Our goal is to provide these institutions best practices and technical solutions that are tailored to their unique needs and diverse student populations.”
Community college presidents are tasked to “recruit, retain, and complete” in a world that requires more and higher credentials for the jobs being created. Aviso can help institutions successfully fulfill those mandates and meet the goal of MyFutureNC of one million North Carolinians having these credentials by 2030.
In North Carolina, Aviso has partnered both with the NCCC System Office and with individual schools to produce results. We are wrapping up a five-year, federal grant-funded project with 10 NCCCS institutions that examined the impact of data-informed Success Coaching to proactively address the academic and personal needs of students. Preliminary results suggest that success coaching improves long-term retention rates by six percentage points for high engagement institutions.
In 2019, we started working with an additional nine institutions in the system through the Minority Male Student Initiative grant, which aims to combine success coaching and early alert capabilities to increase retention and graduation rates for this vulnerable population.
Using a combination of artificial intelligence and human intelligence, Aviso can predict where an institution needs to spend their time, increasing retention and student engagement. Here are a few highlights of the progress our NCCCS partners have made using Aviso software:
*17 percent increase in student retention in three years at Central Carolina Community College,
*7 percent increase in course completion rates from Spring 2018 to Spring 2019 for high school students at Haywood Community College,
*5 percent increase in retention in one year at Cleveland Community College,
*5 percent increase in fall retention for full-time students at Pamlico Community College,
*14 percent increase in spring retention for new part-time students at Caldwell Community College.
The use of Aviso in North Carolina’s community colleges can create millions in savings to the colleges and increase the retention and completion rate significantly. More important than the savings, however, is the fact that students will be better and more quickly prepared to transition to the workforce and will have a greater foundation for success and quality of life.
Given recent economic turbulence due to the novel coronavirus, it is expected that fall enrollment numbers will increase significantly, and NCCCS institutions will soon have more students to recruit, support, and retain. Aviso has been supporting its partner institutions this spring by providing additional COVID-19 resources and making changes to the technology to allow our partners to better support students as they work from home. We have seen an increase in unique logins across all campuses as more people need access to student information while supporting students remotely.
We are continually working to improve our product based on both our customers’ suggestions and higher education trends. This spring, Aviso Retention will release its mobile app, Aviso Student, so all students can suddenly have their institutional support system in their pockets. In the app, students can easily message their success team (advisor and success coach), schedule appointments, complete assigned tasks, and engage with shared resources.
In addition, Aviso’s new reporting module will allow institutions to create customized reports that can be published as dashboards to ensure students are receiving the service they expect in a work-from-home environment. These dashboards can be built for specific teams so that everyone is on the same page. We cannot wait to see how our NC partners utilize these new features as they move forward.
About Aviso Retention
Aviso Retention is the leading student success solution for two-year community and technical colleges. Aviso is easy to integrate, intuitive to learn, and scalable for any size institution or budget. Please visit www.avisoretention.com for more information.
Spotlight on Community College Leaders: Wayne Community College Trustee Veda McNair
By Ashley Blizzard, NCACCP/NCACCT Communication Coordinator & Events Manager
Veda McNair, known around Spring Creek High School as “The Main Thing Lady” because she encourages her Success Coach students to keep education as “the main thing” in their lives, often suggests the community college as an option for students after graduation. McNair has been employed in the education field for more than 40 years. A former elementary school principal, McNair says she often runs into students she knew growing up in the schools where she was principal. Many former students would often tell her that Wayne Community College had played a large part of their education beyond high school. This is when her interest in community colleges began. Therefore, in 2005, when McNair was asked to serve on Wayne Community College’s Board of Trustees, she was more than happy to oblige.
McNair said that being on Wayne Community College’s board has allowed her to see “the other side” of community colleges—not just how they educate their communities. Being a trustee has shown her how community colleges partner with local businesses, school systems, military bases, and communities. It’s also shown her how the colleges can affect local economies and economic development. “When I see [these] partnerships, I feel a sense of pride that I’m a part of this,” said McNair.
“The community college is probably one of the best kept secrets” [in education], according to McNair. While she is appreciative of the support community colleges receive from local and state governments, she feels the value of our community colleges sometimes isn’t realized by our citizenry and those who hold the purse strings. That has surprised McNair during her time as a trustee. She said some of our citizens and leaders do not realize the impact our community colleges have getting our citizens trained and qualified to go into the workforce. According to McNair, community college transfer students out-perform their counterparts at four-year colleges. She also states that Wayne Community College, in particular, has very high completion rates for programs offered.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, McNair has been concerned about funding for salary increases. “We are lagging behind other educational institutions. If we’re going to keep high-level faculty, we’re going to need to pay them accordingly,” she says. Salary increases for faculty and staff is one of the top two issues she sees facing North Carolina community colleges right now. The other issue she sees is that community colleges need support for programs like the Guided Pathways Initiative that can get students trained and educated so they can go into the workforce. (For more information on these programs, go to https://www.pathwaysresources.org/.)
North Carolina’s community colleges are important to McNair because they offer an “extremely quality education at an extremely affordable price. The cost to attend community colleges is much lower compared to four-year colleges—and in some cases you can go right into the workforce with the training you need,” says McNair.
The pride McNair feels about Wayne Community College can easily be heard in her voice when she speaks about the school. She says that since the COVID-19 virus, she has been proud to see how everyone at the college is so prepared for this pandemic. McNair said the college has sanitized the facility and has plans in place to provide instruction remotely for students. She said they are discussing how the students who do not have internet access or computers can still receive instruction. She also said there are plans in place so that employees can work and be paid. McNair stated, “This took a lot of advance planning on the part of the administration under the leadership of our most capable president, Dr. Thomas Walker.”
McNair said she is most proud of the high level of performance by the students at Wayne Community College. In essence, she is proud of Wayne Community College’s “report card,” stating that its “performance data is great, especially when compared to colleges of a similar size.”
Advancements McNair would like to see at the college include completing two building projects, one of which has already begun. Even in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school is making sure construction continues on its new automotive building (while being consistent with social distancing requirements, of course). The school also has plans for an advanced manufacturing center. This project has not yet begun. However, McNair is hopeful that work on that project will begin as soon as the automotive building is completed.
As with most, if not all community colleges, McNair would also like to see enrollment increase, as well as expansion of the early middle college. She would love for the colleges to offer different programs that include a lot of training for high school students, whom she believes greatly benefit from this program.
To any new trustees out there, McNair offers this advice: “Be like a sponge and soak up as much information as you can. Go to committee meetings, board meetings, and functions and be an advocate for [your] college.” To be able to make informed decisions, McNair suggests asking questions at committee meetings and getting college staff (including the president) to clarify items that need to be further explained.
When she is not attending to college business, McNair enjoys exercising. She also enjoys doing things for her husband, who is not physically able to help with some of the day-to-day operations of the house like cooking. Additionally, McNair enjoys traveling and music; she even sings and plays a little piano.
To unwind, McNair loves bargain shopping. She admits that she takes great satisfaction in competing for a good bargain, be it furniture or clothes. When she visits places outside of her Goldsboro home, she enjoys finding a great deal on something that she can remember that visit by. However, it must be “at a real good price!”
McNair’s best vacation ever was in 2015 when she and a group of high school students visited five European countries. This was her second visit to Europe; she had gone previously in 2008. However, she really enjoyed the 2015 trip because she was visiting places where she could not be reached by phone; nor could she reach others. She says the trip was the “thrill of her life.” McNair’s bucket list does not include visiting anywhere new, but rather she would like to learn to swim and to improve her piano playing.
The best advice McNair has ever received came from a college professor. She says that following this advice is critical to being a good leader. His advice was, “Separate the trivial many from the critical few.” McNair also appreciated advice shared by Ron Edmonds, an educator and researcher of essential qualities of effective schools. Edmonds’ advice was this: “We already know enough about how to effectively educate all children. The question is: Why so far we haven’t?” McNair likes this advice because it makes educators reflect on the practices used and consider if they have used all the available tools to help children learn.
A few things “The Main Thing Lady” is proud of include her career in education (which also included the little-known fact that McNair coauthored an article on new teacher training for a national journal on staff development) and the many lives she has touched during her career. Additionally, she is proud to be a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, a professional honorary society of women educators.
McNair has been married to her pastor husband for almost 44 years. She has two grown children—a daughter and a son—and one grandchild.
Registration is now open for the rescheduled 2020 NCACCT Law/Legislative Seminar. The seminar will be held Monday, June 15 through Wednesday, June 17 at the downtown Raleigh City Center Marriott.
Click here for more information or to register.
The seminar will also be an opportunity for trustees, presidents, state board members and others to network, build relationships and gain information from each other. State-mandated training will be available for new and reappointed trustees, plus there will be sessions that will benefit all trustees with varying lengths of service. Ethics training will be led by the Ethics Commission; and there will be a session for community college attorneys highlighting timely legal issues (a session that all trustees can attend).
March 11, 2020
After much consideration, the NCACCT Executive Board voted this morning to reschedule next week’s NCACCT Law-Legislative Seminar. We are looking at moving this event to June 2020, still at the Raleigh City Center Marriott. We will let you know the new dates as soon as possible.
The Board made this decision based on the many uncertainties associated with the coronavirus issue that is causing much concern across the state. We’ve heard from many of our attendees that they were worried about traveling to a large gathering such as the seminar. Yesterday, the governor declared a state of emergency. The health and wellbeing of our trustees, presidents and everyone in the community college family is our top priority. Furthermore, several speakers had to cancel their participation because of no-travel restrictions imposed by their employers. With all of those things in mind, we are looking forward to a session later in the summer, and we hope to see you all there.
We are working diligently in the NCACCT office to hammer out the logistics of the new seminar dates and we are working with the college executive assistants regarding next steps to cancel the existing event plans and coordinate with the new dates.
North Carolina community college trustees have a number of important responsibilities to fulfill. But GS-115D 20 (1) is very clear in establishing the most important responsibility: the election of the college president. Searching for a new community college CEO is a responsibility almost every trustee will undertake sometime during his/her tenure, perhaps more than once. Since Executive Leadership Associates (ELA), a consulting firm that assists trustees in presidential searches, was created in 2018, no less than 27.50 percent (16 of 58) NC community colleges have been or are currently searching for a new leader.
ELA is a partnership of six retired North Carolina community college presidents who are committed to ensuring our internationally recognized community college system continues its proud tradition of excellence, one college at a time. ELA partners have served a combined 80 years as presidents at seven different community colleges; in addition, we have worked as interims at nine community colleges. It is safe to say we know the system, which is why, with our decades of combined executive leadership, we have the proven expertise to help guide a board of trustees and the college through their most significant transition. ELA’s job is to ensure Boards of Trustees have all the information and advice they need to make the best decision for their unique colleges and communities.
When a board arrives at the point that it is “Time to Hire a President,” the first decision is how to organize the process: use a search firm or handle the search internally. Of course, ELA suggests using a search firm. While there is an expense in hiring a search firm, we think the advantages far outweigh any cost consideration.
A search firm will assist a board through the entire hiring process, which can be both lengthy and time-consuming for trustees. We encourage trustees to consider a search for a new leader as that rare opportunity to assess where your college is and where you want it to go. It literally provides the board with a “reset” button for the college. It is also a time to involve both on-campus and community constituencies, and to provide these stakeholders with some ownership in the process. That will help ensure a smooth transition for the person trustees select as the next CEO, and it will help satisfy the State Board requirement to involve the community in the search.
A search firm should use input from the faculty, staff, and community to help develop an institutional profile and the qualifications expected in the next college leader. A search firm will also develop and place advertising in the right places to ensure both an acceptable quality and quantity of applicants. The right search firm not only depends on broad appeal advertising but on former colleagues, contacts in higher education, professional organizations, colleges, universities and finally personal contacts developed through years of experience in the field to help find the right person for a particular community college.
When those applications start coming, boards often begin inquiring about the number who have applied. Some trustees equate the number of applicants to how well their college is doing. Lots of applications mean, at least to some, that everybody wants to come to our community college because of some X factor they equate to success. Actually, there are potential candidates around the country, literally the globe, with their resumes on the computer just waiting to hit the send key when an opening for a community college presidency is announced. The right search firm is not as concerned as much about the application count as they are the quality of those who are hitting the send key. The right search firm can sift through all those resumes with cover letters that can run from a couple of pages to several dozen and then do the deep dive reference checks and screenings to get a quality pool for the board. From that group, a board will ultimately decide on several candidates with whom they wish to talk.
Making logistical arrangements to get those candidates to campus is an important next step, but the key is helping a board focus on asking the right questions and providing insight as to what a candidate said, and just as importantly, did not say. The right search firm will be with the board from start to finish including keeping the State Board apprised of the timing of the search and those final candidates so the State Board can perform the due diligence required of them as well.
There are a number of good search firms that will seek your business when you are in the market for a new president. We hope you will consider Executive Leadership Associates when you start reviewing those Request for Proposals (RFP’s) you are required to send out before hiring a search firm. We believe our combined experience in North Carolina—our six partners have worked at North Carolina community colleges from the classroom to the president’s office a combined 182 years and one of our partners is a graduate of a NC community college—gives our firm an advantage. We have done the job you are seeking to fill, worked in communities large and small and believe we can help any of our 58 colleges find the right person to lead their college.
But no matter whether you decide to do that important search on your own or hire a search firm we know a Board of Trustees does not want to be involved in a search very often. But when it does happen, a board should embrace this opportunity to move the college forward, providing even greater opportunities for the reason you serve in the first place: the students.
Dr. Michael Taylor, a partner in Executive Leadership Associates, is a graduate of Lenoir Community College and served as President of Stanly Community College for 15 years. Contact ELA at http://www.executiveleaders.net/.
Click here to learn more about NCACCT Business Partners
Spotlight on Community College Leaders: NCACCT Secretary/Treasurer Grayson Whitt
By Ashley Blizzard, NCACCP/NCACCT Communication Coordinator & Events Manager
“Listen to learn,” and “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.” Those are the two pieces of advice Grayson Whitt, NCACCT’s Executive Board Secretary/Treasurer, would give to a new community college trustee. Considering Whitt has been a trustee at Rockingham Community College (RCC) for 17 years, he ought to know a thing or two about the protocol of being a trustee.
Whitt became involved with the community colleges when he was asked to serve on RCC’s foundation board, a position he enjoyed for the nine-year allowable limit. As a banker (now vice president/business development officer of First National Bank in Eden), serving on the foundation board seemed to be a natural fit. When he was appointed a trustee of the college, however, he was not familiar with the governance of the community college system. Learning how community colleges work was a big learning curve for him. Additionally, he quickly realized that the definition of a community college trustee was not “someone who meets with other trustees for one hour a month.” Being a trustee was more work than he had anticipated; the position was certainly more than just “ceremonial.”
Whitt has found state regulations to be the hardest part of being a trustee. For instance, it has surprised him how long a community college construction project can take due to the extensive requirements on publicly funded building projects. “That wouldn’t work in the private sector,” said Whitt.
According to Whitt, community colleges really need to be concerned with enrollment right now. To ensure continued success for our community colleges, the colleges must continue to have increasing enrollment for students. “In my profession,” said Whitt, “I see how [community colleges] benefit all types of individuals at a very reasonable cost. I’ve seen people [attend community colleges] and come out doing well without a lot of student debt.” Increased enrollment will help ensure colleges receive the appropriate and necessary state funding to continue to offer a quality education at a reasonable price.
When asked about advancements he would like to see at his own college, Whitt said he would like to see increased enrollment and more scholarships being offered in the area of workforce development.
Something he is most proud of about RCC is that they are trying to get a building under construction that would be solely dedicated to workforce development. The county has shown its support of this project by approving a 25-cent sales tax for this $20 million, 40,000 square-foot building. Whitt is hopeful the project will begin soon.
Outside of the community college and banking arenas, Whitt enjoys working out, which he does at least four days a week at 5:00 in the morning. He also likes to play golf and follow football and basketball at his alma mater, Elon University. As he puts it, his favorite way to relax is “very simple.” He likes to go to North Myrtle Beach, which he does regularly, and listen to good music and play golf.
When recalling his best vacation ever, Whitt said it was when his family took a trip to Key West, Florida. He, his wife, Connie, and two teenage (at the time) children enjoyed unwinding there. “It’s one of the most laid-back places I’ve ever been in my life,” said Whitt.
One thing Whitt would really like to check off his bucket list is seeing Elon University’s basketball team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) playoffs. Admitting that this bucket list item is “weird,” he commented, “I don’t need to go to Spain. I’m a simple person.” Whitt has had Elon basketball tickets for over 30 years.
Readers would probably be surprised to learn that Whitt is a former 9th grade biology teacher. Just out of college, he survived this undertaking for an entire day, after which he realized that teaching was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. As a teacher, he was hopeful he could also coach. However, the offer of becoming the assistant junior varsity basketball coach alongside his 9th grade biology teacher status was not enticing enough to keep him in the classroom.
Another likely unknown fact about Whitt is that he is a certified soccer referee (although he no longer actively referees). His son wanted to become a soccer referee, so they both became certified and refereed for weekend travel soccer teams.
Finally, Whitt says that he has not missed a home football game at Elon University in over 20 years. He says he would have attended more, but he knew attending his children’s sporting events as they grew up was more important. However, he did add, “I’ve probably missed a few weddings I should have gone to!”
Whitt is most proud of his family—his wife of 38 years, and his son and daughter, who are both college graduates. “I know it’s generic, but it’s true,” he says. Both of his children live in Greensboro. His son works in supply chain management, and his daughter is a second-grade teacher.
Registration is now open for the 2020 NCACCT Law-Legislative Seminar, to be held March 18-20 in downtown Raleigh!
More than 250 community college leaders are expected gather from across the state to learn more about: cybersecurity and what our colleges need to consider if a cyberattack occurs; the upcoming legislative short session; legal matters affecting our colleges; and ways that community college partners can work together to impact public policy. Speakers will include Stephen Pruitt, president of the Southern Region Education Board; Cecilia Holden, president/CEO of myFutureNC; and Bob Joyce, professor of public law and government with the UNC School of Government. The timing of the seminar will also be on the heels of the North Carolina primary election, so we’ll be inviting Governor Roy Cooper to speak as well as the Republican candidate for governor, once the election results are in. The seminar will also be an opportunity for trustees, presidents, state board members and others to network, build relationships and gain information from each other. State-mandated training will be available for new and reappointed trustees, plus there will be sessions that will benefit all trustees with varying lengths of service. Ethics training will be led by the Ethics Commission; and there will be a session for community college attorneys highlighting timely legal issues (a session that all trustees can attend).
Click here for more information or to register.