WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SCREENING COMMITTEE?

Mr. John O'Connor, serving as the Chairman of the Screening Committee and the Vice-Chair of the PJC Board of Trustees. 708 Peake's Point Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561. MAC7871@aol.com; 470-9555

Dr. Isaac Brigham, Senior Vice President, PJC. 1699 Condor Drive, Cantonment, FL 32533. Ibrigham@pjc.edu ; 484-1717.

Mr. James A. Hightower, 6430 Dunleith Place, Pensacola, Fl 32504. jhightower@pjc.edu ; 477-3044. Representing PJC Faculty.

Mr. Keith Prendergast, PO Box 30141, Pensacola, FL 32504. kprendergast@pjc.edu ; 478-6632. Representing PJC Faculty.

Ms. Charlotte Sweeney, 10402 Pine Hill Terrace, Pensacola, FL 32514. csweeney@pjc.edu ; 484-2007. Representing PJC Faculty.

Ms. Peggy Lou Akerman, 4315 Roxborough place, Pensacola, FL 32514. pakerman@pjc.edu ; 484-3946. Representing PJC Adjunct Faculty.

Mr. Earl Evans, 3500 Creighton Road LC, Pensacola, FL 32504. eevans@pjc.edu ; 484-2377. Representing PJC Managerial/Professionals.

Dr. Martin Gonzalez, 1301 East Jackson Street, Pensacola, FL 32501. mgonzalez@pjc.edu ; 484-4436. Representing PJC Managerial/Professionals.

Ms. Coreen G. Goben, 6295 Highway 95A North, Molino, FL 32577. cgoben@pjc.edu ; 484-1533. Representing PJC Career Service Staff.

Ms. Carol Quinn, 6621 Black Oak Place, Pensacola, FL 32526. cquinn@pjc.edu ; 944-3969. Representing PJC Career Service Staff.

Mr. Daniel Scott Crongeyer, 5709 Bronco Place, Milton, FL 32570. dsc1057@students.pjc.edu ; 686-9120. Representing PJC Students.

Ms. Stephanie Lightfoot, 216 Dogwood Drive, Pensacola, FL 32505. slightfoot2003@yahoo.com ; 261-0390. Representing PJC Students.

Mr. Chris Randall, 4880 La Ceiba Drive, Pensacola, FL 32526. cjrandall882@aol.com ; 457-4423. Representing PJC Students.

Ms. Sandy Cesaretti-Ray, 3210 Quietwater Lane, Gulf Breeze, FL 32563. scesaretti@wsre.org ; 572-3279. Representing WSRE Foundation.

Ms. Elba Robertson, 5358 Conecuh Street, Milton, FL 32570. robertson1503@bellouth.net ; 623-2182. Representing PJC Foundation.

Mr. Norm Ross, 215 West Garden Street, Pensacola, FL 32502. nross@escambia.k12.fl.us ; 469-6131. Representing Escambia County public schools.

Ms. Diane Coleman, 9507 Acorn Lane, Navarre, FL 32566. dianecoleman@bellsouth.net ; 449-0970. Representing Santa Rosa County public schools.

Ms. Evon Emerson, 117 West Garden Street, Pensacola, FL 32502. Representing Escambia/Pensacola Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Donna Tucker, 5247 Stewart Street, Milton, FL 32570. director@srcchamber.com ; 623-2339. Representing Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Darnell Sims, 17 West Maxwell Street, Pensacola, FL 32501. dsims@youthbuildpcola.org ; 433-0593.

Dr. Deborah Ford, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514. dford@uwf.edu ; 474-2214.

Ms. Susan Bullock, 510 East Government Street, Pensacola, FL 32502. susan.d.bullock@smithbarney.com ; 501-8444. Representing Escambia County community at-large.

Mr. Thomas D. Tait, 7417 Old Baypointe Road, Milton, FL 32583. ttait@whitneybank.com ; 444-3240. Representing Santa Rosa community at-large.

Chief Bobby Johns Bearheart, 125333 Polonius Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32506. bearheart1@cox.net ; 492-3593. Representing Native American minorities.

Ms. Shigeko Honda, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514. shonda@uwf.edu . Representing Asian Pacific minorities.

PRESIDENTIAL PUBLIC HEARINGS END

For the past four days, public hearings have been held to give faculty, staff, students and the local community the opportunity to tell Pensacola Junior College's Board of Trustees and members of the Presidential Screening Committee what they see as the qualities and skills that are necessary for the next PJC President.

With the exception of last night's hearing, I felt that all sessions had been well attended with good representation from the host campus. I'll be making entries for each session after this.

Hats off to BOT member Dona Usury who attended every hearing and was diligent in her note-taking. Hats off as well to Keith Prendergast (representing PJC faculty) who also attended every hearing. Several other committee members also attended every session and many made at least 3 of the 4. I believe that speaks very highly as to the commitment of this screening committee to have the best interests of PJC in mind as they review applications.

COMMENTS FROM THE THURSDAY EVENING HEARING HOSTED ON THE PENSACOLA CAMPUS

While the turnout from the Screening Committee members and PJC administrators was good, there were not many community members in attendance. Ms. Celeste Norris, BOT member, conducted the session. Again, the answers to questions are my paraphrasing of the answers given by either Ms. Norris, Dr. Brigham or other PJC staff.

Here are the comments and questions from this session:

Has PJC chosen a professional search committee? Not at this time. PJC is currently going forward using in-house staff to conduct the search, but the BOT has retained the right to hire a professional search committee to assist in the process if needed.

What kind of response/inquiries have been from candidates? To date there are 5 letters of inquiry on file. Official advertising of the position will begin October 12th in national, regional and local publications. There is a link about the Presidential search on the PJC homepage.

COMMENTS

• the #2 qualification (commitment to diversity) is very important. Appreciated the way in which Dr. Delaino reached out to the Black media. Would like to see more collaboration with WSRE and the Black media.
• the issue of morale must be addressed. New president must recognize the importance of people. He/She will not manage a college, but will manage people. It is important that the new president be a part of the college. There is a division between Bldg. 7 (Administration) and the rest of the college. Visit the classrooms, walk the halls of the buildings, be a part of the college.
• Another member of the audience agreed that the issue of morale was important.

COMMENTS FROM THE WEDNESDAY HEARING HOSTED ON THE MILTON CAMPUS

This session was also chaired by Mr. Vincent Andry, president of the PJC Board of Trustees.

Here are the comments from the Milton hearing.

The new president of PJC must/should:

• understand that PJC has 3 full service campuses and each campus needs to be fully funded.
• have a commitment to technology in the classroom. Needs to look forward to cutting edge classroom technology.
• be very energetic. Ready to go. Have a focus on academics.
• make decisions that are driven by data. Be able to use data effectively. Be able to plan effectively.
• have a commitment to recruitment. Push for better salaries.
• network in the community. Locate and develop alternate money supplies. Develop relationships with business, local, state and federal governments.
• better manage the recruitment process. Good candidates are already employed by the time PJC starts searching for new faculty.
• improve recognition of adjunct faculty. Work for retention of adjunct faculty. Develop relationships with adjunct faculty.
• care as much for career service employees as faculty. Support across the board raises.
• be willing to set the tone by having a a simple inauguration rather than an extravagant event.

The questions from the Milton participants were broad in scope.

Mr. Vince Andry, Chairman of the PJC Board of Trustees, answered questions such as: (the answers are my paraphrasing of his response)

How are the Board of Trustees chosen?
The BOT is appointed by the Governor. Mrs. Usury, a trustee, also commented on the detailed application that each person interested in serving as a trustee must submit in order to be considered.

Is there any expectation of the length of service for a new president?
There is the hope that the new president will lead PJC for a number of years. Of course, there is no way to force someone to stay in a position and the BOT also has the responsibility to evaluate the president regularly to determine if the president is performing the job effectively. The president will be judged on his/her success.

How many students are involved in the process?
3 - one representing each campus SGA.

What is the measurement for all the listed minimum and desired qualifications?
Please see my (Charlotte) answer to a very similar question about "significant leadership" at Monday's session.

How do you look deeper than the paper case?
Once the Screening Committee has reviewed the applications and made its recommendation of 4 - 8 candidates to the BOT, criminal and financial background checks will be conducted. Personal references will be checked. There has been discussion at the BOT meetings about whether a psychological screening should be conducted.

COMMENTS FROM THE TUESDAY HEARING HOSTED ON THE WARRINGTON CAMPUS

This session was chaired by Mr. Vincent Andry, Chairman of the PJC Board of Trustees.

Again, this will be a bulleted list of the comments made.

The new president must/should:

• recognize the potential of the planetarium. Understand the importance of instructional technology and distance learning.
• be willing to establish collaborative relationships particularly those with NAS and local hospitals.
• be supportive of all health care programs.
• support simulation as an instructional tool.
• focus on faculty and staff development.
• work to make resources (library, computer lab) available to students 24/7. Recognize that students are trying to fit learning around the rest of their life.
• be an exceptional fundraiser.
• be very engaged on what is going on ALL campuses. Have a shared vision with all campuses. Promote staff, faculty and adjuncts all working together.
• return PJC to its national reputation for academic excellence.
• be able to meet the budgetary challenges and the competition for dollars. Have a commitment to faculty and staff training. Develop PJC's human resources. Appreciate and demonstrate diversity.
• identify with and be committed to faculty, students and the community. The best person could be someone from another area of government or education who already resides in the community.

COMMENTS FROM THE MONDAY SESSION HOSTED ON THE PENSACOLA CAMPUS

Monday's session was chaired by Mr. John O'Connor, Vice-Chair of the PJC Board of Trustees, who is the chairman of the Presidential Screening Committee.

In response to a comment regarding the importance that the new President have significant teaching experience and a history of sustained academic excellence, Mr. O'Connor expressed surprise that such a qualification was not a given. He shared his impression that college administrators "come up through the ranks".....sort of from instructor to professor to department head to provost to vice-president to president. He seemed to truly appreciate having that "myth" debunked.

I'll just be making a bulleted list of comments and questions so that you can see the concerns that were raised. If anyone feels that I did not do a proper job of summarizing your comment, please post a clarification. Thanks!

The new president must/should:

• understand and be willing to work within the parameters of a faculty united under a collective bargaining agreement.
• be willing to embrace diversity.
• keep students in mind and be interactive with students.
• understand the importance of grants.
• have teaching experience. Recommendation of having president have at least six years of teaching experience in the community college environment. A record of sustained excellence in teaching.
• understand that education is now a competitive business. Be able to work to get students in.
• understand what is already working well and balance that with new ideas. Want to partner with those already here. Have a vision for PJC. Be able to articulate practical steps to reach that vision.
• remember PJC's academic record as it stood in the 1970's when PJC was ranked #3 in the nation. Commitment to academic excellence.
• appreciate libraries and their contribution to learning. Be an innovative leader.
• recognize that academics are important but also be willing to embrace PJC's mission across the board - developmental studies, vocational and academics.
• should be the total package. Have a vision that is centered on the student. Be able to "schmooze." Show support for the faculty.
• recognize the importance of community outreach. Develop partnerships and collaborative ventures with UWF.
• support continuing education and see the importance of non-credit programs.
• have a vision of the whole student. Dream big.
• be active in the classroom. Remember the mission of the college. understand the importance of vocational programs.

Questions were also posed during the session.

Who is actually on the Presidential Screening Committee?

I'll answer that question in a separate posting.

What is meant by "significant leadership in a senior level administrative position" as listed as part of the minimum requirements?

Dr. Brigham addressed this question. Having been on the search process committee, let me merge my answer with Dr. Brigham's. There were no definitive decisions made about what constitutes "significant leadership."

Dr. Marshall McLeod (who has since retired from PJC) was to review each application to make that determination. Certainly, anyone who had served or was currently serving as president or vice-president of a college, university, or community college would qualify. Dr. McLeod was urged to keep in mind that after that level it became harder to determine the responsibilities that went with the title. Campus presidents, provosts, deans could all possibly handle the same responsibilities depending on the organizational structure of the institution.

No mandatory years of experience were placed on the qualification.

"Significant leadership" is very subjective. Because Dr. McLeod had been an instrumental participant in the past two presidential searches, the committee and the BOT were comfortable with his making the determination of what constituted "significant leadership." How his retirement affects the process remains to be seen.

However, all applications are available for review by committee members as well as the general public. There will be two files that will now be housed in Human Resources. One will be the applications that have been reviewed and it has been determined that all components of the application are complete and that the application meets the minimum requirement. The other will be a file of applications that have been reviewed and determined to be either incomplete or not meeting the minimum qualifications or both.

BUDGET CUTS AND FLORIDA HIGHER EDUCATION

From Tom Auxter, President, UFF:


UFF Members:
It is critical that we contact legislators now -- by email or by phoning their local district offices -- to make sure they understand that their constituents do not want more damage done to Florida higher education through the process of budget cuts. (You may have heard that the Governor is recommending a 6.2% cut for universities and a 4.5% cut for community colleges.) Emphasize that these cuts hurt students and deprive them of the education they expected when they enrolled.

Talking Points for Legislators

1. The student-faculty ratio is already at the bottom (49th) in national rankings. (Only Louisiana is worse.) More cuts require a hiring freeze on faculty this year and make things even worse for students. Students cannot get the courses they need to graduate, and they cannot get the attention they deserve from professors who are teaching overcrowded classes. Students' access to higher education is threatened by these proposed cuts. Enrollment at the state universities has been frozen. Budget cuts limit access, increase graduation time, and decrease rates of graduation.

2. Faculty are leaving Florida higher education at an alarming rate. In the universities, the turnover rate last year was 14%. It is impossible to staff departments with the qualified faculty they need to cover all the subjects necessary because they leave as soon as they find employment elsewhere -- at higher salaries and with better teaching conditions. Recruiting new faculty is especially difficult when they hear that there is a freeze on salaries or that classes are crowded (if students can even get the classes they need). In many of the community colleges, the starting salaries are lower than the starting salaries for teachers in the local school district while the costs of housing are beyond reach. This makes recruitment and retention an on-going problem that directly affects students.

3. The quality of the education students receive is threatened by these severe budget problems. The quality deteriorates when students cannot get the attention they deserve from faculty teaching crowded classes and when classes are not available. The quality also deteriorates when faculty specialists are leaving at a rate that makes it impossible to cover all the specialized topics that need to be covered in a department.

4. It is shortsighted to think that the State can save money by reducing its commitment to higher education. Higher education is the engine that drives the State's economy. A developed economy requires a developed higher education system to supply the kinds of employees necessary to run it. Moreover, large business operations will not open their doors in a state that cannot attract talented employees with educational benefits. The State also saves money from an educated population that has less crime and fewer health problems.

5. The only lasting solution for a viable higher education system is to change the tax structure so that there is enough revenue to support the needs of students and so that funds available do not change dramatically with every fluctuation in sales tax collection or real estate market values. We need reform now in creating a sustainable relationship between budget and taxation.

IMPORTANT: (1) Short, polite messages are most effective with legislators. One or two sentences is enough to make the point.
(2) Use an off-campus computer or private phone for messages.


Click here to find how to contact your Senator and Representative.

Tom AuxterPresident
United Faculty of Florida

COMMITTEE MEMBERS NAMED

Appointments were made to standing PJC committees on behalf of PJCFA:

Budget Modeling: Audrey Morrison, Business, Pensacola campus; Charlotte Sweeney, LRC, Pensacola campus.

Benefits: Narla Zinermon, English/Communicaitons, Pensacola campus; Domma Mathia, Dental Hygiene, Warrington campus.

PJCFA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

The PJCFA Board met yesterday afternoon and here's a short report of what took place:

We talked about making additions, updates and corrections to the web page. Thought it would be good to have the Constitution and by-laws up there as well as a direct link to the CBA. Update the administrative and professional salary list and maybe start using it to conduct some surveys. What would you like to see on the web page?

Work was done over the summer on the administrative evaluations by faculty. The plan is still to administer the evaluations in March or April.

Reminder that voting for ratification is currently taking place with ballots due October 2.

It was agreed that PJCFA would pay travel reimbursement for official local PJCFA business. Executive Board members, Negotiating Team members, PJCFA members serving as representatives on PJC or PJCFA committees will submit a travel reimbursement request when they have to travel among the campuses or from their home to campus on non-duty days.

Everyone agreed that the recent Bargaining and Membership training that was given by UFF and FEA was excellent. It was also good to network with UWF and Chipola. We think that there is much that we learned that can put into action right away.

The Executive Board voted to change the by-laws so that the nomination for Chief Negotiator will take place at the September meeting; Chief Negotiator will be voted on at October meeting; nominations for the bargaining team will take place at the November meeting; bargaining team will be elected at the December meeting. This change was made to allow the team to have time to meet, conduct research and prepare for negotiations which usually begin in March or April.

It was approved that up to 3 members will attend the FEA bargaining training to be held October 24 in Orlando.

Some of the PJCFA Senators will be attending the UFF Senate meeting October 5-7. Sessions held by the Distance Learning Task Force and the Librarians Task Force will be held in addition to the Senate meeting.

Campus Luncheons were planned. More information will be distributed as those plans are finalized.

Appointments were made to two PJC committees.

The next PJCFA Executive Board meeting will be held on October 17 at 1:30pm in the PJCFA Office , Room 9725.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH PUBLIC HEARINGS

The Presidential Search Screening Committee will hold the following campus hearings for the community-at-large and the college community to express comments regarding the search for a new president.

2:00 p.m. Sept. 24, 2007 Pensacola Campus, Hagler Auditorium Rm. 252
2:00 p.m. Sept. 25, 2007 Warrington Campus, Health Sciences Bldg., Rm. 3736
2:00 p.m. Sept. 26, 2007 Milton Campus, Building 4900, Rm. 4902
7:00 p.m. Sept. 27, 2007 Pensacola Campus, Hagler Auditorium, Rm. 252

I'll be attending each of the hearings and hope that you will attend at least one of them. This is your chance to say what qualities, characteristics and experience you want the next president of PJC to possess.

I'll be on each campus visiting around prior to the hearing so let me know if you'd like to meet with me then. See you soon!

PRESIDENTIAL SCREENING PROCESS TO BEGIN

This Friday, September 14th, will be the first meeting of the Presidential Screening Committee. The faculty who are serving on this committee are Dr. Jimmy Hightower,Business; Mr. Keith Prendergast, English; and me. At the meeting on the 14th, we'll receive an overview of what activities are being planned and what our role will be in the process. I'll post a summary after the meeting, but please contact Jimmy, Keith or me when you have questions or concerns or just want make sure your opinion is heard.

CBA RATIFICATION PENDING

All faculty members should have received an email today with the proposed changes to the CBA attached to the email. The major changes have to do with Article 18 (Distance Learning) and salaries.

We agreed to remove a lot of the language from Article 18 during this round of negotiations. The main reason for this is that having lived with distance learning for several years, we have learned that many of the items that we initially believed had to be included separately are actually addressed within other articles of the contract.

We will continue to work on the issues of class size and office hours in distance learning.

Everyone received the proposed 5% raise in their last paycheck pending ratification of the CBA. The other proposal affecting wages is the additional $3 to be added to the overload.

If you have questions about the ratification process or want more information about the contract, please give me (x2007) or Tom Grow (x1101) a call.

You should receive your ballot by Monday, September 17 and ballots should be returned by Tuesday, October 2.