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.
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