University Business - September 2007 - (Page 43)

the ability to ask the right questions regarding the eﬀectiveness of our colleges.” Constant Communication Strong communication skills are not necessarily new requirements for leaders, but the ability to use these skills with a variety of constituencies is more important than in years past. Community college presidents ﬁnd themselves more in the public spotlight than their predecessors did. “I think the overall expectation of the president as the external representative of the college is aligned with the realities of the day,” says Johnson of Montgomery College. Despite the importance of working with boards, many presidents do not necessarily come into their positions with much experience on that front. “It’s probably one of the areas that people have the least experience in when they move into the presidency,” says Amey. To bolster administrators’ skills, the American Association of Community Colleges provides training and resources on developing successful relationships with boards of trustees. Entrepreneurial Spirit During the 2006 annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges, community college presidents were surveyed about their most pressing concerns. Eighty-six percent of respondents named lack of state and local funding as a top issue facing ‘As long as there is trust among the trustees their institution. Several factors are and president, things go well. But when the Community college putting on the ﬁnancial squeeze, says Roueche: enrollments have been increasing faster than trust disappears, trustees begin to question state appropriations. States are providing less money per full-time everything. That is how things go wrong.’ student. And today’s students often need more support. —Eduardo Padron, Miami Dade College “What that means for leaders is that they’ve got to be better entrepreneurs,” Roueche notes. Partnering with businesses in the community, raising funds, and reaching out to alumni are just some As president of Anne Arundel Community College (Md.), of the tasks on today’s presidential to-do list. “We are going to have Martha Smith has had to speak powerfully about the impact of to be more collaborative than we have in the past,” Roueche says. her institution in order to build productive partnerships and garner “Our future is very much tied to the kind of skill that college adsupport for AACC. “Telling the stories of our successful students ministrators, particularly the president and CFO, have in identifyand their contributions and showing the ﬁgures that underscore the ing areas of support.” Deborah George Wright, vice president for workforce developcommunity college’s role as an economic driver will tell our story ment at Thomas Nelson Community College (Va.), believes instibest,” she says. tutional leaders need to seek out partners who can work together on securing funding sources. “Develop your priorities with your partRelating to the Board Boards of trustees have access to more information than ever before ners at the table, and then watch for the appropriate funding and and are demanding more from institutional leaders. The ability to write those proposals. Most foundations are no longer funding single operators in higher ed. They are looking maintain a solid connection with the board is for strategic partnerships.” vital for presidents as well as for administraCommunity colleges undoubtedly tors working toward the top job. have bright times ahead—but strong Padron of Miami Dade believes in comAmerican Association of Community leadership will be required. Guided by municating with trustees on a regular basis Colleges, www.aacc.nche.edu leaders who bring broad skill sets and to ensure they hear of campus developments Community College Leadership are prepared for the realities of leaderfrom him, not from the newspaper. He inProgram, http://edadmin.edb.utexas. edu/cclp ship today, two-year institutions can volves trustees in policy decisions while gently take the challenges of limited budgets, Lakin Institute for Mentored encouraging them to stay out of operational Leadership, www.ccc.edu/roundtable/ increased accountability, and growing aspects of his job. “As long as there is trust index.shtml student populations in stride. among the trustees and president, things go Leading Forward, well,” he says. “But when the trust disappears, www.ccleadership.org Caryn Meyers Fliegler is a contributing trustees begin to question everything. That is League for Innovation in the writer and former associate editor for how things go wrong. This becomes more and Community College, www.league.org University Business. more complex every day.” Resources universitybusiness.com September 2007 | 43 http://www.aacc.nche.edu http://edadmin.edb.utexas.edu/cclp http://edadmin.edb.utexas.edu/cclp http://www.ccc.edu/roundtable/index.shtml http://www.ccc.edu/roundtable/index.shtml http://www.ccleadership.org http://www.league.org http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2007

University Business - September 2007
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
People Watach
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Money Matters
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
Una Fuerza to Reckon With
The Right Stuff
Making an Impact
Going VoIP
Training Your Staff to Protect SIS Data
Summer Conference Report
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
End Note

University Business - September 2007