No final decision has been made, MPC trustees caution, but after careful deliberation, they have scheduled a visit to....
The Wenatchee Valley College District in Central Washington to gather
more information about Walter Tribley. Tribley is currently vice president of instruction at the district, as well as the administrator of the Omak campus.
Tribley was interviewed by the MPC community last Thursday, and some believed he was the least likely to make the final cut because of his lack of knowledge of California community college system and the Monterey region in particular. Other candidates in the running were Larry Buckley, interim president of San Bernardino Valley College; Angela Fairchilds, president of Woodland Community College; and Kathryn Jeffrey, president of Sacramento City College.
The results of the site visit will be discussed at the regular board meeting on October 24, 2012.
That one came out of left field for me. I wonder how others in the MPC communities see it.
Showing posts with label presidential search. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presidential search. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
MPC employees are a bit miffed...
because they were promised they'd be able to see the candidates via video, but alas, the video did not work for the first candidate, so no video was offered for any of them.
A good 90 people showed up for each forum, but many instructors were away with teaching obligations, thus could not see who's in the running for the post.
Naivete whispered in my ear the decision would be fairly straightforward, easy to reach. Well, board members have been meeting for hours now -- Friday, Monday and today -- trying to whittle down the list to two candidates.
I hear there may be an announcement this afternoon. Stay tuned.
A good 90 people showed up for each forum, but many instructors were away with teaching obligations, thus could not see who's in the running for the post.
Naivete whispered in my ear the decision would be fairly straightforward, easy to reach. Well, board members have been meeting for hours now -- Friday, Monday and today -- trying to whittle down the list to two candidates.
I hear there may be an announcement this afternoon. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Monterey Peninsula College professor shares his views on superintendent candidates
David Clemens, English professor, coordinator of the Monterey Peninsula College Great Books Program, and blogger extraordinaire, attended the presentation of all four candidates for the job of superintendent.
I asked if he would share his impressions with me -- and the readers -- about the candidates, and he wrote a detailed analysis of each. Too good to reduce to a two-sentence quote, I told him, and he graciously agreed to let me share it in my blog.
Astute observations, indeed. Here they are:
The sad part is that all the candidates are in economic survival mode, and that could lead to the extinction of all small classes as well as our nationally renowned Great Books Program and our new Creative Writing Program. Literature classes are already being rationed and eliminated. Losing the traditional curriculum, I believe, is ultimately suicidal but in survival mode, no one looks past the present crisis
Each candidate was asked to describe where they saw the community college in five years. This question was suggested by Clemens.
As (Larry) Buckley noted, the Board of Governors president doubts Proposition 30 will pass and that will mean possibly 25 colleges closing. And if the BOG provides relief by suspending regulations, that could make it even worse because it will be easier to pink slip full time, tenured faculty and replace them with adjuncts, para-educators, tutors, and software.
Angela Fairchilds
Pros: Personable, used humor, energetic, somewhat connected, some candor
Cons: Often described a problem rather than provided a solution, e.g., “we need to build back FTEs.” How? “We’ll have no money without Prop 30.” And so . . ... ? “We are no longer the institution that we were.” What are we? How do we establish criteria for filling positions? “Set priorities." Lacked experience with program discontinuance.
Kathryn Jeffrey
Pros: Smart and funny.
Cons: Too much flattery. (She went on and on about how great MPC is and how well the college functions) Seemed to lose steam halfway through, fuzzy response (on some contracts and financial models), not astute about online—my notes say “getting really confusing.”
Larry Buckley
Pros: My choice. Academic Ph.D. He was honest and candid as well as well-connected in Sacramento... He said what I’ve been saying, “what is most important to us with the resources we have?” “We have to have a new deal” (finance model).
Buckley was straightforward, didn’t mince words, and had cogent ideas. He didn’t seem to be applying in hopes of retiring in Monterey. He was light years ahead of the other candidates in his grasp of the political and educational situation. He seems to have the guts to make the cuts.
Cons: I doubt I would like all his decisions, especially convening a committee to do curricular triage. We did it before, the Instructional Priorities Committee, and it featured “the usual suspects,” the faculty identified as reliable who are on every important committee. It was very powerful and very political.
Walter Tribley
Pros: Academic Ph.D. Good scientific knowledge, apparent support of liberal arts.
Cons: Nervous. Simply not enough knowledge of California and MPC landscape. Support for liberal arts seemed to evaporate with “funding will play a large and disproportionate role” in prioritizing. Referred to “para-educators.” Maybe too dazzled by educational novelties?
I asked if he would share his impressions with me -- and the readers -- about the candidates, and he wrote a detailed analysis of each. Too good to reduce to a two-sentence quote, I told him, and he graciously agreed to let me share it in my blog.
Astute observations, indeed. Here they are:
The sad part is that all the candidates are in economic survival mode, and that could lead to the extinction of all small classes as well as our nationally renowned Great Books Program and our new Creative Writing Program. Literature classes are already being rationed and eliminated. Losing the traditional curriculum, I believe, is ultimately suicidal but in survival mode, no one looks past the present crisis
Each candidate was asked to describe where they saw the community college in five years. This question was suggested by Clemens.
As (Larry) Buckley noted, the Board of Governors president doubts Proposition 30 will pass and that will mean possibly 25 colleges closing. And if the BOG provides relief by suspending regulations, that could make it even worse because it will be easier to pink slip full time, tenured faculty and replace them with adjuncts, para-educators, tutors, and software.
Angela Fairchilds
Pros: Personable, used humor, energetic, somewhat connected, some candor
Cons: Often described a problem rather than provided a solution, e.g., “we need to build back FTEs.” How? “We’ll have no money without Prop 30.” And so . . ... ? “We are no longer the institution that we were.” What are we? How do we establish criteria for filling positions? “Set priorities." Lacked experience with program discontinuance.
Kathryn Jeffrey
Pros: Smart and funny.
Cons: Too much flattery. (She went on and on about how great MPC is and how well the college functions) Seemed to lose steam halfway through, fuzzy response (on some contracts and financial models), not astute about online—my notes say “getting really confusing.”
Larry Buckley
Pros: My choice. Academic Ph.D. He was honest and candid as well as well-connected in Sacramento... He said what I’ve been saying, “what is most important to us with the resources we have?” “We have to have a new deal” (finance model).
Buckley was straightforward, didn’t mince words, and had cogent ideas. He didn’t seem to be applying in hopes of retiring in Monterey. He was light years ahead of the other candidates in his grasp of the political and educational situation. He seems to have the guts to make the cuts.
Cons: I doubt I would like all his decisions, especially convening a committee to do curricular triage. We did it before, the Instructional Priorities Committee, and it featured “the usual suspects,” the faculty identified as reliable who are on every important committee. It was very powerful and very political.
Walter Tribley
Pros: Academic Ph.D. Good scientific knowledge, apparent support of liberal arts.
Cons: Nervous. Simply not enough knowledge of California and MPC landscape. Support for liberal arts seemed to evaporate with “funding will play a large and disproportionate role” in prioritizing. Referred to “para-educators.” Maybe too dazzled by educational novelties?
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Can you judge a presidential candidate by its theatrical prowess?
And I'm not talking about Obama or Romney.
Today was day three of presidential candidate forums at Monterey Peninsula College, and like Trustee Rick Johnson said "having four qualified candidates to choose from is a good problem to have."
Not to say they're all exactly alike. How could they be? Yes, they're all highly qualified. Angela Fairchilds, Kathryn Jeffery, and Larry Buckley have all shown they have strengths. They all seemed to have done their homework about MPC. Another candidate will be interviewed tomorrow, and I expect his abilities will at least be comparable.
They all have performed differently before a large audience, though. And you won't find anybody who tells you who's the strongest in their mind so far. They'll have to work with the winner, no matter who s/he is.
But after witnessing the forums, I wonder: will stage performance translate into good leadership?
In other words, if a candidate performs less stellarly than another, does that mean she or he is less qualified to lead? Can a good leader be a poor stage performer?
Or is "charming personality" another characteristic we're seeking in a leader?
And I'm not talking about Mitt or Obama.
Today was day three of presidential candidate forums at Monterey Peninsula College, and like Trustee Rick Johnson said "having four qualified candidates to choose from is a good problem to have."
Not to say they're all exactly alike. How could they be? Yes, they're all highly qualified. Angela Fairchilds, Kathryn Jeffery, and Larry Buckley have all shown they have strengths. They all seemed to have done their homework about MPC. Another candidate will be interviewed tomorrow, and I expect his abilities will at least be comparable.
They all have performed differently before a large audience, though. And you won't find anybody who tells you who's the strongest in their mind so far. They'll have to work with the winner, no matter who s/he is.
But after witnessing the forums, I wonder: will stage performance translate into good leadership?
In other words, if a candidate performs less stellarly than another, does that mean she or he is less qualified to lead? Can a good leader be a poor stage performer?
Or is "charming personality" another characteristic we're seeking in a leader?
And I'm not talking about Mitt or Obama.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
MPC and the meaning of "shared governance"
I'll confess. "Shared governance" is a concept I hear often, but I'm never quite sure what it means. Or what college administrators mean by it.
So I decided to be a good reporter and I looked it up. And found this excellent article about the topic on The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Worth noting: "'Shared' governance has come to connote two complementary and sometimes overlapping concepts: giving various groups of people a share in key decision-making processes, often through elected representation; and allowing certain groups to exercise primary responsibility for specific areas of decision making."
Enjoy!
So I decided to be a good reporter and I looked it up. And found this excellent article about the topic on The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Worth noting: "'Shared' governance has come to connote two complementary and sometimes overlapping concepts: giving various groups of people a share in key decision-making processes, often through elected representation; and allowing certain groups to exercise primary responsibility for specific areas of decision making."
Enjoy!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Advisory group on MPC presidential search to meet
The Monterey Peninsula College advisory committee on the president's search is holding its first meeting Tuesday, May 8, at 1:30pm in the Administration Building’s Large Conference Room.
Members of the public and MPC faculty, staff and students are allowed to attend the meeting and have an opportunity to speak for three minutes at the beginning of the meeting.
There will be a presentation by Robert Griffin and Carl Ehmann of Professional Personnel Leasing on how the process will unfold.
Members of the public and MPC faculty, staff and students are allowed to attend the meeting and have an opportunity to speak for three minutes at the beginning of the meeting.
There will be a presentation by Robert Griffin and Carl Ehmann of Professional Personnel Leasing on how the process will unfold.
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