One Student at a Time

Sometimes blog posts are written in my head before I begin typing. This is one of those where I couldn't type fast enough. The significance of my experience at our December Commencement program lingers. Yes, the ceremony was as nice as ever - tough to beat seeing the faces of graduates close-up walking across the stage after so much effort to complete their degrees or certificate programs. It was the reception after the ceremony, however, that caught me. We have a small reception for our December graduates and their families in the lobby of our IT/Theatre Building. I stay in my academic regalia and make my way out to congratulate a few of the graduates I've come to know and inevitably get drawn into various picture-taking opportunities with them and others. The stories I heard and the interactions I witnessed made a lasting impression. So many holiday movies speak to "the true meaning of family, etc."; well, this reception was like the end of a movie about the true meaning of community colleges!

It started for me when I spotted Janet Visalli, our Director of Adult Learning Support Services, walking over to say hello. I asked her if she was here to support some of our older graduates. She replied, in her normal, understated manner, "we have a couple here for sure...oh, here comes one right now!" At that moment Kim Maxwell walked over in her cap and gown, family and friends clapping for her as she pointed to Janet and said, "it's all because of you!" Kim went on to talk about how Janet set up a table in Kim’s company cafeteria to provide information about degree programs at MVCC to working adults. Janet was there for Kim every step of the way - through the highs and lows - and finished it off by wishing her well as she readies herself to enroll at Utica College next semester. After that story there wasn't a dry eye in the group.

As I continued through the crowd, Professor Bill Judycki pulled me aside. He's been working so hard with his colleagues to launch a new Facilities Management Program and introduced me to the first graduate, Traci Chandler, who received her Certificate. After the pictures, I asked what's next for her and Traci replied, "a few more classes in the spring and I'll see you at the May graduation for my Associate Degree!" It was great to be part of that little nugget of MV history - the first graduate in a brand new program! Significant.

I then saw a small crowd gathered around graduate Claire Hayes. Art faculty Duane Isenberg, Scott Seldon, Larry Migliori and others were with Claire and her family recounting all the special memories she made on a significant personal journey through one class after another to finish her Associate Degree in Individual Studies. The pride being experienced by everyone standing there was moving. Jane Morales' graduation was a triumph as well. Her mom traveled from New York City and I know that the Residence Life and Auxiliary Services staff at the College share in her accomplishment. I didn't get to say hello, but it was fun to watch faculty member Rosemary Fucco congratulating her armada of Administrative Assistant graduates - many of whom gave a few shouts and hollers to their families and friends as they walked across the stage earlier that evening.

And finally our student commencement speaker, Eva Maria Tobin, was inspiring. I encountered a number of people who took great pride in helping her successfully pursue a full-ride scholarship to Howard University in Washington D.C. Multiple people at the reception asked me, "where's my Eva?" as they searched through the crowd.

The power and significance of these individual stories amplified and captured the essence of what makes Mohawk Valley so special. In the end, student success occurs one student at a time. And yet, as much as we feel our counsel and guidance helps shape our students' success the reception, in so many ways, reinforced for me that our students shape our lives as well! If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Risk

It's not from Ben Franklin but, nevertheless, I like the quote "Risk-taking is inherently failure prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing taking." (It might have been said by a Chicago Bear quarterback!) For most of us, taking risks and making mistakes are part of normal life. At MVCC how we go about choosing our risks and dealing with our mistakes often defines our ability to meet our responsibility to our students, the community, and ourselves.

Recently, as an institution, we took a risk that worked out very well. We approached the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica and asked if we could combine our internal UW campaign with the College Foundation's Annual & Access Fund campaigns. This kind of request hadn't been entertained before as it goes against the traditional "blackout period" of not intentionally raising money during a United Way campaign. Our belief was that, in these hard times, it would be best to lay "all our cards on the table," asking faculty and staff to consider the whole package of needs, allowing them to make their giving decisions with a lot of good information. The results of this risk exceeded every expectation. Together, we increased the number of faculty and staff participating from 76 to 116 (52% increase) and raised more than $14,000 (37% increase). The "risk" of being honest, open, and comprehensively transparent made a difference - and for that we are most appreciative to those faculty and staff who chose to contribute.

Sometimes risks don't pay off the way they are planned. In lieu of a gala dinner and silent auction as a major fundraiser this year, we partnered with the Stanley Theatre to bring nationally known comedian Brian Regan to town this past weekend. We reserved the date early and made the calculations - hoping to split excess revenue with the Stanley to benefit the MVCC Presidential Scholarship Fund. However well intentioned, we couldn't have predicted Mama Mia at the Stanley and an even more well-known comedian Jim Gaffigan playing the Turning Stone on the nights immediately preceding our event. We took the risk and, although we came close to break even, didn't meet expectations. On the plus side, however, we did bring a great show to the community, welcomed hundreds of students into the Stanley for perhaps the first time, provided the College with much publicity, and learned a great deal that should lead to future successes.

Observing the behavior of some here on campus, one might conclude that the College is an environment where taking risks should be minimized; where trying something new should be discouraged or, at least, an activity engaged in as a last resort; and where making mistakes should be avoided and criticized. That conclusion is wrong-headed and we need to work together to address that impression whenever it occurs.

If we are to develop MVCC's full potential - to facilitate our students reaching theirs - that mindset cannot prevail. Instead of finding fault, we need to model behaviors that communicate a willingness to accept responsibility, explore possibilities, discuss differences, and work together for the common good. The only way we individually can't make mistakes is if it's perpetually someone else's fault, which means the perpetual avoidance of taking responsibility. Sometimes things work out in our favor and sometimes they don't. Some plans work out while others result in mistakes. The best anyone can do is work hard; make the best decisions possible; take calculated risks; own our mistakes and learn from them; communicate effectively and frequently; and try to do better next time. To do any less would be to fail in our mission as a community college.

If you have any thoughts on this, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Understanding Your Roots

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had a unique opportunity to ride with my parents to Kingston, NY to visit a distant relative – my father’s seventh cousin, seven times removed. He has done amazing research on his family genealogy that connects with a full history of my family that dates back to 1650 in the areas around Kingston and Bloomington, New York. Over lunch in downtown Kingston, I learned more about how The Van Wagenen family came to America from Holland. Not being of any noble birth, my Netherlands ancestors didn’t even have a last name. It was not until after they arrived in America that they adopted the name of "Wageningen" after the town in Holland from which they had migrated, and only later added the "Van" which in old-Dutch meant "of" or "from.” However, a fourth generation descendant of the original VanWagenens changed his last name to VanWagoner, moved to Saratoga County, served in the revolutionary war, and settled land in Michigan that he received for his military service – that was my fifth great grandfather. So yes, I’m a native New Yorker…with an eight generation gap. I feel extremely fortunate to have this knowledge as it seems the more I learn about my own history, the more centered I feel in my own life and how I fit in my personal family narrative.

Walking the grounds of an original VanWagenen homestead that was built in 1669 - a beautiful home to this day - was an amazing experience that gave me a feeling of intensely connecting with the past and understanding my roots. It reminded me of the connection with MVCC’s past that I’ve had the good fortune to experience through alumni reunions, our first emeritus breakfast, and listening to stories from faculty, staff and alumni. I even came across an interview with Bruce McLean, a College Trustee Emeritus, who was on the Board when MVCC created the current Utica Campus. During the interview for the 60th anniversary of SUNY, he recalled that Frank Lloyd Wright was invited by a personal friend from the County to walk the vacant plot of land that had been secured for the new campus in Utica. The famous architect asked to be left alone over three days while he walked the new vacant campus grounds. His final recommendation spoke of a vision for academic buildings surrounding a beautiful quadrangle connected to a sweeping mall that would lead to a gymnasium and athletic fields.

Through my blog, I’ve also been in contact with MVCC’s first faculty member, Steve Eskow, who was hired in 1946 and produced more than 90 radio programs called “Utica goes Collegiate” with Richard Clark, father of Dick Clark (yes, the Dick Clark). Steve was also the first instructional dean at the College and helped to pave the way for MVCC to be the first community college in the state to have residence halls back in the early 1960s. Understanding the past allows us to respect and honor it as we consider where we are in the present and the manner in which we go about creating the future. As we update the College’s Master Plan, we have much to build upon and much to think about as the complexity of needs increases in our community along with the many challenges the next decade or more will hold. If you have any thoughts about this post – genealogy or the College’s past, present or future, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Recognizing Years of Service

Throughout the fall, we've been implementing a new and different, Employee Recognition Design Team endorsed, Years of Service recognition process. Communitas has been doing a great job of chronicling this effort each week, and some of you may have seen our balloon festooned entourage hiking through the campuses on occasion. Participating in this new program, I have been inspired by the number of faculty and staff committed to the important mission of MVCC over many years. The opportunity to connect with these recipients in a variety of campus locations has deepened my appreciation for the history of this great organization and the dedication of so many who make this place work in so many special ways.

Recognizing hundreds of years of service (literally!) this fall also reminds me of my dissertation study - "Factors that influence the perception of organizational change." Back then I surveyed over 500 faculty and staff from 12 community colleges in Colorado on their perceptions of institutional change and determined several factors that influence how that change was perceived. Interestingly enough, I found that the more people could put change into a larger context, the more positively they viewed it. Another factor determined to influence the perception of change in that study was actually years of service! And that notion rings true with me today as I make these Years of Service visits throughout the organization. I've truly enjoyed talking with each and every one of the folks we've honored for Years of Service this fall, having listened to them, their supervisors, and their colleagues. I've truly learned something valuable from each one.

I've been thinking back to other change efforts I've led and pictured so many of the senior faculty and staff who provided tremendous leadership in periods of great change. Most have held multiple positions and served in numerous committee and college-wide assignments that have provided them with an appreciation for the overall operation and context of the college. Nearly a decade later, I remain struck by the value and perspective that senior faculty and staff bring to an ever unfolding organizational narrative. Together, as we continue to roll out the new Years of Service recognition program, the Employee Recognition Committee and I are committed to refining this process to make it as good as it can be for all those who put so much into this College. If you have any reactions to, or thoughts about, the new program, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Untangling the Social Safety Net

The relationship between our region's economic and social challenges is vexing. Every day another story and every story another insight into the complex nature of the variables at play. One ray of hope is the work of the United Way, as it develops a plan for shifting its annual grant funding process from "individual program initiatives" to "collective community priorities" that bring a common focus to the work of agencies and organizations throughout the area. In addition, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties is focusing many of its strategic efforts on addressing root causes of these challenges, like their work to facilitate the improvement of literacy in our region.

Any search for the root causes of our region's societal problems must address the need to break the multi-generational cycle of poverty and how easy it is for people to get tangled up in the social safety net this country provides. Rather than providing temporary support for people as originally intended, we often hear about the myriad social service programs that, sometimes, act more like anchors than wings, leaving individuals and families negotiating lifestyles full of limitations. I think we need a new paradigm.

For many, education can be a tangle proof safety net. When speaking to first generation college students, I often highlight the fact that an education is something no one can take away from them. The challenge is to get children at an early age thinking about, and believing in, the successful completion of high school and the real possibility of attending college. The ironic component to this challenge is that those individuals living in poverty are not aware that the financial disadvantages they face every day qualify them for full financial aid, making college attendance not only financially possible, but realistically achievable!

It's a matter of connecting with these students and families early - and often - and getting them the information they need. Our job is to demonstrate the possibilities, providing motivation to break the cycle of helplessness and hopelessness; to release them from the anchor disguised as a safety net.

Programs like Upward Bound and campus visits for elementary and middle school students have proven themselves to be great models to expose younger students to these possibilities. MVCC has made significant strides in this area. However, I think our position in the community is such that MVCC must play a more central role in addressing these issues – a role that will take much effort, focus and creativity. If you have any thoughts on this subject, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Entrepreneurship Revisited

After more than 100 posts on this blog, I’m finding myself revisiting previous posts with a new perspective. A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about how interesting it might be if the Mohawk Valley region branded itself around Education, Environment and Entrepreneurship in similar fashion to Saratoga Springs with their History, Health and Horses theme. I received a few interesting responses on that post, some offering their own ideas and others picking up on the importance of entrepreneurship.

Along those same lines, I had a very interesting conversation recently with a lifelong Mohawk Valley resident and very successful businessman. We talked about the state of the economy and the fundamental shifts at work with regard to manufacturing and globalization – the cost of doing business and producing goods in New York State versus, say, China. I shared that this is the first time in my career where I find it very difficult to identify exactly what new programs we need to develop, because it’s hard to see where the jobs are going to come from – other than everyone hanging their hats on the new “green economy.” I referenced the “Shift Happens/Did You Know” video that I included in one of my earliest blog posts. My favorite component of that video speaks volumes to what we’re up against – “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist…using technologies that haven’t been invented…in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet!”

It got me thinking again about the importance of entrepreneurship. Wouldn’t it be better to have ten small businesses that grow to 100 employees versus having a single employer, likely not rooted in this area, with 1,000 employees – that could come and go and at any time? Then the challenges with teaching entrepreneurship came to mind – budding entrepreneurs often don’t want to spend time sitting in classrooms while we as educators, by our nature, wrestle with the need to be more entrepreneurial in one of the most secure professions available.

My latest thinking on this is that perhaps entrepreneurship is a future component of general education. I haven’t seen it anywhere else, but we talk about new transferable skills like problem solving, critical thinking, human relations and creativity…perhaps all of these can converge into the notion of entrepreneurial spirit. Manufacturing peaked in the U.S. in 1979 and will never be what it was. I’m increasingly of the belief that entrepreneurship is what will drive the new economy – once we know what that looks like. All signs point to the fact that the new economy is likely years away, so MVCC may as well begin preparing for it today by thinking about these notions. If we can’t identify what the jobs of the future will be, why don’t we start by training people to develop their ideas along with their plans and practices to make their businesses and organizations better by creating those jobs that don’t yet exist and invent those technologies and processes that haven’t been invented yet through entrepreneurial skills and spirit that all of us need? If you have any thoughts on this, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

The New Equilibrium

Just a short 18 months ago, I remember a hallway conversation where someone said that “new ideas had trouble seeing the light of day around here” because too many of us had the habit of quickly punching holes in a suggestion that might lead to doing things differently.  The good news is that new ideas are far more welcomed here than ever.  The bad news is that new ideas are far more welcomed here than ever…

The past week or so has provided the opportunity to have multiple conversations with individuals and groups about the pace of change at the College.  We talked about it at a Cabinet meeting and a Think Tank meeting, where comments were made regarding the emerging sense that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the changes.  It’s not just about the reorganization, change is coming from all angles - a tweak to this system; a shift in that office; a sudden refinement to whatever process. The College has been very successful for sixty three years – certainly some changes were needed, but now it feels like everything is changing.  In addition, the pace of change is straining our ability to keep everyone informed of this or that change.  In short, it’s just hard to keep up!

Although adjustments will still need to be made, it’s incumbent on all of us to let a few things settle in for a bit – to the extent possible.  Having to respond to double digit enrollment growth, it’s challenging – if not impossible - to say slow down.  I think it’s more, really, about working together.  It’s making the extra effort to talk through differences; reach common priorities; and leverage change for the greatest return to our students.

Concentrating our efforts to make system changes, and include communicating with others in a timely fashion, so that we can all  make better use of our time and increase our success is most important (it’s not always about allusers emails or an hour meeting just because we scheduled an hour). 

Certainly refining our processes is important, but we also need to think about how those changes effect other areas of the College – taking care to address concerns openly as they arise, to insure that all those who want to be part of MVCC’s future are able to do so.  Keeping the big picture in mind and thinking through the timing of changes will help everyone thrive and minimize change fatigue throughout the College.

These notions of change prompted me to revisit a blog post of mine from last May on the punctuated equilibrium model of change – Tushman and Romanelli’s notion of organizations experiencing periods of equilibrium interrupted by punctuations of change.  They stated that a healthy organization can move from a state of equilibrium to punctuation and emerge stronger and healthier as it experiences the next period of relative equilibrium. When the next punctuation occurs, it's generally shorter because the organization is better-equipped to handle it. Over time, as the organization becomes stronger and more effective, the periods of equilibrium are shorter so the punctuations come quicker, but they are less significant because the organization is better equipped to respond and absorb the associated changes.  Safe to say, we’re experiencing a fair sense of punctuation right now - but I know we’ll get through it and catch our breath in the new equilibrium.  If you have any thoughts on this, let me know at presblog@mvcc.edu.

The Fourth Leg of the Stool

Last week, Governor Paterson announced his proposals for a two-year deficit-reduction plan to close a projected $5 billion budget gap – that’s the good news. The bad news is that the deficit is projected to be closer to $15 billion next year when the stimulus dollars expire. The proposed 11% across the board cut to state agencies would result in $90 million in cuts to the State University of New York and an additional $22.7 million in cuts to the 30 community colleges, which could mean close to $1 million in cuts to MVCC in this fiscal year. The proposed reductions also recommend a $26.2 million cut to the state Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) that is supposed to offset tuition costs for the neediest students. While these cuts are only proposed recommendations in the face of unprecedented budget shortfalls, they are simply an overall continuation of declining governmental support for community colleges in New York in the past thirty years. The pressure on county governments is also increasing their financial stress and limiting their ability to meet their financial obligations to their local community colleges – Oneida County is doing its best, but even that is not likely to get much better in the next few years.

In light of these fiscal realities, community colleges are facing significant enrollment increases – redefining the notion of “doing more with less.” Rather than closing our open doors and limiting admissions, community colleges must increase our resolve and commitment to student access and student success. While we can continue improving our processes and gaining efficiencies wherever possible, the unstable three-legged stool of state aid, county support and student tuition comprising the primary revenue streams is no longer adequate.

What we’ve known for so long as “alternative revenue streams” – grants and fundraising – are increasingly no longer alternative. Rather, they are becoming essential elements to providing consistent support for maintaining the dynamic nature of our enterprise at MVCC. The current realities of grants are such that most colleges are finding themselves having to apply for nearly six times as many grants to receive the same level of funding. This leaves fundraising as the primary fourth leg of the funding stool.

In years past, the College would conduct the United Way campaign in the fall, wait for it to be completed and then send an additional request to faculty, staff and board members for donations to the MVCC Foundation. The past two years, we have had successful campaigns of over $25,000 to raise funds for the Access Fund for students who fall just beyond the line of qualifying for federal and state financial aid packages. This year, we are combining the two campaigns and making a single request to faculty, staff and board members. Our goal is to dramatically increase participation, so our focus is on the number of people giving something –whatever they can – more so than the actual dollar amounts. When combined with participation in two Team MVCC events, a donation in the combined campaign will qualify donors for the Four-Runners Club – two donations, two events. Together with the institutional advancement staff, I’ll be facilitating campus conversations this week to share more information about the significant challenges facing our community, our college and our students and the meaningful work of the MVCC Foundation and the United Way in helping to keep programs and services accessible to all who have the ability to benefit.

If you have any thoughts on these items, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Intangible Resources

Previous blog posts have described our involvement in the Strategic Horizon Network as one of 13 community colleges engaged in “common learning through uncommon experiences.” I have described our involvement in broad terms and have yet to write directly about one of the Network experiences – until now. The fall Colloquium was titled “Internal Sustainability – Leveraging our intangible resources.” A guiding concept for the 2 ½ day experience was the triple bottom line of internal sustainability – leadership, engagement and stretch. I was fortunate to be joined by a team of ten other faculty and staff from MVCC, which in itself is a powerful professional development experience.

The program followed the normal rhythm of an opening presentation Sunday afternoon that included a conceptual mini-lecture on building a vibrant organizational culture followed by three colleges presenting their approaches to leadership development for their faculty and staff. A reception and dinner closed the evening where we were able to mix and mingle with team members from other network colleges from around the country – California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Monday provided a fantastic presentation that gave us insight into how Zingerman’s has developed an innovative and high performing organization of eight different businesses that carry the same brand of great food, great service and great finances. We spent the afternoon at Greenfield Village – an amazing living history museum created by Henry Ford – where we heard about their approaches to recruiting, developing and retaining a happy and high performing workforce. On Tuesday, we heard a presentation from one of the network colleges on their work with reviewing their processes by collecting and analyzing meaningful data and taking action through courageous conversations and improving their operations one process at a time.

The intensity of the Colloquium and the quality of the presentations and experiences left our heads full of ideas and emotions. I leave all of these Network experiences feeling renewed and inspired about the magic of the work everyone does each day at MVCC. During the past 16 months, we’ve been able to send teams to four colloquia and one team on a learning site visit – providing 31 different faculty and staff with uncommon experiences. The exposure to concepts outside education and best practices from other colleges provides a firm grounding from which to approach the future and rich ideas and notions to pursue here at MVCC. If you have any thoughts on this post, please share them with me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

The Need for Lifelong Learning

Noted community college leader Edmund Gleazer once wrote, “If you were to set out on a journey across the desert, you could not carry enough water to last the entire journey. It would make sense to have stations along the way where you could get water as you needed it. Education is much the same. Why should youth be expected to attain all of the learning they will need for their entire life? Why not have stations throughout life where one can learn as needed?”

Gleazer’s metaphor speaks volumes toward the importance of lifelong learning. So did a recent meeting I attended, where the New York State Office of the Aging presented to a group of community college presidents on the increasing significance of our aging population and the implications for community colleges.

The general trends are well known. More people are living longer, and the generations that follow are smaller. We also know that the economy is forcing working adults to change jobs and even careers. MVCC already sees this phenomenon in the stressed-out social worker turned chef; the retired firefighter in the nursing program; or the downsized assembly-line worker taking machining classes. A recent national survey by the AARP highlights the importance of community colleges for many of these people: out of 30,000 recent career changers ages 42 and older, more than one in four had taken courses at a community college as part of the process.

Although MVCC has more than 1,500 adult students 25 years or older enrolled this fall, much of our emphasis and reputation is anchored in the younger, recent high school graduate population. This is incredibly important and we do a great job to open our doors for about 30% of all high school graduates in Oneida County each fall, but we also know that by the year 2019, the population of high school graduates will be substantially smaller than it is today – requiring us to secure 37% of each graduating class to maintain our healthy enrollment.

Another 21% of Oneida County residents age 25 or older don’t hold a high school diploma. How can MVCC reach out and help these individuals chart a career path toward a more fulfilling life? Only 18.3 percent of our county's residents ages 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more, compared with 27.4% statewide. What role can MVCC play in helping our community, which is rich in educational institutions, reap more of the benefits of lifelong learning? To borrow Gleazer's concept, how can we help our community members make it across the educational desert?

Whatever the answers are, they will require us to take a close look at making MVCC as welcoming as possible; as inviting and effective as can be; and home to programs and services that are responsive to the needs of individuals from every age group. We don't want people to stumble across us in the middle of a desert -- better for us to present ourselves to people in ways that are enriching and well received. We have what it takes to make these good things happen, but we won't succeed unless we address all age groups' needs more intentionally, sooner rather than later.

If you have any ideas on how MVCC can better serve adult students, let me know at presblog@mvcc.edu.