Shared Governance - Part II

Do you ever have that feeling that you're on to something really good and that if you just keep working at it the results will exceed your expectations - almost to the point that you know it's going to be good, but it's hard to imagine just how good? I feel this way about our shared governance system consisting of the College Senate and related committees, and the Councils and workgroups in place at the College. Last week I co-hosted a meeting of the College Senate committee chairs with Senate Chair, David Katz.

We accomplished some important, goals during the brief one-hour meeting. Online resources (committee memberships, agenda and minutes templates, etc.) were reviewed with the chairs to enhance their leadership roles. In addition, we had a brief training on the use of the “make a meeting” function in MS Outlook to aid them in one of the most important tasks of a committee chair – scheduling committee meetings. The key is for everyone to have their weekly calendars in the Outlook Calendar system. What was once a series of phone calls and emails over a number of days becomes the click of a button!

Beyond reviewing some technical resources, the meeting presented an opportunity to reinforce important messages about how the College Senate committees fit into the larger organizational context. If there is a “magic wand” to help overcome our institutional challenges and our community’s significant problems, I believe it is found in the activation and empowerment of the collective whole through an effective shared governance process.

The committees can generally be grouped into two categories. The first is comprised of those responsible for appeals, awards, promotions, and career appointment processes. These committees are essentially the keepers of excellence – how we define excellence is most visibly present in our organizational culture through the way we handle various appeals, and the way we determine awards, promotions and appointments. It’s no easy task, but the thought and integrity with which these committees go about their work is both appreciated and critical to managing these important symbols of all that we hope to resemble. The second category of committees is comprised of those more operational in nature (curriculum, facilities, safety, etc.). These committees are more like conveners of dialogue about improvements and innovations. They present an important opportunity to explore ideas and greatly enhance our collective ability to make informed decisions. Rather than making decisions in isolation and out of context, the primary work of these committees is to facilitate the dialogue necessary to manage change by engaging all relevant parties in the exploration of issues and making considered recommendations that help the College improve.

Certainly there are times when we need to respond quickly. Sometimes decisions must be made in the moment. However, much of the operation is about improvement and how to make things better, which can follow a more considered process of idea exploration, research and analysis, thoughtful discussion, solid recommendations, and informed decisions. A deliberative decision-making process through shared governance needs to be balanced with speed and flexibility in meeting the needs of our community. The real strength of a strong shared governance system is that it will help generate better made and better understood decisions and changes at the College. Given this time of significant change in so many different arenas, I am convinced this will help us apply the insight of comedian Stephen Wright who said, “the early bird may get the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.” If you have any thoughts on this blog, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Paying it Forward

Since moving to the Mohawk Valley over three years ago, I have been amazed at the giving spirit of this community. From nationally recognized events like the Boilermaker and the Great American Heart Walk/Run to local telethons and efforts like Operation Sunshine, the ability of this community to come together and give of its time, talent and resources is inspiring. The faculty and staff at Mohawk Valley Community College are active members of this generous community and, as a result, that same community spirit resides in our college culture as we try to model it for our students.

A little more than two years ago, three staff members Dennis Gibbons, Jeri George, and Ann Popeo joined with Jed Kimball, the then-chair of the Professional Association community outreach committee, to coordinate MVCC’s presence at the Heart Walk/Run. We went from not knowing how many MVCC staff and/or students were participating in the event to having more than 100 participants and raising over $2,000. The event led to the creation of a group named TeamMVCC that has expanded from the original four members to an active standing workgroup at the College. TeamMVCC now coordinates faculty, staff and student participation in community events and fundraising opportunities throughout the year. We are very fortunate to be part of a special place like MVCC and TeamMVCC helps us bring meaning to the power of “paying it forward.”

TeamMVCC’s results this past year reflect the “paying it forward” giving spirit of the Mohawk Valley. Here’s a sample of their work:

• Making Strides against breast cancer – 160 participants raising $4,703 for the American Cancer Society.

• United Way Campaign – 119 donors (increase of 52% from the previous year) with an increase of nearly 40% from the previous year in the dollars raised.

• Salvation Army holiday bellringers – 45 faculty, staff and students ringing that bell!

• Heart Walk/Run – 125 participants raising $3,874

• 13th Annual Ted Moore Run/Walk was the most successful ever with 230 participants (20% faculty and staff) who helped raise more than $7,000 for the Ted Moore Scholarship Fund.

• MVCC Student Congress and TeamMVCC quickly assembled a raffle to raise funds for the American Red Cross Haitian Relief Efforts and raised $3,430.

• Food drives, toy drives, and support for the Special Olympics and World Refugee Day were also highlights throughout the year.

In total, TeamMVCC coordinated the participation of over 400 volunteers and participants; collected over 200 toys for local children; 11 boxes of food for local food banks; and raised more than $68,000 for local charitable organizations.

The importance of community service is making its way into our employee recognition system as well. Our Hawks that Soar! Awards program includes an Aeries Award for the college employee who most exemplifies a commitment and spirit of community service with the $1,000 award from the MVCC Foundation going to the local charity of choice in the name of the recipient. In addition, our Wings of the Hawk teamwork award went to our Welders Among Community student welding club for their incredible commitment to community service. We recently held a special recognition event for our first-ever “MVCC 4-Runners Club” for the 34 staff who contributed to both the MVCC Foundation and United Way annual campaigns and participated in at least two TeamMVCC approved events and the 20 students who participated in at least four TeamMVCC events.

We’ve seen tremendous results over the past year with an ever-increasing presence of MVCC faculty, staff and students in the community. The future is likely to see even more activity with possibilities emerging for new opportunities in service learning and a greater connection to student clubs and organizations. In the larger sense, TeamMVCC provides a wonderful mechanism to see that MVCC faculty, staff, and students continue to reflect and promote the giving spirit of the wonderful people of the Mohawk Valley for years to come. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

More Than an Anecdote

Anecdotes are short, interesting stories about real incidents or people. We all possess a few. Stories abound, amongst the community college crowd, of students who've overcome this barrier or that, and those who arrived a certain way, grew, developed and achieved their personal happy endings. I rely on anecdotes all the time to find inspiration for my weekly posts. As I write this week I'm overwhelmed with pride, having recently heard about the success of an old colleague. Her story is much more than an anecdote. To me, it reflects the simple, unvarnished power of the community college experience to transform lives.

Eleven years ago I was the new Chief Academic Officer at a large community college in Omaha. The secretary's position in my office was vacant and I needed it filled sooner rather than later! While visiting one of our campuses, getting to know faculty and staff, I was introduced to a recent graduate from the College, who had just begun using her office professional associate degree as a secretary. After talking with her, she agreed to come work in my office. Her name was Jody. Barely in her early twenties, Jody was very friendly, seemed to know everyone, and loved the college. As we worked together, her work ethic, positive attitude, willingness to help others, and instincts made Jody a valuable member of an increasingly effective team.

A few years later, she entered a baccalaureate program, catering to working adults, at a local university. Even before she completed that program, she set her sights on a master's program in Community College Administration at the University of Nebraska. Then, upon completing her master's degree, she enrolled in the Community College Leadership doctoral program at Iowa State University. Jody was on her way.

She played a significant role in the College's accreditation efforts, program reviews, assessments of student learning, and greatly expanding our adjunct faculty support. Jody also developed a great interest in the professional development of faculty - an interest that eventually became the topic of her dissertation. Over the eight years we worked together, her career blossomed - from faculty secretary, to Assistant to the Vice President, to Projects Coordinator (where she held positions of Interim Assistant Dean in two different divisions) and, finally, Associate Dean for Program and Curriculum Development (later completing a stint as an Interim Dean of Visual Arts), and last spring she accepted the position of Vice President of Instruction at a rural community college in Nebraska.

Last week she successfully defended her dissertation at Iowa State.

When Jody walks across the stage to receive her Ph.D. in a few weeks, her story will be much more than an anecdote about how the community college experience can change someone's life. Jody found her career path through her community college experience because of faculty who practice the ever-evolving art of teaching (the primary responsibility of community college faculty); a personalized learning environment (one of the primary commitments of every community college); advisors who helped clarify educational goals; food service, facilities, and safety staff who work hard to create the safe, healthy environment necessary to support good teaching and learning.

Jody's story is certainly more than an anecdote. Jody's story is the community college story. It's a powerful story of the magic, the wonder, and potential that the community college experience has to offer to all who come through the doors. Community college can unlock the first door and provide keys to many more! It can accelerate careers and bring those who study and learn there to places they may never have dared to dream.

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

Effective Governance

I’ve always loved Yogisms from the famous New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra. His statements of the obvious and his wordplay bring a smile to my face – “just slice that pizza into four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six” or “nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” The closest thing I’ve said to a yogism is, “when you work at a college, you get to work with a lot of smart people.” The notion of being around a lot of smart people at MVCC drives me in my hope for making our collective decision making process better. As the new year gets rolling with our monthly College Senate meetings and the more than 30 or so Senate committees, college councils and workgroups commencing their work, my thoughts have turned to what makes an effective governance system.

Structure

In the summer of 2009, the President’s Cabinet (Administrative Leadership) and the Senate Advisory (Senate Leadership) met for the better part of two days in a retreat format to review all committees of the College Senate. We reviewed the by-laws of each committee and transitioned all committees to charters that more simply stated the role, purpose and membership of each committee. We also looked at groups outside the Senate and determined that some standing groups with a college-wide impact should be called Councils (Grants Council, Enrollment Management Council, etc.) and others that didn’t fit in either category would be called workgroups, think tanks, design teams, or other names. Membership on governance groups is a blend of elections (primarily in the Senate committees) and appointments. Over the past two years, the committee appointments designated to come from the Senate Chair and the President have been integrated through a new process. The current Senate Chair, David Katz, and I jointly review each committee’s composition and the election results. We then collaborate to make informed decisions in an attempt to maximize the talent and perspective for all appointments.

Process

My hope is to have an effective governance system where the charters for all groups provide clarity of roles, responsibility, and membership. We need a healthy collaborative process of information exchange from the bottom-up and the top-down. If the Senate committees do not engage in meaningful work or fail to make informed recommendations, it begins to feel like the Senate is just being “talked to” by the administration without having any meaningful impact on its decisions. Conversely, if no information is being shared by the administration and the only action is the cabinet’s receipt of Senate committee recommendations, disconnects and frustration will emerge on both ends. Additionally, if no information by senate committees is shared with the whole senate, or if the committees are inactive, the Senate is reduced to having endless discussions with weak connections to decision-making – increasing friction and frustration. Finally, Senators must understand their role as elected representatives. With the agenda published in advance, Senators have the responsibility to actively seek the opinions of those they represent and inform their own opinions so that they can fully participate in the Senate discussions and add to the overall effectiveness of our governance system.

Results

Over the past few years, the Senate has increasingly become the heart of our governance system. Elections are very competitive and attendance at Senate meetings has grown and remains strong on a monthly basis. However, the discussions are intermittently active and the committees are inconsistent in their effectiveness – some are very active and strong while others are lucky if they meet a few times a year. Additionally, the newly established Councils and workgroups are ironing out their charters and finding their focus, with many of them already yielding tangible results that are helping MVCC improve. An effective governance system in a place with so many smart people relies on everyone having a means to add their two cents – after all, “a nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.” If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Recognizing Each Other

This post was coming together in my head last week as I was thinking about life at the College, but it became more significant with the sudden and unexpected passing of MVCC's beloved Sam Drogo. I've heard countless stories from Professor Drogo's colleagues and friends about his contributions to the College, commitment to students, unwavering professionalism, incredible work ethic, and mentorship of so many individuals. Anytime I hear about or experience the sudden loss of someone close I often wonder if they knew what friends and family really felt about them. I am reminded of the Garth Brooks song, “…because I’ve lost loved ones in my life who never knew how much I loved them. Now I live with the regret that my true feelings for them never were revealed; so I made a promise to myself to say each day how much (they) mean to me. And avoid that circumstance where there’s no second chance to tell (them) how I feel.”

Last year we implemented a comprehensive employee recognition that's primarily based on colleagues sharing how they feel about each another. Like most colleges, MVCC has had a number of awards in place for years. However, many of them have been based on self-nomination or self-promotion. And our "years of service recognition" was a standard certificate like one might expect. Based on recommendations from our Employee Recognition Design Team a number of important changes were made to these processes, to create a more personal approach to recognizing the best work at the College. All awards were changed to a peer-nominated process that makes the success of our system work when each of us recognizes and nominates others excellent service and work beyond what might be expected. This is not an easy thing to do – it requires paying attention to the work of others and making the effort to speak up and speak out when we see work that inspires us.

Similarly, the years of service recognition went from an agenda item at a year-end luncheon to individual ceremonies that recognize the contributions every single one of us make when we come to work at MVCC each day. Years of service now involves colleagues, supervisors, and other senior administrators joining me in presenting a framed certificate (along with a "thank you" cookie and balloon) to individuals achieving 10 to 40 or more years of service (in 5-year increments). The new process adds an important dimension – rather than just reading a name and presenting a certificate, these individual ceremonies allow anyone present (friends, colleagues, coworkers, supervisors, etc.) to express a few words of appreciation, tell a favorite memory, or simply say, “thank you for all that you do” in the presence of others.

While we've already experienced times when we've shared a lot of laughs and heard some wonderful things about those being recognized, we’ve attended others when it appeared as though those present seemed hesitant to say how they really felt – holding back on letting the person know how much they are appreciated. Recently, when I privately expressed my surprise at the reluctance I'd perceived, someone said “the culture just needs time on this…we just need to find our collective voice for appreciation so that it becomes the norm and not the exception.” I thought that was a very insightful comment, but it’s going to take intentional effort on the part of all of us who care to build up this vibrant organizational culture we're seeking. We need to work together so that MVCC can increasingly become that place where every person knows how much they’re valued by their colleagues. We must move away from that circumstance where we need a second chance to tell that friend, co-worker, colleague how much they inspire us and help to make MVCC the very special place that it is. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Characterizing the Freshman Class

Ever since serving as a Dean of Students 14 years ago, I've read the annual Beloit College "mindset list" that is intended to characterize the incoming college freshman student class across the country. Something has always troubled me about the list and I finally figured out what - the list is too narrow in scope to define community college freshmen.

Many years ago the list inspired a sociologist colleague of mine to survey his own Introduction to Sociology students with what he called "a cultural canon – things every college student should know." He would then report his findings to the College Senate with general summary results, along with his favorite answer to each question. I remember one of his favorite questions was,"What job does Clarence Thomas hold?" His favorite answer to that question was, "Linebacker."

The Beloit list is an annual ritual in higher education. It serves as a "back to school" marker for some. But, similar to my good friend's survey results, the Beloit list makes broad generalizations that limit its utility and application and, at times, it can be viewed as disrespectful to the students characterized therein. The list is produced by a four-year school and has been around for almost two decades but, with today's community colleges being what they are, we need to understand the differences between the distinctly different freshman classes entering these very different types of colleges.

More than ever, learning is for life - and I believe our community colleges reflect that fact clearly. Beyond the 6,000 individuals who will participate in one of MVCC's many non-credit offerings in the coming year, the freshman class is comprised of much more than recent high school graduates. When I think of a typical community college freshman class I think of:

• Valedictorians and students who graduated in the top 10% of their class. Over 20% of Oneida County's top high school graduates are attending MVCC on Presidential scholarships this year;
• Recent high school graduates who were not in the top 10% of their class;
• GED recipients;
• English language learners from refugee and immigrant populations;
• Laid off workers who never thought they’d attend college;
• First generation college students from families who have a limited understanding of the college experience;
• Females returning to college to complete a degree or start a career that was interrupted by the most important job in the world – raising children;
• Returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan;
• Homeless individuals living in cars or shelters while somehow completing their studies as part of their journeys to self-sufficiency;
• Underemployed adults holding down two and three jobs to get by while taking a full load of classes;
• Single parents taking care of their children, themselves, and sometimes even their parents while trying to advance or change their careers;
• High school senior Bridge students finishing graduation requirements by enrolling in classes at MVCC;
• Formerly incarcerated individuals looking for a second chance;
• Reverse transfer students who didn't find what they were looking for at their four-year college;
• Professionals in a different type of “post-graduate study”- enrolled in classes or short-term certificates to complement their bachelor or graduate degree.

The "average" MVCC freshman class defies stereotypes and is worthy of our respect. Our freshman class cannot be characterized simply by the events of the past 18 years. It is a rich tapestry reflecting the very fabric of the communities we serve. The diversity of our students, and the ability of our faculty to facilitate active learning that builds on the talent and experience of all students, helps create the magic and wonder that is the community college experience at MVCC.

And while the Beloit list changes each year, we celebrate the list found above each and every day, as these students come to us all year long. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Honoring the Past to Create the Future

The start of a new academic year always comes with a sense of great anticipation for me. This year’s MVCC Fall Convocation included a profound connection with our past, as we welcomed the return of MVCC’s first faculty member, Dr. Steve Eskow. I was fortunate to spend time with Steve and his wife, Sarah, prior to the program and the magic of those interactions has inspired a renewed sense of commitment for me, along with an unrelenting focus on the importance of, and manner by which, we deliver our work.

My time with the Eskows began Saturday night when I picked them up at the Syracuse Airport. What started like an ordinary scene from daily life in Central New York (a tight connection through Chicago, no time for a meal, and “your luggage will be on the next flight”, etc.) ended up as one of those dialogue-rich clips from a movie like “My Dinner with Andre.” After a full day of travel, and local dining options at 10:30 on a Saturday night being what they are around the Airport, they graciously accepted my offer to take them to the Fayetteville Service Plaza McDonald’s. Our conversation moved quickly from introductions and luggage to the future of education as we know it; their former company – the Electronic College Network (Steve and Sarah were into online education before there was online); the evolution of online and hybrid education; and, having recently returned from one of their many trips to Ghana, West Africa, the power of leveraging technology with service learning through international experiences. The conversation was so engaging and unexpected (I was expecting more “…back in ’46 we used to…”) it took me nearly an hour to finish my Wildberry Smoothie.

On Sunday, I picked them up from the hotel and provided a tour of Utica and our Utica Campus. It was a pleasure to collate all the information I’ve gained on various buildings, businesses, organizations and historical artifacts of this area – particularly the changes that occurred in the 20th Century. We continued our conversation from the night before regarding trends in education and new models that need to be explored in our global society. Steve would often ask pointed questions about organizational change, limitations, and frustrations with delivery structures of our current educational model. He asked other questions that peeled back layers of assumptions that many of us (and I’m including myself in this statement), carry around every day. Throughout the day he also shared stories about his first days at MVCC. He expected to get into educational theory and inspire his students… then realized that the most pressing need was to assemble the desks by the first day of class. He also retold early conversations with colleagues at MVCC, each knowing they were part of something special at this new institution.

I was reminded of a few simple truths from our time together. They include:
- Never stop learning,
- Never stop looking for new ways of doing things and improving what you do for a living.
- The fact that sixty four years after starting his career this remarkable man continues to publish articles that push current educational models toward new ways of thinking clearly sets the bar high for us all.
- Remind ourselves daily about the importance of working at the community college - this community college in particular!
- The stories he told of working at MVCC in the early days, starting from scratch with nothing more than a general sense of mission, amplified the importance of what we do here, and how we do it, today.
- Teamwork and collegiality are important building blocks for success; if there is a problem, everyone owns it on behalf of the college and has a role to play in the solution.

These two principles were present at the founding MVCC. A team atmosphere and “we’re in this together” feel of the stories Dr. Eskow shared about the early days, made me think how easy it is for mature organizations like MVCC to hold themselves hostage to barriers and less than perfect processes and systems because, “that’s the way it’s been and I can only do my job.” We need to remember that excellence is founded on tradition, not mired in it.

When he took the stage at Convocation, I was more than thrilled to see him there before faculty and staff. What started from a brief conversation on this blog (he sent me an email after MVCC was featured in the New York Times) culminated in a standing ovation as he left the stage. As Dr. Eskow said, “a community college must continually change with the communities they serve.” Ours is changing in more ways than we can know. For us to continually change, we must adhere to these timeless messages from our first faculty member and our first dean of instruction, professor and dean emeritus, Dr. Seymour (Steve) Eskow. If you have any thoughts or comments on this blog, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.

Lessons from a Rollercoaster

It's been more than a year since my family and I have been to a rollercoaster park. Recently however, we made it to Cedar Point on the way home from visiting family in Michigan. Our youngest daughter was tall enough to ride all but two rides (of which I wasn't interested in anyway), so we looked forward to a great day together. As we planned our approach - which rides would come first - my wife and I realized that they have added a number of new rides since we were last there in 1991.  We warmed up on a new one that could be ranked as a medium, so-so coaster, but one new ride was called a "giga-coaster".  I thought it was nothing more than a catchy gimmick, until we saw it from the base of the first hill with my daughter and me in the second row of the first car. Named "Millenium Force", the coaster started with a swift 308 feet drop at 80 degrees on the first hill that sent us at a speed of 93 miles an hour through a three minute wormhole of twists and turns that left us all asking, "why did we choose that as our second ride of the day?" It was a necessary part of an overarching geographic plan to make the most efficient use of our time around the very large park knowing that we would be spending much of our day standing in long lines.

In the past, my wife and I would ride every ride with our girls. That led to both of us eating snow cones and cotton candy by noon trying to get some kind of color to return to our faces and suppress the raging headaches and uneasiness in our bodies. So our new strategy seemed to work with both of us riding some of the new rides and then alternating on rides that didn't appeal to one of us (for example, I'm not a strong spinner, so she takes the swirly rides with the girls). As the day went on, we stuck to our strategy, for the most part, and had a successful day thanks to good planning. The day also required patience as we stood in lines that at times lasted more than an hour. In 90+ degree heat and 90% humidity, I found myself thinking periodically, "is this really worth it?" For example, waiting 75 minutes on the top-thrill dragster - a ride that only lasted 19 seconds (we knew this from counting the seconds as we watched the ride a few hundred times while standing in line) - seemed a little excessive. At the end of the ride however, after going 125 mph in 3.8 seconds following a 90 degree ascent of 406 feet, over a small arch (as close to an out-of-body experience as I'll ever have, thinking I might have been better off taking one of the swirly rides at that point), and back down at 90 degrees, the exhilaration from the acceleration left us all feeling that the wait was more than worthwhile. Drawing upon various levels of courage to conquer our fears throughout the day was a tremendous experience that provided us with some memorable experiences we'll cherish for some time.

The extended times standing in line gave my mind a chance to wander and wonder about how this day might apply to an organization like MVCC.  The notion of strategy and having good planning seems more important and relevant than ever in these complex times. The New York State budget will continue to be of great concern to us and holds the great possibility for fundamental changes in the next few years if they actually reduce the budget to the level that's structurally required. The number of high school graduates in Oneida County will decline 25% in the next decade making for an increasingly competitive recruiting environment and the ability to reach underserved populations will remain difficult and require creativity. All of these factors will require continued change on our part to continue responding to the needs and shifts in our community.  A critical tool in working through change is patience - just like standing in long lines at an amusement park. Knowing that no change is perfect or free from possible adjustments, patience is often key to success.

And finally, the theme of courage and fear certainly came to mind before, during, and after a number of coasters at Cedar Point. Courage and fear aren't often discussed in conversations about assessment, but they're very important. Assessment involves having the courage to ask the important questions - whether they be of ourselves, colleagues, students, or community members. And good assessment involves overcoming the fear of the answers those questions produce - what if we're not as good as we think we are? A different question to ask is "how can we get better at what we do?" That question reframes the issue and the experience from one of fear to one of challenge and excitement - just like a rollercoaster.

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

Metaphors from Vietnam

I’ve been organizing my pictures from Vietnam and can’t believe how many images I took of the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City – motorbikes upon motorbikes, plus some cars and a few trucks, all kind of moving the way fish swim. The whole experience of arriving in a place with a different language and different rules and unfamiliar surroundings puts me back in the shoes of a first-time community college student. The roaring motorbikes, the street vendors in all shapes and sizes, the bunched electrical lines, the sights, sounds and smells are all so much to take in for someone experiencing them for the first time. Similarly, finding the right office in Rome or Utica, hearing the words “matriculation”, “registrar”, “bursar”, and “FAFSA” for the first time can be disorienting to the new student who must take a placement test. However, it was amazing how much of my discomfort with the surroundings in Vietnam was quickly eased by a warm smile, a helping hand, or a sense of humor from those around me. I imagine these same three things might make a good remedy to ease the minds of new students in their new surroundings at MVCC as well.

A new student coming to MVCC probably sees a number of contrasts as well: we’re big in some ways and small in others; we’re fast in some ways and slow in others; we’re easy on some things and tough on others and so on. As a first-time visitor to Vietnam, I found many contrasts that made me think in new ways about our evolving organizational culture at MVCC.

Organized Ambiguity
Once again, the traffic is my starting point – the best way I can describe it is organized ambiguity. Walking through the streets, you can see that, yes, there are traffic lights (sometimes), but it seems like there are a number of unwritten rules and everything seems ambiguous. Yet, traffic moves – it’s always moving – in a very organized fashion. An overarching notion of merging exists that creates room for everyone to do what they need to do. At one point, we were traveling in a van on a fairly busy road and suddenly a cab driver in front of us just decided to make a left turn (no light) by inching out into a sea of oncoming motorbikes. Gentle beeps were coming in all tones and rhythms forming a language of acknowledgement and recognition. I saw more smiles than frowns in the oncoming traffic and I couldn’t help thinking, “Everyone was just helping him make a left turn.” How many times do we find ourselves working in ways hidden behind fabricated positions so entrenched they don’t allow for much interpersonal cooperation or interdepartmental merging, let alone managing the ambiguities many of our new students experience during their first days here?

Entrepreneurial and Bureaucratic
If there was one thing I wish I could have packaged in Vietnam, and brought home through customs duty-free, it was the incredible entrepreneurial spirit I found in most every conversation. It seemed like most of the people I met were willing to try anything new and work hard to be successful. I never once got a sense that anyone felt entitled to anything. You only got something if you worked hard for it and there was no guarantee that you would get it. In light of this sense of entrepreneurship and exploration of the possibilities, everything is done in the context of existing institutions, most of which were formed during an entrepreneurial-inhibiting, Soviet-influenced period prior to the current socialist republic, one with a market economy that intends to be a developed nation by 2020. We have our own institutions – New York State, SUNY, Department of Education, Oneida County, Board policies, procedures – and have many reasons to employ a “bureaucratic response” when something less so might prove more effective. Imagine what MVCC would be like, and how far we could go in fulfilling our mission, if we were inspired by an entrepreneurial spirit and driven by an exploration of the possibilities.

The Same but Different
As I started with the traffic, I must end with the food. The culinary contrast for me can be summed up in the phrase, “the same but different.” Food is everywhere in the markets with fresh fruit, vegetables, spices and seafood overflowing with sights and smells I’d never encountered: pyramids of dragonfruit and many other fruits I could not identify; slabs of raw, uncovered meat, and cobras or scorpions in bottles of rice wine (this last intended as an aphrodisiac). The food is always a base of rice, noodles and soup, but the sauces, spices and vegetables make every meal an adventure for the palate. Each meal also had a choice of fish, pork or sometimes shrimp. After a day or two of three meals a day with this routine, I had a flash of “Again?…REALLY?” But then we had fried fish. I thought, “HEY, I love fried fish!” – thinking of a tasty Friday fish fry somewhere back home. Well, a real fried fish came on the plate – I mean, there’s a no doubt very recently alive complete fish looking at me like, “Hey, who dropped me in the deep fryer?” When I got past the visual, the fish was delicious all the way to the point that someone told me to break off the tailfin and eat it - seriously. It tasted like a potato chip and I ate more fin than most of my dining companions! What if, organizationally, we could take our daily routine – the same ingredients of what we do – and find ways to regularly alter and reinvent it for students without changing the core? We tell ourselves that we travel to experience other cultures. But on our return these trips make it possible for us to see our own culture with new eyes and, thus, benefit in ways we had not expected.

My recent experience in Vietnam was both enriching and informative. I have returned to MVCC with an expanded spirit of hope and expectation, and an excitement about the potential to be found in the accommodation of others’ needs combined with entrepreneurial endeavor. If we are willing, MVCC, with its “commitment to excellence and a spirit of service” can live out that potential for every one of the new students who will be starting on the quest to reach their academic and career goals next month!

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

Out of the Comfort Zone

After six years of various activity and exchanges, MVCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kien Giang Community College in Rach Gia, Vietnam last year. Dr. Sandy Engel, Director of International Education, began the relationship with her Fulbright experience at KGCC in 2003. Since then, we've slowly expanded the relationship between our schools that ultimately led to the MOU. Their former and current rectors (college presidents) have visited MVCC along with administrators from some of the ten other community colleges in Vietnam. We have sent two business faculty to KGCC, one as part of a USAID grant a few years ago and, more recently, MVCC hosted Mr. Khang for five weeks in the spring of 2009 and Ms. Khanh for nine weeks this past semester. To cement the MOU and get a feel for KGCC myself, I joined Dr. Engel and ESL faculty member Alison Doughtie for a ten day visit. Having never been west of San Francisco, the title of this post captures my experience thus far.

It started by getting off the plane at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) with Dr. Engel saying, “We need to get a cab to the hotel before we go outside – trust me.” I wasn’t sure why she was so focused on this until the doors opened for us to go to the curb. After walking through a wall of heat and humidity that I’ve rarely experienced a few times in Florida and Texas, I felt like one of the Beatles getting off the plane in ’64 – hundreds, if not a thousand or more people packed waiting for their loved ones…an amazing welcome to Vietnam! As I sat in the front seat of the cab, a Toyota Innova van (never heard of it), I remembered the YouTube video on traffic in Vietnam – not a lot of street signs and everybody seems to know the rules…95% of the traffic is on motorbikes (little 50 or 100cc bikes) and everyone merges and honks and it all just flows somehow - it took me about 4-5 days to get over my fascination with the traffic.

It was most certainly a very worthwhile visit filled with perspective-expanding experiences. We met with the Director of an MBA program that Harvard University runs in partnership with the Economics University in Ho Chi Minh City and benefitted from a meeting, that felt like a personal seminar on the economics of Vietnam over the past 30 years, to ground us in the culture. We met with the Executive Board of KGCC to review our partnership. We met with the President of the Vietnam Association of Community Colleges – the country equivalent of the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington D.C. We toured a rural hospital and saw their CT Scanner two doors down from their herbal medicine laboratory. The tour of a water hyacinth company that takes the reeds from the canals and turns them into furniture before they end up in Pier 1 stores in New Hartford and elsewhere was a surprising global supply chain example; we also visited a fish processing port to see the international fishing industry up close and personal. Dr. Engel and I presented to a group of about 20 professionals on how community colleges in the U.S. work with small businesses to help them grow and also provided an overview of how to apply and study at MVCC to about 50 KGCC students. In addition, Professor Doughtie conducted an ESL assessment for about 30 English majors at KGCC. On our last stop in Ho Chi Minh City, we met with the U.S. Consulate to continue the relationship that Dr. Engel has developed to reflect on what we learned and to confirm to the State Department our relationship with KGCC and our interest in Vietnam.

Despite the productive schedule of meetings and perspective altering side trips, I had some initial concerns about “flying halfway around the world.” After paying the equivalent of $6.80 for dinner one night (for three people!) and $15 hotel rooms in Rach Gia, I realized that ten days in Vietnam is actually cheaper than the cost of a 4-day conference in California (flight, hotel, food and conference fee). The value of the opportunity to “get outside my comfort zone” is really hard to define or measure – I guess that will come with time.

What was out of my comfort zone? To be overwhelmed by the sounds, sights, and scents; to learn phrases in a difficult and unfamiliar language; to see what you know about the collectivist culture take shape in so many ways; to find yourself in a place where everything seems to amplify one contrast after another (the list of contrasts and associated metaphorical applications to our organization will comprise another post); to walk through The War Remnants Museum and see “The American War” (what we call the “Vietnam War”) through their eyes – 2 million of the 3 million killed were civilians; to see a country of 85 million where 60% are younger than 30 years old and the place is changing so fast; to walk into a coffee shop and hear Steve Winwood singing or Beatles muzak playing on the radio; to eat everything they put in front of you – if only to try it; to know that each day will not likely go as planned; to be in relentless, sweltering heat and humidity; and to let yourself be okay with it all…yeah, the notion of being in the comfort zone was not on my mind much.

And yet, experiencing the “flatness” of our world at a time when we continually need to readjust our lenses on our own place and purpose is probably never more important than now. The perspective I’ve gained in making the 29 hour door-to-door journey will probably continue to come to me in waves. I’ve already captured a number of analogies and metaphors that have re-centered my focus and renewed my purpose for the important work that we do every day halfway around the world in the Mohawk Valley. If you have any thoughts on this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.