CHAPARRAL

Defining GCC

What distinguishes us as a college? What makes GCC special? At Institute Day this year, Dr. Davitt raised these questions and asked us to begin the process of defining GCC so we are ready when it is time to hire a new chief executive officer. I do not know exactly when John will no longer be our president, but his advice is important. We should not wait until we have his resignation to begin to think about hiring a new superintendent/president.

So what makes us special? Our accreditation team reported that their experience was “very positive.” To quote their report, “There was a strong sense of pride among all the college constituencies as well as genuine concern for student success.” Students, they said, really do appreciate the quality of education that we offer at GCC. Our college is dedicated “to providing a quality-learning environment and student support services.” We have “collaborative faculty initiatives between instruction and college services to meet the learning needs of students.” Our facilities are well maintained. “The staff is exceptional and demonstrates substantial pride in their facilities.” Their report goes on naming each of the constituencies on campus and praises each of these groups in their commitment to creating a positive environment.

Now some of us may say, they came on a good day. The accreditation team did not see any of the difficulties we know are part of our small town (aka our family). While their compliments are nice to hear, it may not be a good idea to rely on their perceptions. Instead it is time for each of our groups on campus to begin the discussion of what distinguishes GCC and what do we want to see our college be and become.

What does a new CEO need to know about us?

Our faculty has a strong voice on campus and that provides us with a sense of empowerment. Our Senate offers one avenue for faculty voices to be heard. In the last several years the Senate has assumed responsibility for revising our hiring policies, developing policy on cultural diversity, monitoring minimum qualification and developing procedures for establishing equivalencies. I’ll stop. There is no need to repeat the work of the Senate in the last several years. In similar fashion, the Guild, and governance system, CSEA and ASGCC are provided with avenues to express concern and to negotiate answers to problems and issues. Each has paths and procedures for negotiating answers to our concerns.

At this point I want to shift gears to ask you what you see as important about the work environment at GCC. How would you like to see our campus described in the job announcement that will eventually be written to find a CEO? Each of the constituencies on campus—the Senate, Guild, CSEA, governance, instructional and college services faculty, library, ASGCC, administration, the standing committees, the tech folk, the non-credit programs…help me name all the groups that need to begin to think about their work environment and how they would like to see it described. What do we want to see our college become in the next twenty years, and what do we now have and want to keep? Each of these groups needs to explore these questions with the membership.

Next we need to funnel those ideas to the Campus Executive, in much the way we did when we developed the plans and implemented the compressed calendar. Ultimately we will use these materials to help shape the job description and to define the hiring procedures that will find our next chief executive officer.&

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