Interim President’s First 30 Days Report

I want to first thank all of those who have assisted me in adjusting to my new surroundings. Your graciousness in accepting me as your Interim President is greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Chancellor Ding-Jo Currie and the Board of Trustees for having confidence in me to serve as the Interim President at Orange Coast College.

Sometimes colleges have expectations that an Interim President should just sit back and generally maintain the status quo. I could do that if I thought, (a) that would be in the best interest of the institution, and (b) if suggested changes are not necessary or not wanted; or, I can (with feedback and input) assess the general state of the campus and make suggestions accordingly.

A new permanent president does not usually make changes during the first 6 – 12 months, waiting to see how the campus operates, deliberately going slow. That means if I do nothing but maintain the status quo, the campus will have to wait almost another 18 months before changes you desire could be made. You know your institution best and my inclination is to encourage you to use me to spearhead changes that you would like to see take place now.

Although it has only been 30 days since I arrived on the scene, in all honesty, it feels like I have been here much longer. There is no way I can accurately or fully assess institutional needs in this limited amount of time, so I am asking for leniency and forgiveness upfront if my perceptions are incorrect.

Initial Perceptions

· Before I was hired I walked the campus, entered offices as an individual with questions, and gathered information from strangers about their opinion about Orange Coast College. No matter where I went (students on campus, grocery store cashiers, gas station attendants, hotel clerks, real estate agents, apartment representatives, etc.), everyone, and I mean everyone I spoke with had a positive connection with OCC. Not all colleges can boast that kind of recognition.

· People who work here LOVE this college. A number of employees have also referred to OCC as the OCC family. I perceive there is a desire to maintain or retrieve from the past, a resurgence of the feeling of campus community and family.

· OCC continues to be the flagship institution, not only in this District but also throughout the State, its reputation preceding it as an institution of quality and excellence.

· People work hard! There is a tremendous amount of energy, commitment, enthusiasm, and pride in the College.

· There’s been a lot of change in college and district leadership in a relatively short amount of time resulting in, understandably, some tension/stress/fear/instability, etc.

· There appear to be factions on campus, some opposing and some supporting management and faculty leadership, and depending on whose camp you are in, it appears you reap the benefits of one or the aggravation of the other. What I have found profoundly interesting is that all factions absolutely love this institution, believing their perspective is in the best interest of the College – a shared commonality that may be a good starting point for healing mistrust.

· The College has enjoyed years of camaraderie, community, and general trust in administrative, faculty, staff, and student leadership, but with the implementation of AB1725, which formalized and mandated collegial consultation, life changed and although there are wonderful past memories of how things were, we are in a new age of transparency, budget crisis, and mandates that may require a different approach to collegial decision-making. There appears to be some confusion, consternation, and general discontent with shared governance/collegial consultation committees, committee memberships, and the decision-making process. What we want to make sure is that we don’t lose the magnificent past and history that serves as the strong foundation of OCC.

• Mistrust. Earned or perceived? No one wants to say the word, let alone discuss it but it is a killer to campus collegiality and consultative decision-making. One of the most difficult areas for me to wrestle with is the aspect dealing with trust and confidence issues in some aspects of OCC campus leadership. I can advise that we are on a new path, moving forward, and although we can learn from the past, it is generally not productive to spend energy dwelling on what happened yesterday. I can confidently assert that managers want to resolve issues through a collaborative process, want to hear from people, and have a great desire to eliminate mistrust and skepticism where it exists. Within the past four weeks, there have been fewer complaints going directly to the District, exhibiting what I hope is a trend to resolve issues locally and in a collegial manner.
• Collegiality. Shared Governance. Consultative decision-making. These words mean different things to everyone. They do not mean that everyone agrees or gets what they want. They mean that there is a deliberate, respectful process for providing the opportunity for dialog, discussion, input, and guidance before a final decision is made. When a process like this exists, most decisions or determinations result in consensus or general agreement about the final outcome.

· Transparency. There is an expectation that a good-faith effort will be made to involve constituents in the decision-making process and that such decisions will be effectively communicated to all campus groups. There are no secrets or behind-the-scenes negotiations.

· Change: The institution may benefit from some carefully designed changes. I personally do not believe in change simply for the sake of change. You can trust that if I make suggestions for you to consider, they are because I believe them to be in your best interest. I also trust that if I am heading down a path that no one needs/likes/ appreciates, I will be set straight and will change my course. I have no interest in making any changes to satisfy my needs.

· Governance Protocols: You might be surprised to know that many issues and operational processes by-pass internal procedures and/or the Office of the President, heading straight over to District and sometimes to the Board of Trustees. In general, the District refers individuals back to the campus for resolution. In an organized collegial consultation process, issues and concerns work through the internal campus process before they go to a higher level for intervention. I would like to be personally involved in helping OCC confirm this process and be part of the attempt to resolve issues in good-faith at the local level before escalating to District and the Board.

· The campus has successfully addressed the last Accreditation response, being removed from Warning status. In an accreditation environment where most community colleges in California have received less than full affirmation of their accreditation, this is a very big deal. Accordingly, faculty, managers, and staff worked tireless hours on SLO completion to meet the accreditation requirements and to satisfactorily respond to the recommendations resulting in the removal of the Warning status. Kudos for a job well done.

· The Planning and Budget Committee has worked very hard, serving hours of volunteer time during the summer when most members would not normally be on campus, to address the budget cuts and fiscal crisis. They are to be commended for their dedicated and diligent efforts in dealing with the current budget crisis.

· “Planning” and “Budget” do not appear to be clearly differentiated in the strategic planning process. Accreditation recommendations include our continued efforts in producing a thoroughly developed strategic planning document where institutional priorities are established outside of the budget process. It is important that our planning and prioritization of campus needs is completed outside of the budget process to ensure that the plan is driving the budget and not the budget driving the plan.

· There appears to be patterns of having the same individuals participate on committees, (which disenfranchises others), leaving the work of the collegial consultation process to the same few.

· The campus community as a whole is relatively unaware that compared to other multi-college districts, OCC, GWC, and CCC have phenomenal autonomy that you don’t even seem to know you have! Some see autonomy as an asset and some would rather see more District leadership and involvement. The final determination of what is best for OCC has to come from you – those who live and work at this institution. It is not for me to judge which is better.

WHAT’S NEXT?

My first glimpse at looking at the big picture is to comment that there are many more positives than negatives and it is no wonder people who work here are proud. I feel that the strengths of the College outweigh its weaknesses or areas for improvement. I want to do everything I can in making those strengths flourish, gradually diminishing negative energy expended in addressing campus concerns and issues.

BUDGET: The budget crisis is real and is anticipated to be worse in the next 2 years. Business will not be as usual. The District and the Board are committed to employment stability, but difficult decisions in operations and replacements will have to be made. OCC will cut at least $1.8 million from their budget this year. There may be additional State-mandated reductions in the number of classes we offer and the number of students we serve (FTES). Categorical funding has been hit hard and will be harder hit next year, forcing us to move people off of categorical funding when the opportunity occurs. Serious decisions have been made not to fill faculty and classified positions. Although we have been challenged to cut management and non-instructional personnel, changes of this nature often impact all areas of campus, especially faculty through division leadership. Such cuts cannot be made until faculty and employee groups have been consulted and all options reviewed.

Putting aside opportunities to make a few process and procedural adjustments, as noted below, we have a lot of work to accomplish this fall before your new President takes over in January.

· Responding to and addressing the Accreditation recommendations, particularly in the area of SLO Assessment. We must establish a process for the implementation, review, and evaluation of SLO assessments.

· Completing the institutional Strategic Master Plan as one of our Accreditation response requirements. This is a monumental task.

· BUDGET: Continuing to work closely with the Planning and Budget Committee to ensure transparency in addressing budget issues.

o Reviewing and assessing the equitable distribution of work among managers and look for ways to potentially streamline management operations.

o Diligently monitoring the budget and expenditures in anticipation of having additional cuts next year (the better job we do in managing expenditures, the easier the next wave of cuts will be).

o Addressing personnel vacancies in a responsible manner, recognizing that next year’s budget will be worse.

o [Note: I am aware there is talk that we need to “cut management” – and we might. I suggest we review workloads carefully, taking into consideration faculty and student needs before making final determinations.]

· Working closely with the Academic Senate President and members to ensure transparency in addressing campus issues, particularly those applicable to 10 + 1, and encourage the development of effective methods of appointing and involving all faculty in the collegial consultation process.

· Providing for a consultative and collegial environment that allows for the genuine exchange of ideas. Seeking different perspectives, listening to concerns, and providing for a venue where dialog can safely occur generally results in acceptable results – not because we will all agree, but because the process was open and fair. It means that every differing opinion is genuinely listened to, debated, and discussed. I sincerely feel that part of my mission is to ensure that OCC leadership is responsive to campus concerns, whether you have been happy with the OCC administration or disenfranchised. I truly wish to bring the whole community together. Our vice presidents and I want to take responsibility for effective problem solving through a collegial, honest, and open approach.

· Re-establishing and adjusting the President’s Cabinet to become the College Council, a constituent and governance committee-represented entity responsible for strategic planning, issue management, communication and collegiality, furthering transparency in the decision-making process.

· Focusing on resolving issues and concerns at the campus level.

· Creating a revived environment of collegiality and community.

I am not certain if it is possible to accomplish all of this with only 4 ½ months remaining of my job, but with your continued guidance, support, and insight, I hope to be an asset to you to set in motion as much as possible before the new President comes on board. I am hopeful that he/she will inherit an environment and campus community that is stable, where internal processes are functioning well, and where a clear, unified vision for where we are going in the future has been well established and acknowledged campus-wide.