News
A Word of Advice
ICCD Recruiting Members for Its Advisory Board
By Greg DeCinque
Chairperson, Institute for Community College Development Board of Directors
Fall 2009
Ambrose Bierce, author of The Devil's Dictionary, defined advice as "the suggestions you give someone else which you hope will work for your benefit."
He was speaking tongue in cheek, but the fact is, that's precisely the motivation the ICCD is looking for in the talent we're recruiting for our Advisory Board.
College representatives who come to the Advisory Board with an eye to the interests of their respective campuses will be welcomed. And if they're conscious of how their input could further their own future and that of their professional peers, so much the better.
As a leading provider of succession planning tools and leadership development programs for community colleges, ICCD understands that those colleges are as diverse as the communities they serve. The Institute's challenge is to design solutions that are grounded in proven principles, yet accessible and adaptable to a kaleidoscopic array of local environments.
That's the hallmark of the programs that comprise ICCD's widely respected Gravitational Leadership brand, based on the AACC's Competencies for Community College Leaders. Programs like the popular Leadership Tools for Women conference, the Successful Teaching Conferences – which are success stories in themselves – and the new Campus Based Leadership Development program and 360 Skills Inventory, which represent a significant advance in programming for affordable and hands-on local control in succession planning and leadership development.
There is room for growth in honing these programs to deliver their full measure of potential benefits, and in envisioning still more creative responses to the needs of community colleges as they themselves take a greater leadership role in education for the 21st century. Broad-based input reflecting the gamut of campus concerns can only help ensure higher quality outcomes.
In a quest for inclusiveness and dialog, we have sent out a call to the presidents of all SUNY community colleges and more in five neighboring states, inviting them to name a campus representative to the Advisory Board.
The presidents will be on the lookout for staff members whose experience and responsibilities make them a sensible choice to represent their college. If that sounds like you and you’re ready to answer this challenge, then perhaps you should express your interest to your president.
Then again, maybe you should take a hint from Ambrose Bierce and simply offer to provide some advice in the matter.
Greg DeCinque is president of Jamestown Community College. He can be reached at ICCD@cornell.edu.
