49 The Acting President . . .

. . . will not be my candidate.  But I'm happy.   I think the Board chose well.  First, Middleton is staying on an extra month.  Then, according to a press release from Ron Paradis, "Second, Dr. Shirley Metcalf, COCC’s Dean of Extended Learning, will assume the position of Interim President on Sept. 15."  The KTVZ website published this story at 5:40 this afternoon.

Shirley (R), Jerry Shulz, Julia King Tamang (LERN)

I don't know Shirley well though I saw her occasionally last year when I taught a couple of times a week at the Redmond campus.   She always had a big smile for me and friendly greeting.  I enjoy her personableness and bright fashion style.  (I wonder if she'll choose to modify the colors once she's Acting-Prez?)

Bruce Abernethy is quoted in the KTVZ "article" as saying, “Dr. Metcalf has proven herself as a quality leader.  Both in terms of her experience prior to coming to COCC, in Hawaii and Washington, and in her roles here, we have seen her provide strong vision, leadership and caring for the comprehensive community college mission. She has experience in nearly all aspects of college leadership and that will be of great benefit as we continue to move forward.”

And I think having her at the helm will get people familiar with thinking of COCC with a woman as captain.   (Sorry the boat metaphor.)  I did a little googling before writing this column (because that's what I did with the original presidential candidates) and found only stories about meetings she's attended and other academic concerns.  Oh, sure, I got excited thinking for a moment that our Shirley had some other passion besides academic administration when I discovered  Shirley Metcalf, the fiber artist --  but it turns out she lives in the East.  (Where she is an Educational Assistant in the Fine Art Department of Northwestern Connecticut Community College, Winsted, Connecticut.)

The one discovery that seemed special was a "thank-you" in a doctoral dissertation completed in June, 2013 by one of COCC's  deans, Jennifer Newby.

LY #143 Update on the Patrick Lanning Thing

 This is an update on yesterday's "column."

I. A. Richards

I'll start off this morning by apologizing to my colleague Ron Paradis though I'm not sure as yet for what.  I just opened up three emails he sent to me after my 9:00 pm bedtime last night and in one of them he told me that some people thought that I had insulted him.  If I did, it was not my intent but I know (from a thousand years or so of teaching communication) that intent isn't meaning. 

"Meanings are in people, not in words" is a truism of my trade.  Usually this idea is attributed to I. A. Richards and his concept of "the Proper Meaning Superstition:  "the common belief . . . that a word has a meaning of its own (ideally, only one) independent of and controlling its use and the purpose for which it should be uttered. . . . . Stability in a word's meaning is not something to be assumed, but always something to be explained. "  (The Philosophy of Rhetoric, 1965, p. 32)

So.  I'm sorry if the words I used were insulting to Ron.

That being said, it turns out that my reading of the word "rushed" through it's semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic rules showed some stability (i.e. I held a meaning similar to that suggested by both the dictionary and its placement in the story).   I was right in guessing that the Board had found out about the "administrative leave" issue before their St. Patrick's Day turnaround.  I was also correct in following out the negative connotation of the term "administrative leave."  There is indeed, according to today's story in the Bulletin, an "investigation" happening at Chemeketa.  I doubt, however, that Tyler Leeds will be following up this story as it's no longer of import to local readers.  But I will look into it for my own curiosity's sake.  Supposedly Chemeketa has an "award winning" student paper, the Courier.  Maybe I should give someone there a call.

Thoughts about the changing trade:

When I posted the link to yesterday's blogpost on Facebook, one of my friends was flattering enough to suggest that I might want to write news and commentary.  What she doesn't know is that I did indeed start my worklife as a journalist and at one point after a year in radio (late '70s), was offered the opportunity to apprentice to the editorial staff of the San Jose Mercury News.  Sadly, that offer came at the time of my first full blown depressive incident and was accompanied by a strong inner turn against the work for which I trained through my undergraduate years and first year of paid labor.  I decided not to follow the path of journalism.  And these days the two things I hate most about the trade -- the need for speed 'cause when it bleeds it leads -- are cranked up a thousand fold from back in the day.

The turn away from journalism shook up my life plans, to the extent I had any.  I grew up with the expectation that I would become a newsman.  One of my Dad's most oft repeated stories was about being called away from the family one Christmas day (before I was born) to go to a hotel room where the body of a woman was sitting on a chair with a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead.  I thought that a life of such incidents and stories would be a great job.  Until I had the opportunity to do it.

So tomorrow this blog returns to its usual meandering memories and media analysis (Good-bye extra hundred page views!)  On Friday I'll start the "final fifty working days" count-down.

LY #142 Start the Search Over

Really, I have no right to an opinion on the COCC presidential search.  But it's hard not to feel some investment in the school after spending over two decades here.  As my old colleague Jim Jones, (retired after 30 years as COCC's CFO) said when I met him near the dogpark on Monday, "We care because we want to believe that COCC will continue to be a high quality school."

On Monday,  COCC staff received an email from college public relations guy, Ron Paradis, warning us about an article that was due to run in the Bend Bulletin yesterday.  That article focused on the fact that Patrick Lanning had been on "administrative leave" from his post at Chemeketa Yamhill since February 11.  This morning the Bulletin features a story saying that COCC's College Board is meeting tonight in "executive session" to discuss the issue.

As someone who is stuck with what I'm being told by Tyler Leeds, the journalist covering the story, I find it rather confusing.  Here are my questions and suppositions.

First, why is this a story at all?  The only reasons I can think of are 1) because it wasn't mentioned in earlier reports about Lanning and 2) "administrative leave" smacks of disciplinary procedures.

Why wasn't it mentioned in earlier reports?  Once again, the only reasons I can think of are 1) because Ron and the COCC Board didn't know or 2) because they knew and didn't think it important to share with the Bulletin or any of the rest of us.

So, did the Board know?  According to this morning's story, something disrupted the Board's intention of making the hiring announcement on St. Patrick's Day.  The college "received information . . . that led to a decision to postpone the board's vote on whether to appoint Lanning."  Leeds quotes Ron as saying the school needed to continue its "due diligence and other background checks."  Leeds also makes a point of putting a single word Ron used in quotes separating it from the rest of its linguistic context:  "Paradis said the college 'rushed' toward a decision on March 17."  Emphasizing "rushed" certainly leaves the impression that the college board is re-thinking its decision. 

Leeds also quotes Bruce Abernethy, COCC's board chairman, as saying that Lanning told them on February 12 that he was ill.  The question of whether or not he also told them that he was on administrative leave was left hanging in the air.  Leeds makes a point to quote Abernethy as saying, "we were taking his word on the medical issue."  This, of course, is an explanation for an accusation that hasn't as yet and may not be made.

So, to answer the question I asked above, it sounds like the Board did not know about the administrative leave.

Fueling the suspicions of this Bulletin reader is Leeds' comment that Yamhill's "dean of public information," Greg Harris, "declined to provide any further information as to why Lanning is currently on leave."  

So what is "administrative leave"?

Following internet searches with a variety of limitations, I came up with some answers.  According to the IRS (an organization much on my mind this week), "Administrative Leave - the placement of an employee in a non-duty status without charge to leave or loss of pay." (6.752.2.4  [10-15-2010])  According to the Oregon University System's controller's division, there are two Banner labels for administrative leave, one with pay and one without.  But according to that most august of dictionaries, the OED,

administrative leave   n. orig. U.S. a leave of absence imposed or granted in extraordinary circumstances; spec. enforced leave (paid or unpaid) taken by an employee pending the resolution of a disciplinary investigation.

1932   Washington Post 2 Aug. 4/1   All 24 days legislative furlough must be taken before any payless administrative leave may be allowed.

1953   Frederick (Maryland) Post 23 May 13/3   The field house will again be the center for the Detrick blood-collecting operation. Civilian personnel will be granted administrative leave.

1975   N.Y. Times 12 Aug. 58/2   Five agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a Federal grand jury investigation.

2000   P. Cornwell Last Precinct (2001) 44   Administrative leave is the same thing as being suspended. It is the first step in being fired.

Yup.  Look at that Patricia Cornwell quote.  Sure, she's a mystery writer given to paranoia but the quote offers an answer as to why this term is so freighted with perceptions of doom.

The term itself and Tyler Leeds' method of reporting about Lanning both fill my mind with doubt.  Add to this a couple of other discoveries.

1. In spite of having a eight different reports to make at the January 15, 2014 Chemeketa Community College Board Meeting, Patrick Lanning was absent and Johnny Mack substituted for him.
2. while he was on the Eugene Water and Electric Board some members were concerned that he missed many meetings after he moved to Salem.  Other members, however, said that he was conscientious and they seemed loath to criticize him, even after he missed 9 of 19 meetings. 

So I hope that we'll get the Bird's-eye-lowdown on this caper by tomorrow. 

However --

 My bottom line belief is this: If the hiring committee and the COCC Board did not know about the administrative leave and the reasons for it, they should have.  Lanning should have told them.  Period.  End of discussion.  There is no reason that I can think of that allows for prevarication on this issue, not for someone applying for such an important leadership position.  No matter how innocent or embarrassing it might have been to him personally, this was no time to avoid confession.  It is, after all, good for the soul.  A true leader, heck, even a true manager, would have known that.

My opinion:  start the search over. 

LY #121 Presidential Candidate Visit #3

Patrick Lanning on left*

As a feminist I hate to say it but I liked the dude the best of the three.  Dr. Patrick Lanning is from Prineville and I have a feeling that COCC would not be a springboard for him to better places.  He said that this was the only place he was applying -- that he wasn't on a job search.

I like the idea of a college president who stays for ten years or more.  Would he?  In his autobiographical statement he mentioned that his mentors in the trade of academic administration (both women) had advised him to move from Lane to Chemeketa for more and wider experience.  So I could be wrong about reading him as wanting to make a longer term commitment to COCC.  Yet at the end of his presentation he spoke about wanting to return to Central Oregon to be with family here.  Some of what he talked about seemed a bit too personal and yet not atypical for this part of the country.

What I liked about Patrick Lanning was his quiet focus on others combined with some self-awareness of both his strengths and weaknesses and a good dose of humor.  He had a speaking habit of closing his eyes when beginning to answer a question, as though blocking out extra stimulation so that he could think clearly about what he was being asked.  (He also had the old Eddie Foy spit problem when he was excited and at one point apologized to the folks in the front row.)   He was more aware of some of COCC's challenges than the other two candidates seemed to be.  He showed some concern about our faculty being too part-time and adjunct heavy.  His talk about planning six years into the future and finding out more about where people are at now rather than barging in with lots of vision was nice for my financially conservative little heart to hear.

I especially appreciated the answer he gave me when I asked him a question about his dissertation, The Implementation of a Year of Shared Governance at a Vanguard Community College.  I'd looked at the abstract and some of his findings a couple of weeks ago but I hadn't noticed that Jim Middleton had been a member of his doctoral  committee.  In the dissertation, Lanning analyzes the effectiveness of governance councils and other aspects of shared governance. He has great concerns about the involvement of stakeholders in institutional decisions that impact their lives.   I wanted to ask him about how he differed from his former committee member.  So after identifying myself as a soon-to-be retiree, I asked about what if any philosophical differences he saw between himself and Dr. Middleton.

He smiled and hesitated and laughed (there was general laughter in the room).  Then he said, "I'm not sure what to say" and went on to say that he'd really only gotten to know Jim over the past two years  after working with him on various statewide community college issues.  He said that he didn't know if Jim had this motivation but that "I am passionate about the community college's job of lifting people out of poverty."  He then went on to note, "I enjoy working closely as a team and I trust the people I work with."  It wasn't clear if he thought this was also a "difference" between the two of them.  He also said that Jim had helped him to get better at interjecting his own opinion rather than always standing back as he used to and spend too much time listening.  He finished his answer by pausing and then saying, "However all that fits with how you see Dr. Middleton."

I thought this answer a combination of directly stated values and slyly critical observation.  But I could be wrong.

 The only thing that seemed a bit flashy about the quiet Patrick Lanning was the honking hefty emerald in that college ring flashing green sparks throughout the Q n A.


* In photo from Oregon Community College Association website:
Patrick Lanning - President, Yamhill Valley Campus, Chemeketa Community College
Ed Dodson - Board Member, Chemeketa Community College
Judith Ervin - OCCA President and Board Member, Clackamas Community College

LY #119 Presidential Candidate Visit #2

Dr. Sheila Ortego at opening of Unicopia*

Oh, I liked this one much better!  First of all, Dr. Sheila Ortego had a much better handshake then Monday's presenter.  (My Dad taught me about handshakes when I was in sixth grade and I have a habit of judging people by the strength and tone of that haptic message.)  It was firm and warm.


Here are the other reasons I both enjoyed her presentation and think she'd be a good fit for the institution.

1. Like Monday's speaker, she spoke without notes and had strong immediacy behaviors, including eye contact and ready smiles for the questions.
2. She sold herself well with a clear articulation of her background and appropriate flattery for the audience.  Her background includes working her way up from English teacher to college president at Santa Fe Community College where she spent 30 years as well as some time as an accreditation "fixer" at Pima Community College.  During her years at SFCC she also toured the country learning about accreditation as she lead the college through several important upgrades in status, quality and Moody's bond ratings.  In other words, I found her background and her straightforward presentation of it quite impressive.  While selling her own accomplishments, she also spoke about COCC as a "gem" that didn't seem to need "fixing."  She emphasized how the college was recognized as a high-quality institution.
3. She believes in an open-door policy and pointed toward the many times she's worked with students on college initiatives.
4. She also had the courage to be honest about approaching challenges.  When asked about what she saw as the problems in the community or college, she talked about OSU leaving the COCC campus, saying that she would want to learn more about why that happened.  Then she said that one possible change to COCC might be a de-emphasis of the transfer side and a growth of the professional technical area.  I thought this courageous because there are many people here invested in transfer.  In fact, back in the day, that was why Boyle and his coterie were so obsessed with everyone having a PhD.
5. Her vita and her discussion shows her strong commitment to expanding opportunity for underrepresented populations as well a concern about income inequality.  She noted that the outlying campuses have some of the same issues as Santa Fe with the division between the very poor and very wealthy.
6. She thought COCC could do better in adapting to the need for Green Energy.
7. She shared that she left SFCC for two reasons:  a) she was at the top of her game and height of her popularity and success and believes that's the time to leave and b)  her mother was old and sick and living on her own and the sister who had been watching the mom was also ill.
8. She drives a Prius and has a black lab, so she'd fit into Central Oregon.

Concern

Now I hadn't done any web research on Ortego until just now, this morning, as I am writing this post.  And of course, now that I've googled around I feel like I need to share something.  Santa Fe Community College is currently embroiled in a huge flap about the termination of  Ana “Cha” Guzmán, hired as SFCC president after Oretego retired in 2012.  Guzman claims she was terminated because she blew the whistle on a culture of financial mismanagement and insider deals and those fighting her claim she was a bully who made racist remarks and created a negative climate on campus.  I think that the largest issue for our current candidate would be Guzman's claims that there was a history of financial mismanagement at SFCC. 


* Also in picture, on left, is Randy Grissom, Director of the Sustainable Technologies Center, and on right is Bill Althouse, Althouse, Inc., Energy Specialist.  Scene is opening of Unicopia, Emerald Center, A National Educational Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Sustainability.    Grissom is currently interim president of Santa Fe Community College while the Guzman issue is moving through the courts.

LY #117 Presidential Candidate Visit #1

Monday I walked in a bit late for the all-school meeting with Dana Young, current president at Treasure Valley Community College.  I wound up standing in the back (avoiding the seats left in the front row) and eating a nice, warm fruit treat I found on the table outside the meeting room. 

TVCC Prez Dana Young, right *

Perhaps it was the snack that got me into a good mood, but my first impressions of Ms. Young were quite positive.  Here is what I liked about her presentation.

• Directness.  She was clearly making a personal sales pitch about her skills and how what she'd learned on the job at Treasure Valley would help her at COCC.  I was relieved to hear no flattery about the beauties of Central Oregon and the perfection of the lifestyle here.  Also, although I didn't myself listen closely enough to know if I'd agree, another listener noted that she had "no metaphors," by which I think that person meant she didn't represent the college as either a triangle of meaning (Jim Middleton's favorite) or a boat (Bob Barber's choice).
• Delivery style.  She spoke without notes, made lots of eye contact, used gestures, stood up straight.  In other words, she used plenty of immediacy behaviors.  These, of course, are positively correlated with positive teacher evaluations as well as positive responses from speech teachers like myself.
• Owning her history.  During the QnA, she herself brought up what Ron Hoff calls, "the burning issue."  She said, "Well, I'm surprised no one asked about the vote of no confidence."  And she told her version of the story which, if I interpreted her response correctly, was largely an issue of communication ineffectiveness.  Faculty members thought that an administrative restructuring decision had been made without their input when, in her story, the decision was simply being talked about.  
• She's not actively looking for another job.  She said that a friend had suggested that she apply for the COCC job and that this is the only place she's interviewing.   Of course this fact was part of her pitch ("Hey, you guys are special!").  Nevertheless, it does weigh in her favor.

One aspect of her current life that is problematic is that she thinks she can research and write a doctoral dissertation while on her first year of the job.  She was honest enough to share that her first proposal had been rejected.  Perhaps this was because she is a quantoid who decided to give herself the extra burden of writing a qualitative dissertation.

Oh.  Come.  On!  That is just nuckin' futz.  Qualitative is so much more work!  Unless, of course, she could propose a first person participant observation of "The First Year of a Community College President."  Now that might a rara avis among dissertations -- one that is both fun to write and to read!


*  Picture:  From left, Britney Meza-Turner, Alex Plaza, TVCC Foundation president Cathy Yasuda, Ashley Whittaker and TVCC president Dana Young.