KIRTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
SUCCESSION PLANNING
October 17, 2006
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Sally Galer called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members Present: Sally Galer, Roy Spangler, Roberta Werle, Denis Weiss
Members Absent: Robert Bovee, Richard Silverman, Patricia Webb
Others Present: Stacey Barnes, Kathy Koch, Ed Koliba, Doty Latuszek, Kathy Marsh, Charles Rorie, Ilene Scherer, Tim Scherer
WELCOME
Members, employees and guests were welcomed by Chair Sally Galer.
OPEN DISCUSSION
President Charles Rorie introduced Dr. David Ponitz and introduced the others present. Dr. Ponitz introduced himself with the comment that his name rhymes with donuts. He provided handout information about himself and highlights of a presidential search process. He said that the process takes about six months and involves an advisory committee comprised of faculty, administrators, union representatives, student representatives, community representatives, and a couple of board members to provide a bridge between the advisory committee and the board. The function of the advisory committee is to recommend to the board a profile of the kind of candidate the college wants for their next president. The search consultant will then work toward finding someone to fit the profile as the board directs. Later, the advisory committee will work with the consultant to review applications from qualified candidates and select and send an un-rank-ordered short list to the board for their consideration.
A brochure will be created to reflect the profile the board chooses. Advertisements are published in national publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education and the consultant will send out about 130 brochures to placement offices across the country and contact people who might be interested in this kind of job. From that, there is a period of about six weeks to receive applications and the board would appoint a liaison, someone who would receive the applications, number them, copy them and send them to the consultant. The consultant will screen every applicant for how he/she fits the profile, checks materials, do some preliminary confidential reference checking, and select the top 15 or so candidates to present to the advisory committee with a quick summary of each candidate for discussion and comparison. The advisory committee will reduce the list to the top five or so candidates to recommend to the board without rank order.
The candidates undergo further reference checks and the consultant gives and in-depth report to the board for comparison purposes. The consultant encourages a visit by board members and members from the advisory committee to go to the top candidates to visit their home turf and to meet their spouse or significant other. The board will choose a forum of constituents to hear the candidate answer questions from various groups to ensure the response of the groups is considered. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the board of trustees to choose the next President of Kirtland Community College.
Dr. Ponitz’ consulting fee is $15,000 plus expenses. He provides a question and answer period and addressed questions such as what do community colleges struggle with most. Because he has conducted over 60 presidential searches, his response was that it differs from group to group. It is important for the board to really look toward the future. A difficult problem he has encountered in the past was that of dysfunctional boards.
BREAK
At the conclusion of Dr. Ponitz’ presentation, a break was declared from 8:18 to 8:27 p.m.
SUCCESSION PLANNING DISCUSSION
Dennis Weiss suggested calling some of the trustees on Dr. Ponitz’ reference list and report back with the information on Thursday at the regular board meeting.
In addition to the two proposals previously provided to the board members from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Charles Rorie provided an unsolicited proposal from Integrity Search Associates with consultant, Frank P. Marczak, Retired President of Muskegon Community College.
Charles Rorie presented the board with a written memorandum giving a cost comparison for a presidential search consultant. Trustee Roy Spangler asked where in the budget would the expense for a search consultant come from. The response was that it would be an adjustment in the working budget.
Charles Rorie asked if the board wants a resolution prepared to negotiate a contract for services, or an engagement letter for the regular board meeting on Thursday. It was noted that they still need input from the missing board members, but preparation of a resolution would be appropriate and a copy of material from Dr. Ponitz should be sent to the missing board members.
Discussion ensued about the other three proposals. Charles Rorie commented that AACC’s consultant is equal or better than Dr. Ponitz. The process is the same, but the price is quite different. The general consensus was to use a consultant rather than attempt to conduct the search on our own as has been done in the past.
Kathy Marsh, Dean of Instruction commented that a valuable thing that Dr Ponitz brings to the board is his network of connections.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was declared adjourned at 8:48 p.m. by Chair Sally Galer.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Koch
Recording Secretary