KIRTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SPECIAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES

For Presidential Search

May 16, 2006

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Sally Galer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Members Present:      Sally Galer, Roy Spangler, Richard Silverman, Denis Weiss, Patricia Webb, Roberta Werle

Members Absent:       Robert Bovee

Others Present:           Mark Allen, Susie Allen, Nick Baker, Kevin Baughn, Vickie Borchers, Betty Ehinger, Ruth Elie, Joe Fields, Mary Ann Ferrigan, Carol Finke,  Gordon Hess,  Nick Holton, Kate Jakobson, Kathy Koch, Tony Madaj, Dennis Mansfield, Kathy Marsh, Carol Rae Phillips, Ilene Scherer, Tim Scherer, Shirley Schaffer, Dale Shantz, Richard Webb

WELCOME

Members and guests were welcomed by Chair Sally Galer.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Sally Galer read an e-mail from Liz Dyer and a letter from Nick Baker with their comments on the presidential search process and candidates. She then opened the floor for comments from the audience.

Carol Finke expressed concern about comments she has heard about the cost of the search and the need for making a decision for that reason. She thinks that is a poor reason for making a decision.

Ilene Scherer said she liked Dr. Quinn because of his open communication style. He seems to have the values that we are looking for, so he would be a good fit.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH DISCUSSION

Trustee Richard Silverman addressed some of the comments received about the fact that the board  stepped outside the process by interviewing Bob Jones. The board chose to interview him because he has a unique background, and an understanding of the community and the college. Silverman said he does not think the board stepped outside of the process because they took seriously the recommendation of the committee. He said it is not something the board needs to apologize for. However, he said he does have some reservations about Mr. Jones, that he knows him better than the other candidates because of personal interactions, but he still has some strong reservations about him. Silverman said the lack of experience with the community college could put him in a defensive position, but he certainly could learn on the job. He said he was concerned about comments of not being a 24/7 president and that public relations should be handled by the P.R. person.  Also, Silverman sensed a lack of vision from any of the candidates, but was most disappointed in that respect with Bob Jones because he has a good understanding of the college and community. He expected something more definitive.

Silverman went on to say that Tom Quinn answered a lot of questions he had during the second interview, so he feels Quinn is capable to address the issues of vision, trust and communication. He liked Quinn’s openness to  allowing an entrepreneurial spirit to develop to encourage creative thinking and risk-taking which could accomplish much for the college.  Silverman then said that he is not ultra-enthusiastic about Quinn, but in his mind, Quinn is the only candidate he is willing to take the next step with.  He said a non-decision is not a defeat because rushing into a decision would be more of a defeat. He stated that he was not very impressed with the other candidates.

Trustee Denis Weiss commented that the search process has been a valuable learning experience in which he has learned so much about the college and the needs of the college.  The comments from staff were good arguments; but he thinks they do not realize that they are looking from their own viewpoints, while the board is looking for someone to deal with problems the board perceives the college has.  Of those interviewed, Tom Quinn was the middle guy, so the attitude of “let’s give him a chance” is not necessarily a good thing.  Weiss said he was specifically looking for leadership skills because the college needs a strong leader. After listening to Quinn the second time, there were some things that bothered him. Specifically, the generic answers to vision-building  was not what he expected from a dynamic leader.  Quinn talked about unions and labor experience and believes in contract intent, which was an important point, but he said he never had a grievance against him.  There is something wrong with that because good leaders are not necessarily popular; grievances are going to happen, so that raised a red flag with him; that perhaps he is not doing enough in that area.

Weiss agreed that Tom Quinn is a nice guy; but if he were our president, we would have to do a lot of propping-up with his weaknesses. He feels the same way about Bob Jones, but he liked the leadership skills he has. Knowledge of how the college works can be taught.  Weiss said he would “rather have someone you have to hold back by the suspenders than boot him in the butt.”  Weiss said that the second interview with Quinn was a deal-killer for him, and he would have preferred a second interview with Bob Jones.

Trustee Patricia Webb did not feel she had much to comment on due her unplanned absence. However she did have lunch with Tom Quinn and she knows Bob Jones from local interaction.  She did read the resumes and e-mails for feed-back and spoke to a couple of employees from Kirtland.  At first she was concerned  that Bob Jones was on the list while we had internal candidates that were not offered an interview.  She felt they, at the very  least, should have been granted interview status.  Richard Silverman responded that the steering committee did carefully review the internal candidates.

Sally Galer apologized for being absent when she became ill during the interviews, but she was here for Quinn and Jones and the second interview with Quinn. She was most impressed with Dr. Quinn’s full-disclosure comments; if things that happened at Kirtland in the past had been thrashed out in the open, they might not have gotten out of hand and people would have been heard.  Quinn’s leadership skills were evident at the community college level and she favored the entrepreneurial atmosphere he spoke of.  She said it speaks a lot for trust and communication.  Quinn showed that he is good at getting out into the community.  With Bob Jones she was concerned about the things he wants to do, whether or not he is at Kirtland. She felt that he does not need to be president of Kirtland to achieve his goals, and that he was not “hungry” enough to be president.  Also, she said that there is a benefit of choosing an outside candidate because “too close to home” can diminish new ideas.  She said she would be comfortable with Dr. Quinn and would like to take the next step with a campus visit.

Roy Spangler said he had no positive comments on the last three candidates interviewed. He was positive about Bob Jones because he was already well-connected in Lansing and he just had a successful millage.  Spangler said he could live with either candidate, as he has a similar background as Quinn.  What he doesn’t know is whether Quinn can “hit the ground running.” Just moving from Ohio or Wisconsin to Michigan, there is a lot of difference. He said one thing that sticks in his mind is why we don’t have an absolute out-and-out consensus behind one candidate.  If we don’t make the best choice, it would be far more expensive to get rid of the wrong person.  However, “since we have come this far, it would be worthwhile to check the guy out on his home ground.”

Trustee Roberta Werle quoted an e-mail, “I like the openness of Tom Quinn, the youthfulness of Mike Bower, and the energy of Ken Pollack ....” She said if we could take all those qualities, and roll them up into one person, we would have our next president. She said, unfortunately that person didn’t apply.  She said that Denis is coming from a “hard-nosed business” perspective, but we are not dealing with a hard-nosed business here; profits are not the purpose; our community is one of education and our population is much broader. We have multiplicity of things we have to deal with at Kirtland.  >From the feedback, three names keep coming up:  Quinn, Bower and Pollack. She said we have to realize that we identified what we thought we needed for this college, and the result is that we are dealing with a great amount of talent.  We are dealing with riches, not lack; we are trying to compare the best of the best.  Werle said from the feedback received, the least complimentary comments were about Bob Jones which was her last choice for a candidate.  She cited his lack of experience and comments that his family comes first. We need someone who will go out and meet the public and feel comfortable in doing so. Individuals said they did not get a good impression of him. This is a small community; and on any day we could have upwards of 300 people on campus and whoever is here needs to be able to present the college favorably.  Her concerns about Quinn were in labor relations and diversity, and that economic diversity is as important as racial diversity.  His second interview relieved those concerns. She was very impressed at his examples of sensitivity in regard to a potentially controversial art show and said that Kirtland needs that kind of sensitivity.  When asked about “mavericks,” he responded that as long as they get the job done, he is not concerned.  He looks at results rather than method and that differences are to be valued.

Dale Shantz, Director of Human Resources, was asked to comment; and he said from a staff perspective, his thoughts on a comment by Weiss about leadership is that there is a difference in leadership requirements between the public and a private sector. The authority is different so the manner in which people exercise leadership skills needs to vary accordingly. Employees have more autonomy in an educational institution so a leader is forced to follow more of a consensus model.

Denis Weiss responded that he is not a “hard-nosed business” person but an advocate of collaborative business.  He believes the community college is a business; otherwise we would not be looking at financials as much as we do.  He said you cannot manage without trends or else it is crisis management; a leader needs to direct and give the staff responsibility to protect the future of the college.  They have to get behind the leader, and  that is what is missing at this college. He said we should be looking for a leader who can bring it together; not the person to have the vision, but to bring the group together with strength and knowledge.  There is a trend to start looking at managing community colleges more in the business realm. It is not going to get easier funding-wise; it is only going to get tougher, and leadership has to function as a team.

Sally Galer attempted to summarized the discussion so far, saying that there are those who were very impressed with Dr. Quinn and those who were moderately so.  On that basis, she would like to see a campus visit come about. Weiss said that is not a good reason; the board has to be in agreement, not influenced by everyone else’s opinion. Galer responded that she does feel strongly about Quinn. She honestly thinks he is someone with willingness to wade in and face issues with full disclosure; that problems that happened in the past would not have happened with his leadership.

Richard Silverman said that when we went through AQIP process, it was a fairly painstaking attempt to identify issues the college should address. There was a significant number of people who identified trust and communication as an issue. He believes there has been some confusion that it was about Silverman and his situation with the college. He said that is a misinterpretation. There are issues of trust and communication that have nothing to do with that particular history which is behind him and behind the college. As he mentioned at the last regular board meeting, we still have to be very vigilant about that. The latest survey shows that there are still about 40 percent who believe it still needs to be addressed. It will take a leader to get us over that hump and give this place the sense of working together as a team and a sense of collegiality.  His biggest hangup with Quinn is that he doesn’t know if he is that kind of leader.  He wants to do a good investigation.  Looking back at searches he has been involved with regarding a campus visit, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. How that team is going to conduct the visit is very important; it is a key step. You have to ferret out enough information to get a clear picture of the candidate. The board needs to give it a lot of thought before conducting a visit.

Denis Weiss agreed that trust is the largest issue of the college. He was in the AQIP group that brought trust and communication to the table. What he is looking for is how to build trust; this college does not know how; the candidates did not know how. It comes from top down but goes two ways. The lack of support at this college for the president is appalling. The trend has been to tear down leadership with no support toward improving; the guy at the top has to be strong. Without trust, nothing will be accomplished; but a new person has the best chance if everyone gets behind him.

A question from the audience was recognized.  Gordon Hess stated that the board members were elected to do the job but were not present at all the interviews. He asked, “How can you make a logical decision when you did not hear the candidates?”  Spangler indicated that Bovee’s health, Galer’s illness and Webb’s mother’s terminal cancer were beyond their control, but that four of the board members were present the entire time. Hess responded, “Then reschedule! Seek out every possible opportunity to decide for yourself; is this someone I can get behind; place my reputation on?  Posting again won’t change anything; you need to be here and do your job.”  Silverman posed the question, “Should we re-interview? “

Dale Shantz explained that all interview committees run into this kind of problem and although we do our best, sometimes it can’t happen.  It comes down to how much regard the full board has for the others.  Those who could not be there were trusting and relying on the other board members to make a good decision.

Rich Webb said there are those on the board who work versus those who are retired; they are the only ones who can make it to every event.  Denis Weiss said that everyone has reshuffled their lives as much as they could and the consensus process is working. Sally Galer said her comments were about those she did see and she was favorably impressed by Dr. Quinn. Patricia Webb said if there is no clear consensus, we need to either re-interview or begin the process over.

Spangler said that the last presidential search, Dr. Rorie was not his first pick but we came to a consensus.  He is willing to move in whatever direction the board agrees on, but that we can’t afford to make a bad decision.

Silverman said having the right perspective and attitude for a visit is important because the deeper you get into the process, the more difficult it is to re-post. He said to go with a mind-set that if we don’t come back with confidence and enthusiasm about the candidate, we would need to re-post.  We should go with a show me attitude not an attitude of hope that all will pan out.

Gordon Hess commented that if you are thinking about visiting someone’s campus, you should be a lot more enthused about the candidate than you are. More interviews or another search with that in mind is what you should be seeking. Galer said with enthusiasm that she really likes Quinn! Hess said you need a majority with that strong feeling.

Bobbie Werle asked how can you judge what a person will do with trust and communication.  She thought Quinn expressed it well: full disclosure. Expose all sides of an issue; it leads to further communication and healing and trust. Her view of Quinn is at various times he was a hands-on person but also believes in creativity to benefit the college and community. These are hands-on things that lead to enthusiasm, trust and communication, diversity and community; yet she still has reservations.

Roy Spangler asked trustee-elect, Mary Ann Ferrigan, for comments. She said that she does not think she can give a fair assessment with only a little information. Her thought from reviewing the resumes is that there is a need to compare Kirtland’s goals with those of the candidates to see how they fit.

Denis Weiss said to remember that we are looking for the perfect person who does not exist; capability and chemistry is what we want; “Quinn meets the chemistry; Jones does not.”  Now the question is, “Can Quinn do the job?” It is difficult to project what a person will do with a job they have never had; like rolling the dice with whoever we hire.  We better know their strengths and weaknesses; what they are not good at, and get some training for what they lack.  He said he will support taking the next step with a campus visit.

Sally Galer repeated that she is excited about Dr. Quinn. She liked how he worked with his staff; he supported and defended them; kept his eye on the pulse; non-producers were persuaded to find something else.

Roy Spangler added that in public education today there is not a surplus of administrators. When we first started, the number of retiring community college presidents has resulted in a smaller pool of potential candidates. No one is going to be the perfect candidate; some are just building resumes for the next promotion; sometimes expectations are greater than reality.  Roy Spangler moved to make a campus visit and include the new trustee-elect.  Discussion followed that we also need an administrator and a faculty member to join the visiting team.  Bobbie Werle reminded everyone that we retained Dr. Ponitz to guide us through the process, so why not have his input for the visit as to how to go about it. All agreed with her suggestion.  Werle said that she came tonight with four possible scenarios. Narrow in on one person for a local look; not hire any of the candidates and re-post; re-look at the resumes selected by the committee to see if someone was overlooked; hire an interim president and re-post later on.  It looks as though this group is choosing the first option.

Denis Weiss supported the motion made by Roy Spangler.  Further discussion was about costs and contacting Dr. Ponitz to discuss how to go about the visit. Vote:  Ayes, six; nays, zero. The motion was declared carried.

Roy Spangler asked about practical considerations such as whether Dr. Quinn’s president is aware that he has applied for this job, and to make sure they can handle such a group visit. Will there be any staff present? 

Dale Shantz was asked to contact Dr. Ponitz to schedule a work session.  Scheduling was discussed with tentatively looking at the second or third week of June for a campus visit.

Tim Scherer commented that regarding his observation on the process, early on it was perceived that the board did not want input, so the college felt left out of the process. But now he appreciates that it has changed and that the board has welcomed input.  All the people need to support the result, so please continue to communicate so that the college employees and community have a sense of what is going on. 

Denis Weiss responded that it comes back to the trust issue. “If there is trust, they would assume we want their input.”  Scherer expressed appreciation for their active effort.

Dennis Mansfield said that he has covered many searches and finds it rare to ask for staff input before a decision is made, so he congratulated the board.

Carol Finke said that it is a good indication that a lot of people did feel free to make comments, but there are still a lot of people fearful of retaliation. Do we know that Dr. Quinn is still available?  Dale Shantz responded that as of Monday, he was still available.

Rich Webb commented that it was important that the candidates got to talk to the staff.  Weiss added that if we ever go through this process again an additional interview step would be for administrative staff to sit down with each candidate; a formal sit-down, not informal like the one provided to the current candidates. All agreed.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:14 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy Koch

Recording Secretary