Future, need, YC involvement, and exact plans remain obscure and confusing
President Penelope Wills’ tightly drawn curtain of secrecy about the future $45 million Allied Health Campus to be built in Prescott Valley was lifted slightly at the February 3, 2015 meeting of the Verde Valley Governing Board Advisory Committee. The information came from Wills’ who responded to a query from Committee Chair Mr. Paul Chevalier about the extent to which the College had looked at the East side of the County as a possible site for such a facility. {You may listen to the full six minute response given by Wills’ by clicking here.}
Wills’ said that she has been meeting about the Center for the past two years and that the last summit meeting was to be held that afternoon (February 3). She stated the Allied Health Center Campus will stay in the College Master Plan while also stating that there appear little or no need for the College to be involved. She said that Yavapai College was doing just fine as is. This was confusing to some listeners.
Wills’ disclaimed the Allied Health Center idea came from her or her administration. According to her, it was a part of a former Master Plan and former Yavapai College President Jim Horton’s idea–sort of. She also said that the experts she hired to look into future development came up with the idea as a part of the ten-year-plan.
To the extent her comments can be understood, it appears that Northern Arizona University is the prime mover behind the Center. An announcement of some sort, according to Wills’, is expected shortly about adding a new medial offering at its site in Prescott Valley.
Wills’ seemed insistent that the College had looked into where to locate the campus and the data (3 studies) pointed to Prescott Valley. The West side was selected because of the large concentration of population, three hospitals located over there, and NAU’s current involvement on that side of the Mountain.
The Carver Model of Governance, used by the College Board, has allowed Wills’ to tinker with the idea of a $45 million dollar Allied HealthCampus, hold five summit meetings with executives, hospital workers, NAU and others, for two years while failing to provide a single detailed report of any kind either to the Governing Board or to the residents of Yavapai County about her activities. One suspects that she has intentionally kept almost everyone in the dark because of the potential adverse political response to the expenditure of millions of dollars for an unneeded new campus by residents outside Prescott Valley/Prescott.
While the curtain of secrecy has been pieced, unfortunately, only a small amount of helpful insight has been shed on the future $45 million Allied Health Campus.