Archive for Maricopa Community Colleges

MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES LOOKING FOR NEW LEADERSHIP TO FILL TOP POSITIONS

By R. Oliphant
Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

Phoenix College, Mesa Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and South Mountain Community College seeking new presidents | Scottsdale Community College selected a new president in February | Enrollment down, financial position precarious

Maricopa Community Colleges are looking for new presidents and other top executives to fill positions at four of its colleges.  In an article by Alison Steinbach in the Arizona Republic  of February 22, it was reported that Phoenix College, Mesa Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and South Mountain Community College are seeking new college presidents.  Scottsdale Community College announced in February that it had just selected a new president.

The extraordinary turnover in leadership comes as the district struggles to recover from the pandemic. According to Ms. Steinbach’s article, “Overall enrollment has dropped more than 20% since spring 2020 and the district is dealing with a precarious financial position as a result.”

Interim Chancellor Dr. Steven Gonzales told the Arizona Republic  that he is seeking persons who are “systems thinkers” with “entrepreneurial mindsets.” He also said that he saw this “as a great opportunity to change the culture of Maricopa. It gives us a chance to really rethink, what is Maricopa going to look like moving forward, especially at a time when we’re two years into this pandemic, there appears to be a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.”

Josh Wyner, the executive director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, was quoted in the article. He told Ms. Steinbach that presidents are “the distinguishing factor” of the best community colleges. The Aspen Institute has studied what factors have the biggest impact in creating excellent colleges and student success.

Source:  Article in Arizona Republic by Alison Steinbach of February 22, 2022.
Categories : Maricopa Community Colleges

MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES ANNOUNCE FIRST 4-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAMS NOVEMBER 4

By R. Oliphant
Friday, November 5th, 2021

Programs include information technology, public safety administration, behavioral health science and education

The Maricopa Community College District, which includes 10 colleges across the Phoenix area, announced November 4  plans to launch its first baccalaureate degrees in programs including information technology, public safety administration, behavioral health science and education. The degree programs are expected to begin in fall 2023, pending approval.

Officials told the Arizona Republic that  they worked to develop degrees in line with the new legislation’s guidelines. Senate Bill 1453, which was passed earlier this year, instructs community colleges wanting to offer four-year degrees to demonstrate workforce need in the region and student demand.

According to  Helice Agria, Maricopa’s faculty district director for academic affairs, who is coordinating the four-year degree program efforts across the district, all the selected fields already exist as associate’s degrees or certificate programs.  That means there’s a built-in pipeline of students who could move into the four-year degree.

Ms. Agria said that the district prioritized programs in “key industry sectors” that were discussed during the legislative process, such as education, health care, information technology and public safety administration, given workforce needs and the emphasis from lawmakers that represent the community.

District officials will spend the next year designing the courses and requirements for each of the degrees.  “It’s a big step to name them, but it’s a lot more work to actually build them,” Agria said.

Maricopa Community Colleges’ planned four-year degrees include:

  • Bachelor of Applied Sciences, programming and data analytics: Mesa Community College.
  • BAS, information technology: Estrella Mountain Community College, Phoenix College.
  • BAS, public safety administration: Phoenix College, Rio Salado College.
  • BAS, nuclear medicine technology and computed tomography: GateWay Community College.
  • Bachelor of Science, behavioral health science: South Mountain Community College.
  • Bachelor of Arts, early childhood education-dual language: Mesa Community College.
  • BA, Education, dual certification in elementary/special education: Glendale Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, Rio Salado College.
Source:  November 4 article, Arizona Republic, by Alison Steinbach. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2021/11/04/maricopa-community-colleges-to-offer-4-year-degrees-fall-2023/6288645001/
Categories : Maricopa Community Colleges

STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL CLOSES OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT INVOLVING MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

By R. Oliphant
Wednesday, November 11th, 2020

Board member Kathleen Winn had alleged that the Governing Board’s  former president, Linda Thor, coordinated with other board members outside a public meeting to remove Winn as a board officer in January 2020

According to a story in the Arizona Republic of November 9, 2020 by Anne Ryman, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has closed its open meeting law investigation involving Maricopa Community College.   It  concluded it could not  substantiate a violation of state law.

The investigation was launched when Governing Board member Kathleen Winn filed an Arizona Open Meetings Law complaint in August. Ms. Winn alleged  that the Maricopa Community College’s Governing Board  former president, Linda Thor, coordinated with other board members outside a public meeting to remove Winn as a board officer in January.

The complaint to the Attorney General claimed  board members engaged in serial or chain communication related to board leadership positions. It alleged that  Thor strategized in January to remove Winn as an officer through conversations with three other board members: Marie Sullivan, Laurin Hendrix and Tom Nerini. It also alleged that Hendrix then had conversations with board member Jean McGrath.

An attorney representing the Governing Board wrote that Thor, Sullivan, Hendrix and Nerini said they did not discuss board positions before the January meeting. He also said  that  the topic of the board presidency came up in two unrelated, one-on-one conversations between two different pairs of board members. But neither exchange rose to the level of a “discussion” under state law, he said. “These conversations did not involve a quorum of board Members, and they were not part of a chain or serial communication.”

Source:  Anne Ryman, Arizona Republic, November 9, 2020 story.
Categories : Maricopa Community Colleges, Open Meeting Law, Politics

LINDA THOR AND JACQUELINE SMITH WIN SEATS ON MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGE GOVERNING BOARD

By R. Oliphant
Tuesday, November 10th, 2020

Did negative tactics used by winners help cement a victory?

Incumbent Linda Thor and Jacqueline Smith won four-year seats on the Maricopa Community College Governing Board.  Thor won over Shelli Boggs and Smith defeated incumbent Laurin Hendrix. They will serve as at large members of the Governing Board. 

As reporter Anne Ryman wrote  in her article in the Arizona Republic of November 3, this was “the most unusual [Governing Board election] in recent memory as far as campaign tactics.”  The Blog agrees.

During the campaign, opponents of losing candidate Boggs sent out a  campaign mailer that showed a recent photo of her wearing a red tank top, mirrored sunglasses and holding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. The mailer read: “Shelli Boggs couldn’t be trusted with children in a classroom. We can’t trust her on the Maricopa Community Colleges Board!” Boggs opponents also claimed she was “forced out” of her job as a cosmetology instructor over complaints she belittled and bullied students. Boggs denied the allegations.

The incumbent and loser, Laurin Hendrix, had his web site address taken over by Smith during the campaign.  Smith then  posted messages urging people to vote Hendrix out of office. Smith told the Arizona Republic that  she was curious about Hendrix’s platform so she looked up the internet domain name www.lowertuitionnow.com advertised on his campaign signs. She said she found the domain name was available,  took  ownership and began posting information about Hendrix.

Hendrix told the Arizona Republic he was unaware that Smith owned the domain name he had used in the 2016 board election. Hendrix said he reused campaign signs this year from the 2016 election and was unaware the website listed on his signs hadn’t been kept active.

Sources:  Anne Ryman, November 3, 2020 story in Arizona Republic; Anne Ryman, October 18, 2020    story  in Arizona Republic.
Categories : Maricopa Community Colleges, Politics