Last week was certainly an exciting one.
On Monday, I was in Moorhead for two meetings that preceded the monthly Leadership Council on Tuesday. First, we met with James McCormick, Chancellor of Minnesota State College and Universities, and Bill Goetz, Chancellor of the North Dakota System of Higher Education. Included in this meeting were the system vice chancellors of academic and student affairs, and the presidents and chief academic officers of NCTC, UND, NDSU, MSUM, MSCTC, Lake Region College, and NDSCS. We agreed that we all serve a region that, in many respects, has economic and cultural ties that are stronger than state affiliations. We discussed existing examples of collaboration across the state line and identified barriers to collaboration. A much smaller task group will be appointed by the vice chancellors to hone the ideas into an action plan that the chancellors can discuss with legislators, if appropriate, and that colleges can use as a platform for future work. Clearly, the North Dakota legislature is providing supports to their colleges and universities that our legislature cannot at this time of fiscal crisis in Minnesota. Collaboration will give us the opportunity to secure the importance of our role in higher education in the Red River Valley corridor.
That afternoon and evening, Bob Gooden and I participated in a meeting that focused on the 2009 flood fight in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Panels from MSUM, which hosted the meeting, and MSCTC related how their institutions retooled to become key elements in saving the Fargo-Moorhead area from flooding. This event was sponsored by MnSCU to focus the attention of college leadership on the need to be prepared for unanticipated emergencies. I was able to ask Jerry Migler, the MSCTC provost, and Edna Szymanski, MSUM president, how the college and university handled the academic ramifications of class cancellations for two weeks. At MSCTC, each faculty member worked with their own students to complete the semester. At MSUM, the university negotiated an altered calendar with some days added to the end of the year to compensate for lost days. This conversation was particularly important, as many colleges and universities fear similar closures due to the H1N1 flu.
Bob and I discussed the meeting with the Cabinet last week and have determined that the college will engage in more frequent emergency planning. Becky Lindseth and Julie Fenning will organize this planning.
The Leadership Council was abbreviated on Wednesday to give those who traveled the opportunity to return home in time to vote. The discussion related to state allocations did not reveal any information in addition to what was presented a couple of weeks ago. NCTC’s Finance Committee is meeting today and will review all information related to possible budget reduction scenarios for FY2011. We will keep you all informed.
Chancellor McCormick and new Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Lori Lamb are making a tour of the state so that VC Lamb can become familiar with the campuses of MnSCU. They visited the East Grand Forks campus for a quick tour of the remodeled facility on Wednesday. In addition to that, we were able to host them on a tour of the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Wing Commander Col. John Michel personally gave us a briefing on the history and future of the base. Mike Corcoran, Director of Operations for Customs and Border Protection, gave us a detailed briefing and tour of the Customs and Border Patrol mission and facility located at the Air Force Base.
During the Wednesday afternoon Cabinet meeting, Dan Klug reported on progress made toward implementing a “content management” system for our college web site. Currently, all content must flow through Chad Sperling or Paulo Perez. This either bottle-necks information or consumes the time that they might use more productively for web design. Dan worked with a small group to determine that, for the short-term, “Contribute” software will be used for editing on the website; 10-12 employees who have regular updates will be trained and the software will be installed on their computers. They will be able to make their own updates on the web. For the long-term, the web team will work on a “continuity of look” for the website. They will focus on the needs first, then the wants (adding bells and whistles) when time permits.
On Thursday, Dorinda Sorvig and I made a quick run up to Roseau. She was working on some details with the nursing student group there and I had the opportunity to visit with these students and with coordinator Nicole Hagen. We have a cohort of about 28 students who are working on their LPN certificates. What a diverse and eager group – starting class at 5 pm and going into the evening with Betty Carlson as their instructor! I also had an opportunity to visit with Dave Grafstrom, FBM instructor. He related new developments with a gasification process that can convert plant waste into energy. Something new every day!
This week, my schedule is:
Monday, Nov. 9 East Grand Forks – Community Advisory Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 10 Thief River Falls – Community Advisory Committee Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 11 Veterans Day
Thursday, Nov. 12 East Grand Forks – AFSCME Advisory Council and Shared Governance Council
Friday, Nov. 13 Thief River Falls – no scheduled meetings – office clean-up day