Abstract
Community college presidencies provide a multitude of complex and nuanced challenges. These honored positions also present incredible opportunities to effect positive change in the communities we serve. This chapter chronicles those opportunities fueled by a spirit of learning, hope for the unforeseen future and a commitment to social justice, equity, and belonging. The journey is illustrated through stories of growth, commitment, and courage to make decisions for the betterment of historically underrepresented groups in higher education to steward success for marginalized groups including people of color and second chance citizens and populations experiencing generational poverty, in short, changing lives. Through the utilization of trauma-informed/resilience-focused theory and practices, committed and representative leaders, we built a transformational program centered on cultural competence and the reregulation of the effects of trauma while infusing the universal human needs of belonging, independence, mastery, and generosity into participants' lives.
TopIntroduction
It has become trendy to predict that higher education is on the brink of collapse.
Inside Higher Education, 2017
Figure 1.
Richland Community College
I interviewed for the presidency at Richland Community College (Richland) in March of 2016. At that time, the State of Illinois was in the eighth month of a budget impasse. Accordingly, the priority question was, “What are you going to do about the Budget Impasse and how will you move the College forward with no state funding?”.
At that moment, I was not fully apprised, rather unaware of the volatility of the combustible combination, of the 42nd Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner (R) and House Speaker Mike Madigan (D) would have on the “turnaround” being imposed resulting in a 793-day-long budget crisis for the state of Illinois. Confidently I responded,
A budget impasse will be a ‘temporary’ occurrence and further, we must seek out fiscal solutions that will allow us to chart our own future.” I continued that, in large part, those solutions meant, “creating new programs, strengthening existing programs and securing new funding and revenue streams.
Unfortunately, the College had significant fiscal and budgetary challenges; the institution had been deficit spending for the previous three years to the tune of approximately one-half a million annually and the reserves budget was nearly non-existent. The College also failed to fully deal with the current and deep historical cultural challenges in the communities we serve. In the infancy of my presidency I remained sure the fickle nature of higher education funding in Illinois was a natural cyclical pattern (Delaney, J.A., 2011). Prior to my arrival, the position description noted the institution was in a strong financial position. Yet, as I entered the presidency at Richland in the fall of 2016, I found conflicting information. That is, the enrollment woes went beyond the typical cycles; the College had lost enrollment every year for nine years prior, a total of thirty-four percent decrease since 2007.
Furthermore, the political pulls of state appropriations for higher education funding in Illinois created a deepening wound for campus students state-wide.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Parental Separation or Divorce: Your parents were ever separated or divorced.
Mental Illness in the Household: A household member was depressed or mentally ill or a household member attempted suicide.
Emotional Neglect: Someone in your family never or rarely helped you feel important or special, you never or rarely felt loved, people in your family never or rarely looked out for each other and felt close to each other, or your family was never or rarely a source of strength and support.
Sexual Abuse: An adult, relative, family friend, or stranger who was at least 5 years older than you ever touched or fondled your body in a sexual way, made you touch his/her body in a sexual way, attempted to have any type of sexual intercourse with you.
Incarcerated Household Member: A household member went to prison.
Physical Neglect: There was never or rarely someone to take care of you, protect you, or take you to the doctor if you needed it2, you didn’t have enough to eat, your parents were too drunk or too high to take care of you, or you had to wear dirty clothes.
Emotional Abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home swore at you, insulted you, put you down, or acted in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt.
Physical Abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home pushed, grabbed, slapped, threw something at you, or hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured.
ACE Questions: Refer to the respondent’s first 18 years of life.
Substance Abuse in the Household: A household member was a problem drinker or alcoholic or a household member used street drugs.
Mother Treated Violently: Your mother or stepmother was pushed, grabbed, slapped, had something thrown at her, kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, hit with something hard, repeatedly hit for over at least a few minutes, or ever threatened or hurt by a knife or gun by your father (or stepfather) or mother’s boyfriend.