CCC District – Don's Desk

And In the End . . .

I quoted Max De Pree on my way into Harold Washington College, and I’ll use the same quote on the way out: The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. It is time for me to say thank you. TheContinue reading “And In the End . . .”

Debt Repaid

Harold Washington College was founded in 1962 as Loop Branch City College. The Chancellor at the time, wanting an experienced administrator to oversee the launch of the new downtown college, tapped Ernest V. Clements, Jr. (“Vint”). Vint was president of Wilbur Wright College. After overseeing the successful launch of Loop College (renamed in 1985 twoContinue reading “Debt Repaid”

There is No Food

That loud thud you may have heard at your office door was the sound of CCC’s 2014 budget book landing on your threshold. The product of hundreds of faculty and staff working over the course of five months, the FY2014 Budget Book highlights our accomplishments in the past year and plans for the coming year.Continue reading “There is No Food”

So You Want to Be a College President?

CCC has posted the President for Wilbur Wright College on The Chronicle of Higher Education. Interested parties may find the posting here. The search committee is in formation.

Laackman’s Theorem

Laackman’s Theorem states: “80% of the world’s problems are caused by role confusion.” I have yet to be confronted with a problem for which I cannot find a root cause tied to role confusion. Throughout my career, I have striven to clearly define the roles of team members and organizations. I think deeply about the roleContinue reading “Laackman’s Theorem”

For Alvin

Sometime towards the end of Alvin Bisarya’s remarks to the Board of Trustees in September, his voice cracked and his eyes welled up. He had presented on Reinvention progress. His closing remarks were a summation of the progress over the past two years and a hopeful projection of what great things we would do inContinue reading “For Alvin”

Budget Nears the Finish Line

Last night, the Finance Committee of the CCC Board of Trustees convened a review of the proposed CCC FY13 Budget at Kennedy-King College. Vice Chair Ellen Alberding kicked the evening off, followed by Chancellor Hyman, VC Bisarya and interim CFO Dempsey. Readers may find a summary of the key points from the presentation here. The FinanceContinue reading “Budget Nears the Finish Line”

Completion Data

The Chronicle published an interactive graphic providing an overview of who completes college where. This page features the 2004 cohort, giving them time to take into account the people who finished within 150% at the four-year colleges. Valencia College, a model for a lot of the ‘best practice’ Reinvention work, leads all community colleges in theContinue reading “Completion Data”

Fill Out Your FAFSA

A number of our students and staff received nice coverage on Univision about the importance of filling out FAFSA to qualify for financial aid and Illinois MAP grants. Please urge your students to take the time to fill it out. Harold Washington College also received nice air time, with our new logo prominently featured on theContinue reading “Fill Out Your FAFSA”

State of the Union

In my house, the State of the Union is required watching. I was pleased, then, to hear President Obama acknowledge the role community colleges should play in helping to close the skills gap between available jobs and potential employees. Lynn Sweet has a nice summary here. I give a tip of the hat to aContinue reading “State of the Union”