Expanding NVC’s Leadership Structure

For more than 21 years, Northwest Vista College has been changing, evolving and expanding our reach to a broader sector of our community. We have grown from serving 12 students and offering courses at local high schools, churches and at the Southwest Research Institute to serving over 17,000 students on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the nation.

There is no doubt that NVC has been growing. We have come a long way from having just a few faculty and staff members housed in portable buildings to over 170 full-time and 706 part-time faculty as well as 206 full-time and 165 part-time staff spread across 10 college buildings and a couple of off-site locations.

As NVC continues to grow, the NVC Cabinet recognizes the need to grow and expand our college organizational leadership model. This is precisely why we are broadening our leadership structure with the creation of two new groups: the Cabinet Leaders Council and the NVC Leadership Council.

The role of the Cabinet Leaders Council is to provide additional viewpoints through the shared leadership model on the day-to-day operations of the college that include student success, communication, budget, grant funding, etc. The team’s first meeting and current areas of focus include strategies to move more students from part-time to full-time, NVC’s mission, vision, values, touchstones and culture.

The role of the NVC Leadership Council is to provide strategic planning and address major college initiatives. At the first meeting in March, the NVC Leadership Council discussed the role that NVC Touchstones play in strengthening NVC’s culture and success. In addition, the group discussed how we might regain our sense of community and operationalize our values given the the size of our college facilities and the number of faculty and staff that are scattered across all the buildings and departments. The group also talked about the role that the Alamo Institutes will play and how that might serve as a vehicle in the re-emphasis of our Touchstones and values.

These two new leadership groups will continue to evolve and NVC will continue to consider other ways to strengthen our culture and support for students and the community we serve. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them to me.