The fall semester has started with a bang! Fall enrollment is looking strong and may surpass last fall’s numbers. And once again there’s construction on campus to improve parking, sidewalks and accessibility.
I have been here two years now, and it’s the best two years of my 35-year career in higher education. I keep looking at our performance metrics and our benchmarks that we have achieved. NVC is the fifth community college at which I have served and there’s no comparison in regards to the deep pool of brilliant minds and talented individuals from which to draw in developing and implementing strategies to improve the success of our students. NVC is an outstanding College despite the financial and accountability challenges that we in higher education are currently facing. Thank you for allowing me to lead this institution.
If you missed my convocation speech, make sure you read it below:
One of our long-time Professors, Dr. Dennis Gittinger recently shared his passion for students and his profession. In his heartfelt email he wrote, “Faculty members are critical to the fundamental mission of the college. They deliver the educational product, and their full participation in the educational process is critical to student success.
Hence, we must ensure that each faculty member is the most effective teacher he or she can be, and that requires the curriculum to resonate with the students and include practical and interesting topics. Great instructors teaching a great curriculum will necessarily improve all desirable outcomes, including retention, persistence, and graduation rates.”
I appreciate the importance and power of Dr. Gittinger’s words. The success of our students is so dependent on you and I….everyone of us.
These words are important as are all words because they have the ability to inspire our commitment to students and recognize the central importance and long-term impact of what we do in and out of the classroom. Read more here.