As many of you know, we have had several administrative retirements in the last year or so that we have managed with temporary appointments.  That void has led to a great deal of speculation around the campus and sent the grapevine into overload.  Even so, it was important for us to take our time to step back and take a look at how our needs may have changed, and then plan for those needs.  We also wanted to make sure that all who would be affected by the changes would be able to have a conversation with their proposed supervisor before plans were made public.  This work has taken some time as there has been a fair bit of reshuffling.  As always, the intent is to find the best way to take care of our students.

As important for many of you has been knowing that although some will be sitting in different seats, everyone has a spot.  That has been my philosophy during difficult financial times, and it remains true.  Each person involved in the changes has had a discussion with the supervisor to whom they will report, and is aware of any change that directly affects them.

Faculty were informed of departmental restructuring before they left for the summer.  We have created seven academic departments where there were previously five.  By rearranging a bit, and realigning disciplines, we hope to help departments be better able to support students and faculty alike.  You can find the new academic departments, their deans and support staff in the Academic Services Organizational Chart.  As you take a look, you will note that some programs/departments previously under the VP for Workforce Development and Community Education are now supervised by the VP for Academic Services.  Dr. Jozaitis will be retiring in a few months, so her responsibilities have been redistributed.  We are making the shift as of July 1.  This allows transition/overlap for Judy’s remaining time so that we can prevent anything from falling through the cracks.

So, beyond the traditional academics, Dr. Lindquist will be responsible for all of the workforce programs, as well as Community Education and the Capital City Training Center.  The SBDC will report to Paula Luebbert.  The Adult Education program will be housed in Student Services, reporting to Dr. Lesley Frederick.  Additionally, with the retirement of Julie Rourke, we have lost important grant writing talent.  To remedy that, a grant writing position has been created and that will be housed within the Foundation reporting to Karen Sanders.  We are working on the remaining organizational charts to replace the ones posted under human resources.

You will also see some difference in the structure of student advising.  In fact our staff will have different titles, and are changing up the way services are offered.  In an effort to build stronger and increasingly supportive student/staff relationships, those staff have taken on the role of coaches.  This is not just a title change, but a change in approach.  We want to change from a transactional model to more of a relationship building model.  I won’t get into the specifics here, but just want you to be aware that things might not look quite the same.

The world of education is changing at a much faster pace than ever.  We are trying to find ways to not just keep up, but to continue to position ourselves for the students of today and tomorrow.  Lincoln Land Community College is fortunate to have such talented faculty and staff who step up, roll up their sleeves, and step in.

Charlotte Warren, Ph.D.
President