Abstract
Warren County Community College emerged from the edge of extinction when the board made the decision to hire 33-year-old first time president Dr. William Austin. Twenty years later and after many national and international accolades, the same board (different members) not only convinced a now much older and wiser president to continue his work but gave him the rest, resources, and unwavering support that many other leaders can only dream of in their career. While the road was certainly not easy, he had to first win back the support of the community while building financial reserves, he kept his most precious goal near and dear to his heart: student success. The community support and financial stability allowed for a reorganization that focused on students. The college emerged from COVID stronger and now has the programs, resources, and staff in place to meet the challenge of an increasingly technological world.
TopIntroduction
In the year 2000, the Warren County Commissioners sued their community college as a last resort to regain control of the college, its practices, and its future. The suit alleged an illegal founding, called for the closure of the college, and went all the way to the New Jersey State Supreme Court before being resolved (Warren County Community College v. Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 2003). The real issue that prompted the lawsuit stemmed from a controversial new facility that focused on arts and public access spaces with almost no space for classrooms, causing a public outcry and demands for greater levels of transparency and accountability.
The wisdom of the courts concluded that Warren as well as two other New Jersey Community Colleges had in fact been founded inappropriately. The courts refused to close the colleges as they had operated under these conditions for nearly a decade, thus finding in favor of the old adage that, “if it acks like a duck and looks like a duck, then it must be a duck.” Still, this legal decision placed Warren County Community College under more direct financial control of the local public officials, somewhat diminishing the power and purpose of the Board of Trustees.
Three years later, the trustees hired a 33-year-old president, Dr. William Austin, well known in parts of New Jersey for his political prowess, dedication to the community college mission, and passion for the students that community colleges serve. To the Board, this represented the chance for the college to emerge from extinction. To many public officials, it was likely the last bad College Board decision as they welcomed the “kid” as the new leader. Evidence now suggests that the public officials may have underestimated the new leader.
Twenty years later, Warren County Community College (Figure 1) stands as a national leader, identified by the Chronicle of Higher Education, just prior to COVID-19, as the 11th most successful community college in the nation in terms of graduation rate success (Satullo, 2020). In an independent study by Stanford University, the college emerged as a top-10 college for moving students from the lowest 20% of the socio-economic spectrum to the highest 20% of income earners (Wong, 2017). Others have identified Warren County Community College as a college that consistently scores in the top 20 community colleges for African American or Black and Latinx graduation rates (Pennamon, 2019).
Figure 1. Warren County Community College
This chapter reviews the key decisions from a first-person perspective, as well as a few blunders in decision-making, in an attempt to demonstrate what allowed the college to escape closure and to emerge as a leader among community colleges for student success, program development, community support, and leadership development. The chapter, written in first person, will be divided into the following subsections to illustrate the transformational leadership practices:
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the early years: winning back the community and elected officials;
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stabilizing the finances: how to build reserves equal to the budget and more;
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reorganizing for success: how to build a truly student-oriented college;
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mid-career decisions: why strategic planning matters & works;
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picking programs of the future: how warren builds an internationally recognized drone, AI, and robotics program;
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COVID-19 crisis: how a college emerged with more students and finances from the crisis;
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taking a sabbatical: resting for reemergence and returning to the roots of the community; and
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an objectivist philosophical view: why colleges should think like business to survive the emergent robotic & AI revolutions.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Drone/UAS/Uncrewed Systems: Drones, also known as uncrewed systems are remotely piloted vehicles that can complete tasks that are not as safe for humans, from the controversial collection of surveillance information and data collection to more generally accepted delivery and transportation use cases. Drones operate without an onboard human operator by definition. UAS (Uncrewed Aircraft Systems) is a broad term that references not only aerial robotic drones but covers many components of uncrewed vehicles and their systems (i.e., ground control stations (GCS), communication frequency systems, maritime vehicles, ground robots, and even unmanned spacecraft.
Sabbatical: A presidential sabbatical is representative of when a university or college president temporarily steps away from their administrative duties to take a break to pursue scholarly or broader academic activities.
Collectivism: Collectivism in higher education refers to an educational philosophy or pedagogical approach that stresses collaboration, cooperation, and shared responsibility among and between students and faculty members. It aims to generate a sense of community and a myriad of interconnectedness within academic institutions. The overall goal is that collective efforts and mutual support can lead to greater academic success and personal fulfillment.
Objectivism: Objectivism in higher education refers to an educational philosophy that concentrates efforts on the pursuit of objective truth, reason, and individual achievement. The philosophy of objectivism prioritizes critical thinking, empirical evidence, and rational inquiry, seeking to develop individual students' ability to analyze information independently and make informed judgments from reason and logic. In broad terms, objectivism values individual academic freedom, a system of meritocracy, and the application of knowledge in real-world contexts within higher education settings. Data, math, science, and information become more important than just personal opinions and subjective intuitive thinking.
CARES Funding: Federal CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) furnished financial assistance to individuals, businesses, educational institutions, and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding was aimed to support economic recovery efforts, which in this case included direct payments to colleges and universities as well as funds for the colleges and universities to make direct payments to students.
ACCT: The Association for Community College Trustees is an international organization dedicated to advocating for the governance and leadership needs of community colleges across the United States.
Teaching Administrators: As defined by Warren County Community College, the teaching administrators are professionals responsible for overseeing and coordinating various aspects of teaching and learning within the college. They could be tasked with curriculum development, faculty oversight, the assessment of learning outcomes, student advising, the management of a specific program or other administrative duties designed to continuously improve the quality of education provided. These professional educators will also carry a reduced teaching load (less than 12 credits a semester) so they can act both as instructors and administrators simultaneously.
College Reserves: College financial reserves refer to funds set aside by educational institutions for contingencies, emergencies, or future investments. These reserves represent a type of savings account that colleges can use after a budget year to mitigate risks, cover unexpected expenses, and fund strategic initiatives. Reserves are typically held in various forms, including cash reserves, endowments, or investments, which allow college leaders to ensure the institution's long-term financial stability. It is often referred to as the ‘rainy day’ fund.
AI Revolution: The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution refers to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence technologies across diverse industries, changing how tasks are performed, data is analyzed, and decisions ultimately are made. AI encompasses advancements in machine learning, manned-unmanned teaming, deep learning, natural language processing, coding, and robotics. These advancements have the capacity to lead to significant levels of automation, improved efficiency, and knowledge revolution in industries ranging from healthcare and finance to transportation and education.
AACC: The American Association of Community Colleges is a national organization representing community colleges in the United States, advocating for their interests and supporting their missions in education and workforce development.
Activity Based Costing (ABC).: Activity based costing or ABC is a budget development methodology that budgets funds specifically toward projects based on the activities needed to start, progress, and complete them. Rather than just a budget amount, ABC provides specific funds for project completion or goal realization.