November 21, 2008

NEWS: Trustee on Trustee Action

All-a-Board
JCCC Trustees name Melody Rayl to fill vacant position

The Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees selected a new member last night. They also voted to expand the board by adding an additional seat bringing the total number of trustees to seven.
Editor's Note: I was a finalist for the trustee position and will post my experience soon. However, I will say that I'm proud the college selected an individual, Meldoy Rayl, who has a campus connection that included working with students.
Posted last night on the JCCC electronic mail server, Infolist:
Trustee search process
Melody L. Rayl, Olathe, was appointed to fill the vacancy on the board of trustees at Johnson County Community College. Rayl, an attorney with Bryan Cave, LLP, and a former assistant professor in the administration of justice program at JCCC, will complete the term of Virginia Krebs, who resigned from the board in October. The term expires June 30, 2009.
The trustees interviewed eight candidates, selected from among 13 applicants for the board seat, following the regular monthly meeting. The other candidates were Laura S. Byrne-Harris, Leawood; William A. Dean, Overland Park; Ronnie Metsker, Overland Park; Michael M. Morales, Olathe; Kurtis M. Ruf, Overland Park; Mary R. Tearney, Leawood; and Sandra K. Willsie, Overland Park.
The candidates each had five minutes to present themselves to the board, and the trustees had 10 minutes to ask each candidate questions. Rayl will join the board at the next regularly scheduled meeting Dec. 11.
“Undeniably this is one of the best community colleges in the nation,” Rayl said. “I will be able to bring to the board experience in oversight and steering. The board is accountable to the community, seeing that their needs are served.”
Seventh board member
The trustees passed a resolution stating their intention to add a seventh member to the board. The trustees began discussions about the change in governance structure two years ago. With formal and informal input from the community, the board weighed the fact that the county has grown significantly in population and complexity over the last 40 years and came to consensus that the inclusion of a seventh board member would provide an additional and valuable community voice.
A resolution describing the board’s intent to adopt the new governance structure requires publication for three consecutive weeks in local newspapers. The notification process allows for a protest period, whereby qualified electors of the college district opposed to the change could submit a petition to call for the matter to be decided by a county-wide election. If no such petition is received within 30 days of the final notice publication, the position for seventh board member would be on the ballot for the spring 2009 board of trustee elections. The seventh trustee would take a seat on the board in July 2009.

November 7, 2008

NEWS: JCCC Holds its Seat

When Charles Carlsen stepped down as president of Johnson County Community College following allegations of unlawful harassment, the college's status in the prestigious League for Innovation fell into question.

After a year-long affirmation process that included site visits and meetings with the JCCC Board of Trustees, the League announced JCCC will keep its status in the League.

Posted on the Johnson County Community College electronic mail server, Infolist:
JCCC RETAINS ITS LEAGUE FOR INNOVATION BOARD SEAT
Overland Park, Kan. – Johnson County Community College will retain its seat on the board of directors of the prestigious League for Innovation in the Community College. The League for Innovation’s board of directors consists of the chief executive officers of 19 member institutions. League board members serve for as long as they remain the chief executive officer of a League member institution. When a college CEO changes, the college must go through a reaffirmation process to retain its place on the board.
The League for Innovation in the Community College is an international organization dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement. The League hosts conferences and institutes, develops Web resources, conducts research, produces publications, provides services, and leads projects and initiatives with member colleges, corporate partners, and other agencies. For more information about the League, see www.league.org. JCCC has been a League board member since 1978.

November 3, 2008

NEWS: Ledger Earns Top J-Prize

One for the Ledger

The Campus Ledger earned top honors at the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Adviser (CMA) National College Media Convention in Kansas City, Nov. 1.
The Ledger, celebrating it's 30th year, brought home the Pacemaker award for excellence in collegiate journalist. Since 1927, the Pacemaker has been the highest honor available to ACP members and is considered the Pulitzer Prize of college media.
Twenty-five newspapers earned the Pacemaker. Judges from The St. Petersburg Times selected 48 entries for recognition out of 241 entries in three categories.
According to ACP newspaper finalists were selected based on excellence in the following areas:
  • Coverage and content
  • Quality of writing and editing
  • Leadership on the opinion page
  • Evidence of in-depth reporting
  • Layout and design
  • Photography, art and graphics.
Later in the fall, the ACP webpage will feature links to publication images and comments from the judges.
ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association, a non-profit education organization which strives to educate and recognize the work of student journalists, to improve the quality of student media and to foster careers in media.