Defining Leadership for Pierce
A search committee charged with locating a successor to Pierce College President E. Bing Inocencio faces a daunting task: Find a leader who can manage debt, boost enrollment, mediate debate over college farmland and do it while educating students--and that’s just for starters.
KARIMA A. HAYNES asked two Pierce students and a professor what qualities they hope the new president will have.
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HEATHER PUTNAM
22, Canoga Park; political science / international relations major and president, Associated Students Organization
I would like to see someone who is very communicative and actively seeks out two-way communication with all of the shared governance bodies that make up all the constituencies on campus: the Associated Students Organization, Academic Senate and all of the unions. A good president would be one who addresses all of these groups and tries to do the greater good for the greater number--within reason.
In the past, the presidency at Pierce College has been a revolving door. It seems like there is a curse. I think it is because the job is so difficult.
The constituencies work against each other. The Agriculture Department is on one side and most everyone else is on the other. The faculty and students are divided over whether the campus should develop the land used by the Agriculture Department or allow it to remain as a farm. How do you pull together those opposing interests? It takes a charismatic and intelligent leader to do that.
I think it is the president’s job to disseminate information. A campus honor society held a debate to help educate people about the issue. If there had been more information from the top, the debate would have been even more beneficial in helping to bring Pierce out of the quagmire it’s in.
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WILLIAM A. deRUBERTIS
56, Woodland Hills; political science professor, chapter chairman, American Federation of Teachers-College Guild
It would be a mistake to choose a person solely on the basis of any single issue, such as the farm development. We hope the president would be broad enough in his or her perspective because there isn’t a single issue that drives the campus.
I look for a president to reach out to the broader community. . . . [Pierce] is first and foremost an educational institution. What purpose would it be to save the farm, but to lose the college?. We need someone who can hold a multifaceted college community together and foster a favorable image that engenders support from the community around it.
I have a special interest in having a president who works well in a collective bargaining environment; someone who can appreciate a contract, which is a living document, produced by all of the parties. A contract is not policy imposed by one side on another.
In any leader, it is important that the person be trustworthy, self-effacing and able to work with others, even when they may be at odds, without personalizing it and turning it into an enemy situation.
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EDGAR ARREDONDO
21, North Hollywood; computer science major
I would look for someone who could promote support for the college through community events and activities, and gain and maintain the trust of students. The new president must first let the students know what happened in the past regarding development of the farm, because it is an issue that has divided the college. The president should find a solution that would benefit the entire school, so that we can erase the division and focus on the future. That is a hard thing to do.
I think the new president should welcome the community around the school onto the campus and not set any barriers. I think there should be a “club day” when the community could meet representatives of campus organizations. This would bring people together and make the community more supportive of the college.
The new president must also have a vision for the college. He needs to build up the campus through more academic programs, community programs, getting more students to come here, bringing up academic standards and allowing students’ voices to be heard.
