Be a leader worth following.

This was the theme of Leadercast, a one-day leadership conference we simulcast last week at the Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education. That message was particularly significant for me as I reflect on where we are heading with some of the leadership changes happening at the College.

I am currently in the unprecedented situation of having to replace three members of our Executive Team in the next eight months. Theresa Smith, our Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer, retired last month. And Barbara Sloan, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Sally Search, our Vice President for Student Affairs, will also be retiring this year.

Parting is not easy, especially from those who have contributed so much to the College. Collectively, these three leaders have served at TCC for more than 50 years spanning four decades and as many presidents. They helped build who we are today. I am deeply appreciative of the legacy that are leaving behind.

But with all these changes also comes opportunity. We are presently in various stages of conducting, setting up or planning for interviews of all these positions.

Now is a time when we need to have an honest dialogue about our future.

It comes down to two questions:

1. where do we go next, and
2. what are we looking for in those who will get us there?

To answer these, we must take a good look at ourselves and examine what we have done that we like and what we want to do going forward that will be different. These conversations are especially important as we approach our 50^th anniversary, a time to reflect on our past as well as to our future.

To that effect, I am looking for new leaders with strong skill sets, experience that speaks for itself and a passion that will add value to our College. They must be capable of asking good questions but also be ready to work to find the answers.

I feel very strongly that anyone I hire must understand that the executives at this College are a team, not a committee, not a group. In that there is an obligation to each other as well as to the College as a whole.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, I want to see this organization embrace the possibility of a new direction. With new leaders comes new perspectives. I am relying on our existing campus community to welcome these new perspectives with an open mind. We are in a time of change. That does not mean we will sacrifice our ethos. It means we need to accept the challenges as they are presented and appreciate a fresh set of helping hands.

I hope to have a new Chief Business Officer on board by this summer, the new Provost before classes start in the fall and a new Vice President of Student Affairs by the end of the year. I hope you will join with me in helping these individuals, whoever they turn out to be, to transition into their new roles. Only together we can achieve what we could not as individuals.