Facilitating Effective Meetings
About
the Author
“Transition to Administration: Preparing Yourself
for Success” was written by Steven Bloomberg. Mr. Bloomberg has
served as a community college administrator in the areas of workforce
and technical education for over ten years. His tenure in higher education
included five years at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, California,
and five years at Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. He has held
positions as program manager, program director, director, and associate
dean. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from
the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, California, and a masters in education
from West Texas A & M University in Canyon, Texas. He has spoken at
numerous national conferences and was a finalist for the 2002 Bellwether
Award. He is also an active consultant who enjoys sharing knowledge with
others. Recently, he decided to make a change in his career path and accepted
the position of chief executive officer for an economic development corporation.
If you have questions or comments or would like to share similar experiences
with Mr. Bloomberg, you can e-mail [email protected]
Introduction
So, you’re a new community college administrator?
Congratulations! You are now a fresh-faced entry in the arcane and zany
world of administration. Perhaps you have just left the faculty ranks
and encouraging comments from colleagues such as “welcome to the
dark side” are still ringing in your ears. Or, maybe you were a
first-line supervisor such as a director or program coordinator, applied
for a senior-level position for reasons still unknown, and now find yourself
thrust into a dean’s role. The success of several people and, more
importantly, the ultimate success of students are now YOUR responsibility.
Wait, don’t PANIC! No need to dial 9-1 and have a finger poised
back on 1—ready to strike faster than the Dow can drop. If you are
equipped with the right tools not only can you triumph in your new position,
you will be an effective leader whom others respect and whose counsel
they seek. I know, right now you are probably saying, “This sounds
great and I would love to be that person, but if I look in the mirror
it sure doesn’t resemble me!” I promise by the time we are
finished you will be able to look into the mirror and see the reflection
of a person confident in him- or herself and ready to lead.
As with any good instructional lesson, I must now inform you of our objectives. Since I have now (hopefully) gained the attention of the learner, I am bound by duty to inform you of the objective. Upon completion of this lesson you should blah, blah, blah, blah. Seriously though, if you will read the information contained herein and then make an effort to practice it daily, you will be on your way to becoming an effective administrator. What I am going to share with you is not copyrighted trade secrets or carefully guarded “insider” information. This is information that will help you lead and make those around you even more effective and efficient. Yes, it is true there are many areas one must be proficient in to be a good administrator; however, we are going to limit our focus to five things. Here’s what we are going to learn about:
Sound fair
enough? Then without further ado, let’s get you started on the gallant
path toward becoming an administrator!