Verde Campus Dean one of  nine units who report to Vice President; not included among those in President’s Executive Leadership Team     

Bob Oliphant:  Editorial Opinion

OPINION:   By all accounts, Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine is doing a great job. For the first time since 2000-2004, it appears  legitimate efforts are being  initiated by her to begin the challenging task of bringing significantly increased  community college educational development to the 75,000 plus residents living on the east side of Yavapai County. That is great news.

However,  one hopes that the new President will consider making some significant changes in  the current reporting/operating  Community College administrative structure  that will provide the Verde Valley Campus Dean with  a much stronger  voice in the development and direction of the Verde Campus and Sedona Center. Here is why.

First, there is a strong belief, if not a perception, that  the Verde Valley has been under almost total control of  the Community College executives and a west side majority on the Governing Board for over fifty years.  Verde residents are quick to point out that the result of this overarching control has been extensive, multi-million investments and development on the west side of the County by the Community College.  Today, the facilities on the Prescott Campus are comparable, if not  better, than  any small college in the nation.

Second, when east County residents look with envy at  the facilities and programs crammed on the west side of the County, they lament how their taxes have being spent.  They see   their taxes  as having been  funneled for decades to the west side of the County by the College  to build and provide ongoing support for multi-million dollar projects found only on the west side. They include the huge Performing Arts Center, a large gymnasium,  indoor swimming pool, child care training center, two residence halls, heated wading pool for seniors, a soccer training field, and a  splendid new tennis complex.

Furthermore, they see that only on the west side of the County has the Community College focused on programs such as music, theatre, and athletics. For example, the Prescott Campus boasts a baseball team, volleyball team, softball  team, two soccer teams and soon two basketball teams. Those teams play all their games and matches on the west side of the County.  Furthermore, there is a burgeoning music program and an expanding theatre arts program. It just doesn’t seem fair to the east side residents that they should be so obviously left out of this development.

Third, from the perspective of many in the Verde Valley, the directive from the State Legislature that members of the Governing Board represent “all” of the citizens in Yavapai College has fallen far short of the mark.  Repeatedly, decisions about how east County residents  property  taxes are spent are controlled by a west side majority.  The result are decisions establishing facilities and programs that minimally benefit the east side while the west side enjoy the fruits of those east County taxes.

Fourth, given the fifty years of what some see as outright economic and educational development discrimination against the Verde Valley by the Community College and it Governing Board,  the path to serious development on the east side of the County is  extremely challenging, at best.  The residents of the east side of the County  are decades behind the west side in terms of Community College development. That gap will take years to overcome.

Fifth, east County residents believe that only with a persistent and  extremely strong voice within the Community College’s structure coming from the east side of the County will development that has begun will continue to be aggressively pursued into the future.  Therefore, at a minimum,  the need to have the Verde Campus/Sedona Center at the forefront to the College’s administrative reporting structure.

Finally, to remove at least the perception of continued total control by Prescott over  the Verde Campus and Sedona Center, one hopes the new  President will  consider the following:  (1) Move the Verde Campus and Sedona Center Dean into her  Executive Leadership Team.  (2) Move the reporting line of the Verde Campus and Sedona Dean to the same level as all Vice Presidents who report directly to the President.   (3)  Create a position of Career and Technical Education Director for the Verde Valley and use this position to replace Dean John Morgan, whose Community College hands appear more than full with a host of CTE projects on the west side of the County.

These structural administrative changes would be a welcome improvement that is needed in  the long struggle ahead on  the east side of the County to make up for decades of overlooking the residents and their need for Community College educational development. Even greater opportunity for the future would occur if the current outstanding President were elevated to chancellor status and the east and west sides of the County would each be operated as Administrative Colleges.  However,  until that happens, at least a change in the current administrative reporting structure would certainly be welcomed.

Robert Oliphant

The Blog welcomes a response to its opinion columns from any current administrator, current faculty member, or current Governing Board member  of Yavapai Community College.