News

May 18, 2006
New ECC Leadership Program Benefiting Employees

 
Dr. Joe Barwick, president of Carteret Community College, was among speakers who made presentations during a recent two-day seminar for selected ECC employees. Barwick spoke on leadership.

 
A new program for faculty and staff at Edgecombe Community College is working to strengthen college employees' knowledge of the community college system and its management.

     The Edgecombe Leadership Initiative (ELI) was developed by ECC officials this spring for selected faculty and staff who expressed interest in improving their knowledge of the community college system and of the operations and functions of the community college. All full-time employees were eligible to apply.

     The first ELI class of 22 employees met for a two-day workshop on May 8 and 9 to hear community college officials, legislators, and other executives describe an aspect of the community college and its operations.

     Presenters were:

• Dr. Joe Barwick, president of Carteret Community College
• Martin Lancaster, president of the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS)
• Annette Dishner, manager of state aid, business, and finance at NCCCS
• N.C. Representative Joe Tolson
• Charlie Harrell, ECC vice president of administrative services and chair of the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners
• Doug Byrd, community relations manager at N.C. Department of Commerce
• Dr. Scott Ralls, president of Craven Community College
• John Gessaman, president and CEO of Carolinas Gateway Partnership
• Dr. Pamela Hilbert, vice president of instruction and student services at Carteret Community College
• Johnny Underwood, coordinator of leadership programs and sociology instructor at Carteret Community College

     "What an awesome experience this turned out to be for the 22 members of our first-ever ELI class," says J. Lynn Cale, ECC associate vice president of instruction and ELI coordinator. "These instructors and staff now realize that they can be leaders right where they are within the current organization. We need leaders at all levels throughout our institution. The two-day institute, the upcoming seminars, and the internship that each participant will complete will only enhance this group's leadership abilities."

     The leadership initiative offers a unique opportunity for faculty and staff to focus on the role of management and to work with senior level administrators as mentors. The program is part of ECC President Dr. Deborah Lamm's vision for the college, a slate of objectives she established when she joined ECC in November 2004.

     "I have advocated since my first day that the college should invest its financial and human resources in training faculty and staff for future opportunities," she says. "We are responding to retirements, as are other colleges across the state and nation, and we are using a national model of 'growing our own' in an effort to close what the literature says is a 'leadership gap.' However, ECC is developing its own leaders to enhance their abilities not only where they aspire to be but also where they are."

     "My goal is for faculty and staff to walk away from this leadership experience with a framework of the community college that they can use today as well as in the future. I hope the participants will gain both knowledge and confidence that will serve them well in any position at the college."

     Additional ELI seminars will be held in July and November. Also, participants are required to complete a 10-hour internship between September 2006 and February 2007 within a division of the college.

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