President's Remarks: Installation Ceremony

October 19, 2006

Mora Inaug

I am truly privileged to address you today as the 8th president of our college. In its 40 years of operation, ACCC has established a tradition of excellence in programs and services for our students. Today I re-affirm my commitment to provide the leadership needed to continue this legacy of excellence into the future.

As president, my primary focus has been to foster student learning by promoting access, excellence and stewardship for all programs and services offered at Atlantic Cape Community College. In collaboration with the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, the ACCC Foundation, and external stakeholders, I will continue to use the concepts of access, excellence, and stewardship as foundational principles upon which to develop a shared vision for the college. And, that shared vision is aimed at enhancing student learning. Enhancing student learning has been the hallmark of our past and is the key to our future.

Let me comment on access and excellence…seen by some as mutually exclusive concepts. I have a different view. With the initiation of statewide community college systems following the Truman Commission Report (1947), the ongoing challenge of maximizing access for diverse constituent groups, while maintaining excellence in educational standards, has been one of the most demanding with respect to fulfilling the mission. Throughout our history, Atlantic Cape Community College has demonstrated the ability to incorporate both access and excellence into the mission, goals, and daily operations of the college.  In fact, ACCC’s current Mission Statement publicly states that the college is committed to both access and excellence. It is my intention to build upon this significant, ongoing institutional commitment to these dual principles in my efforts as president.

With respect to stewardship, many of you who work with me know I have been strongly committed to this concept during my thirty-two year career in community college education. I think this commitment has been especially noteworthy during my first year as president. Simply put, stewardship means that leaders of publicly funded community colleges accept the responsibility of strengthening the facilities and infrastructure of the institution to make it more effective and efficient in meeting the needs of future generations. Here, the key question to ask is how our current and proposed programs help the college to meet the mission-based needs of the future. The benchmark of success for presidential stewardship is that the institution should be demonstrably better at the conclusion of the leadership tenure than it was at the start. It is my intention to work with the college community and our external stakeholders to meet that benchmark. I would like to share three examples that suggest ACCC is well on the way to this achieving excellence in stewardship.

This past year saw the opening of a breathtaking, state of the art, comprehensive campus in Cape May County. The response to this facility from students, staff and the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

Just two months ago we held the groundbreaking for a 10,000 sq.ft. expansion of the Worthington Atlantic City Campus. Upon completion in 18 months, this new space will house the college’s Health Professions Institute. This build-out will also allow that site to function as a true branch campus by providing the amenities (science labs and college library) that will allow us to offer several degree programs that students can complete at that site.

Finally, last year the college initiated a master facilities and program plan for the 543 acre campus here in Mays Landing. By the end of this year, we should have a view of what new or renovated buildings and infrastructure will be in place over the next ten years to meet the needs of our students.

We are surely entering an exciting stage in the history of the college and I am most pleased to be a part of it.

Moving away from bricks and mortar, I would like to comment on the importance of relationship building. It is my belief that the future success of Atlantic Cape Community College, in virtually every area, is increasingly dependent on our continued ability to form partnerships and collaborative relationships in an effort to fulfill the mission. As the chief executive officer for ACCC, I will continue to provide leadership to expand the college’s efforts to develop mission-related partnerships with the K-12 and higher education sectors, the business community, other county and governmental agencies, and community-based organizations.

With respect to the crucial issue of governance, it is essential for the success of the college that the president and the governing board establish an effective working relationship. I am committed to developing a strong, trust-based relationship with the Board of Trustees of Atlantic Cape Community College. In my view, significant success in the area has already been achieved during my first year as college president. Just last week, the ACCC Board of Trustees received national recognition for its work in supporting diversity at the college at the annual conference of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The ACCT is the leading national professional organization for the trustees of the nation’s nearly 1200 community colleges. This external award for a model program is a clear recognition of excellence in board governance.

Before I close my formal remarks, let me thank all of the college staff who organized today’s event. I would specifically like to mention those who have played a leadership role in the committee structure for the planning for today’s event and the other events leading up to the installation ceremony:

Dean Patricia Owens, Kathy Corbalis, Dean Carmen Royal, Dr. Joseph Rossi, Dean Bobby Royal, Dean Doug Hedges, Dean Klaus Muller, Dr. Elizabeth Dworsky-Honorary Co-Chair, Matt Buesing, Ken Calemmo, Brittany Williams, Nick Ganaway, Carlo Canale, Donna Vassallo, Dave Capelli, the ACCC Student Government Association, the ACCC Academy of Culinary Arts and the Atlantic County Institute of Technology for the food donations, the Cape May County Technical School for the food and floral donations, All of the local floral vendors and providers listed on the back of your program, Our sign language interpreter, Celeste Herse; and, special thanks to the ACCC Foundation and to Debby Starr for our power point presentation.

As you can see this has been a team effort by the college community and external stakeholders and friends.

This over all effort is truly a milestone event for ACCC.

May I also extend my appreciation to all of the platform guests, members of the college community assembled here and at our other sites, and my family and friends.

I would also like to recognize the following formal citations we have received from:  U.S Senator Menendez, State Senator Gormley and Assemblyman Frank Blee, U.S. Congressman Frank LoBiondo, and NJ Assemblymen Dr. Jeff VanDrew and Nelson Albano.

I would also like to acknowledge the participation of Dr. John Roueche, a true pioneer in the community college movement in our country. John, we  appreciate your contributions to community colleges and the sense of historical context you bring to this event by your presence. Lastly, may I extend my thanks to Dr. Theresa DeFranco. In addition to serving as the Honorary Co-Chair for today’s event, she is my life partner, and truly my most valued colleague.

In summary, it is my view that, through our shared vision to foster student learning, we will accelerate the efforts of ACCC to fulfill its legacy of truly serving as “the community’s college.”

I thank you….

 

 Click here to view pictures of the 40th Anniversary and Inaugural Celebration!

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