Presidential Search

Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees 2022 Presidential Search Profile

Approach to New Leadership

The GRCC Board of Trustees, with input from the Screening Committee as set forth below, is responsible for the selection of a new president. The Board's process will include the establishment of a clear succession planning process that assures sustained quality leadership and a smooth transition to new leadership.

Considerations shaping the Board's process and selection include:

• Capitalizing on the success of GRCC's former president, Dr. Bill Pink – The Board recognizes that much of Dr. Pink's work has positively positioned GRCC for the future. The Board, the College, and the community have greatly benefitted from the work of Dr. Pink and his staff in the five years he has served as president, which has resulted in significantly enhancing GRCC's stature and mission.
• Creating a clear vision for the future – The Board's work around hiring the next president is a clear statement by the Board about the intended future direction of the College, which includes building and maintaining equitable systems that will address and expand the success of our students, a culture that prides itself on excellence, trust, accountability, inclusion, and long-term vision in helping our students, faculty, and staff succeed, and the financial stability of the institution.
• Creating a constructive balance between the past, present, and future – The Board recognizes the longstanding historical ties GRCC has with the community it serves and intends to continue strengthening existing partnerships and to build new partnerships. The Board also anticipates a healthy and constructive balance between the practices of excellence that exist in our College today and the new bold ideas, concepts, and policies necessary to the College's long-term success.
• Conducting a transparent presidential search – The Board is committed to a fair, open, inclusive process internally with faculty, staff, and students and externally with our larger community. While the Board holds strong opinions regarding the future of our organization, we are equally committed to listening to all questions, concerns, and ideas. The Board is committed to demonstrating excellence, trust, accountability, inclusion, and long-term vision through this selection process.
• Following a policy governance model – The Board will continue to use this model to focus its work on continually shaping a strategic vision for the College – in correlation with the College's Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Goals – while leaving to the president the administrative detail that is consistent with the Board's Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Goals as reflected in and the Board-approved Strategic Plan. The current Strategic Plan framework, approved by the Board of Trustees on June 13, 2022.

The following are the critical organizational and leadership traits the Board seeks in its new president:

Organizational Traits
The Board's vision for the future of the College is that it is:
• A College that continues its commitment to student access and success.
• A College with a clear focus on innovation in teaching and learning and on providing the faculty and staff the necessary support systems to enable students to thrive.
• A collaborative College built on a culture of trust – in relationships and partnerships on and off campus.
• A College that prioritizes, in word and in action, diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty and staff.
• A College whose goals, planning, and decision-making are driven by all tenets of its Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Plan.

Leadership Traits

The Board seeks a leader who demonstrates and has evidence to support:
• A record of successful executive leadership, with credentials and/or experience sufficient
to warrant the respect and confidence of a wide range of the College's stakeholders.
• A commitment to identifying, understanding, and creating systems to meet the varying
needs of the students who attend community college to support the successful completion
of their educational goals.
• A commitment to understanding the unique contribution to the community and students'
lives that community colleges provide.
• Demonstrated educational leadership that will assist the College in continuing to produce
desirable student outcomes and a thriving College faculty and staff.
• An ability to build strong inclusive leadership teams that are strategic, visionary, and
collaborative and focused on the growth and well-being of the College's students, faculty
and staff and the communities to which they belong.
• An ability to communicate effectively and be visible with internal and external
constituents on matters affecting the College and its students including but not limited to
local, state, and federal policy.
• Designing systems through an inclusive ground-up collaborative process.
• Co-creating inclusive and equitable support for all decisions.
• In-depth finance experience, creative resource development, fundraising skills, and an
innovative and entrepreneurial mindset.
• A commitment to sustain and strengthen a system of diverse, equitable, and inclusive
collaboration like that employed by the College Strategic Leadership Team to develop its Strategic Plan.
• An ability to maintain and develop community relationships with K-12 school districts, other higher education institutions, community-based organizations, businesses, and policymakers that enable the College to continue meeting the educational and workforce needs of West Michigan.

Core Impact Areas (of goal setting and evaluation process)

The Board recognizes these areas as crucial to GRCC's continued success, and will work with the new president to develop long-term goals and methods to evaluate success around:
• An ability to increase, through necessary support (including but not limited to social and emotional), student success which the College defines as students' ability to reach their educational goals.
• An ability to maintain and sustain a culture of trust, accountability, vision, inclusiveness, and equity.
• The ability to assure the short- and long-term financial strength of the College with demonstrable skills and experience, particularly in the areas of acquiring federal, state, and local support; workforce development; community and educational partnerships; and fundraising.
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Minimum Qualifications for President:

A doctorate degree from a regionally accredited institution with significant experience in higher education, serving five to seven years in an executive-level position in college administration, or equivalent experience with comparable complexity.

Preferred Qualifications for President
Significant senior-level administrative experience of at least five to seven years, preferably in a community college. Collective bargaining experience. Teaching experience is a plus.

If interested, please apply: https://apptrkr.com/3253583

About Us

Established in 1914, Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is an urban campus with an ex- urban satellite campus in Holland, Michigan that offers instruction in a 21st century learning environment to nearly 30,000 students annually. Credit course offerings at GRCC are distributed among 4 Schools: The School of Liberal Arts, The School of Science, The School of Health Sciences, and The School of Business and Industry. In addition to credit programming, GRCC offers extensive programming to local businesses in workforce and customized training. GRCC also partners with more than 400 local businesses annually with its Job Training and Continuing Education and Professional Development programs. Program instruction is provided by 214 full- time and 386 part-time faculty; and the College also employs 397 staff members, all of whom are focused on student success.

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