JANUARY 2012 EDITORIAL

Ever since I can remember our f= amily tradition has been to make New Years’ resolutions. I have to admit that growing= up in the 60’s I made my share of ”world peace” resolutions and those other resolutions th= at fit that stage of our life. I believe that as we mature or get older, which= ever comes first, and our resolutions become more grounded in reality. It is eas= y get depressed by global terror, the continuation of brave men and women in harm= ’s way all over the world. That one hits home for Carol and I having two sons = who are career military, and the discourse that continues in our own government= . So as I have taken stock of what might be in store for 2012 I have chosen to f= ocus on those things which I have control and that will make a difference to our College and our community.

Ever since my arrival, seven ye= ars ago, I have always said what a pleasure it was to assume the leadership rol= e at Labette Community College following the leadership of Ron Fundis. There are= so many times that an incoming college president assumes a leadership role following inadequate leadership and as a result spends a majority of time p= utting things back on track. That certainly wasn’t the case at Labette Commu= nity College. Ron left the College in outstanding shape which allowed us to move forward and continue to do even greater things for our students.=

Over our holiday break I made a conscious effort to reflect on things that we have accomplished at Labette Community College. As I thought through the host of things we were able to accomplish I kept coming back to names and faces of students that I met when they first arrived and the changes that took place during their stay with u= s. I think back to my early college days and wonder how I made it through some d= ays. It was the contact that I had with outstanding faculty and administrators a= nd their encouragement that meant the most to me. Their continued encouragement makes up the atmosphere that is conducive to student success. All you have = to do is take a fifteen minute walk around our campus and quietly listen to our faculty members teaching and sharing their talents with our students. You w= alk through Student Services and see true professionals guiding students toward their ultimate career goals. You walk through our Student Success Center and see the interaction and support that strengthens our student’s resolv= e to continue forward and reach their goals. You walk over the Athletic Departme= nt and see the leadership displayed and developed by our outstanding coaching staff. You see the support we have from our community when they come out to= see our student athletes on the court, the mats, or the fields. Labette Communi= ty College is blessed to have so many professionals guiding our students towar= d a successful career goal. We are also so very blessed to have a community and= our alumni that have been and are so supportive of things we are trying to accomplish for our students. We are so very fortunate to have the leadershi= p we do from our Board of Trustees. Those folks give of their time and talents w= ith one goal and that is to help our students. Each Board member brings their expertise to our Board that allows for solid decisions that continues our t= radition of excellence for our students.

Getting back to my original tho= ught, students, this is the time of year that we select the best of the best. Our= Phi Theta Kappa honors program led by Tammy Fuentez and Sara Harris does so much for our students and our community. In February we have an absolute honor of seeing them presented with their State-wide leadership award in Topeka. I always feel like a very proud parent when I have the pleasure of presenting them with their award in front of the Governor, members of our legislature,= the Board of Regents, but most importantly their parents and significant others. This year we are so very fortunate to present those awards to Marcie Ryan a= nd John Stringer. These students both give so much of themselves to PTK and th= eir community. We are extremely proud of them.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have many talented students participating in all kinds of colle= ge club and civic activities. They are an asset to our community. We have so m= any faculty and staff that give of their time inside and outside the College. W= hen I came here seven years ago I said we were the best community college in Kansas, and they haven’t proven me wrong! So back to the topic at han= d, my New Year’s resolution: “I resolve to make a difference in our student’s lives every single day,” they are the future of our College, our community and our Nation. I feel great that we are handing our leadership roles over to them. I hope you are as well.

As always I want you to experie= nce what I experience on a daily basis. Come and visit. See students creating g= reat pieces of art in John Ford’s ceramics class, observe the outstanding teachings of Doug Ecoff in his chemistry class, see the exciting things that happen in all of our Healthcare programs. And finally we have great line up= of home basketball games and a men’s and women’s team that wonR= 17;t disappoint you.

We are all in good hands with t= he students who are graduating, moving into the workforce, assuming leadership roles, and becoming our future. Labette Community College accepts full responsibility for the greatness we have a part in producing. I hope your N= ew Year will be a great as mine.