On this episode of In The Know we interviewed Jeff Advokat, Trustee at the County College of Morris in New Jersey. Jeff was in town for the most recent Governance Leadership Institute, so we talked with him about community college board ethics. He’s been an attorney for nearly four decades and had a lot of good advice regarding ethical dilemmas trustees might encounter.

If you like this episode, check out the other episode we recorded with Jeff about what new trustees should know before getting started. It’s titled “Attention New Trustees, This Episode is for you.” Remember to subscribe so you’re notified when we release new episodes. Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next week.

This episode featuring Michelle Weise was recorded at the 50th Annual ACCT Leadership Congress in October. Michelle is Strada Education Network's Senior Vice President of Workforce Strategies and serves as Chief Innovation Officer for the Strada Institute Future of Work, which is dedicated to advancing understanding of the future of work to build the learning ecosystem of the future. 

Michelle's research focuses on the future of the workforce and how to connect student learners more directly to meaningful employment pathways through their working lives. 

For more information on what Michelle spoke about, check out the book she co-authored with Clayton Christensen titled Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution.

Rosaelena "Rosie" O'Neil is a trustee at Northern Virginia Community College and a member of the ACCT Board of Directors, with over 20 years of experience in education advocacy and leadership development. In this episode, Rosie talks to ACCT about what she wishes she had known when she became a new trustee.

In addition to her trusteeship, Rosie serves as deputy director and program counselor in the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

How familiar are most new community college trustees with their roles and responsibilities? Not very, according to Jeffrey M. Advokat, Esq., a long-serving trustee from County College of Morris in New Jersey. That's OK—and actually, according to Advokat, new trustees' relative naivety can be a great asset to any board.

In this must-listen episode for new community college trustees, Advokat discusses "tips of the trade" for new trustees with ACCT's Jacob Bray and David Conner. 

Questions addressed in this episode include:

• What does a new trustee need to know?

Related Resources:

• Case Study: The Making of a New Community College Trustee, Chapter One

For more resources for new trustees, visit ACCT.org or email us at [email protected]. 

In this episode, CampusWorks CEO and Board Chair Liz Murphy discusses what community college boards need to know about strategic planning. Liz Murphy joined CampusWorks in 2011, bringing with her 22 years of experience at Datatel (now Ellucian), where she most recently served as the chief client officer. Liz is the immediate past president of the Alliance for Innovation & Transformation (AFIT) and a board member of both Community College Business Officers (CCBO) and Quality Matters. 

CampusWorks partners with institutions of all shapes and sizes—from single campus colleges and universities with small enrollments to multi-school systems—to improve operations, reduce costs, and position students for success. The ACCT Corporate Council member company provides a structured approach to make meaningful change minimizing disruptions to your operations. Whether reimagining and redesigning broken business processes, bridging a leadership gap, or providing IT transformation services so your staff can focus on initiatives that support student success, our team members are ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and do the heavy lifting necessary to deliver results and help you achieve real, lasting transformation.

To learn more about strategic planning for higher education, visit: https://www.campusworksinc.com/capabilities/strategic-planning

In this episode, ACCT's Allison Beer and Jacob Bray discuss ACCT's new report, The College-Work Balancing Act. Nearly 70% of community college students work while enrolled. Listen to learn how this complicates their students' lives and ways colleges can help.

Read the report at ACCT.org.

Ayman Mendoza is a recent graduate of the University of California, Irvine, who transferred to the university from a community college. He completed a summer internship in Washington, D.C., and while he was here, he told us that "choosing community college was the best academic decision I ever made." 

In this podcast, the "public Ivy" grad explains why he feels it's time to stop stigmatizing community colleges and their students, and to recognize the value and high quality of community college educations. 

To round out our National Campus Safety Awareness Month series, United Educators Risk Management Consultant Justin Kollinger spoke with us about what community college trustees need to do to safeguard their campuses against potential liabilities and safety concerns, including:

• Preventing and addressing harassment and abuse on campus;

 This is the second part of a two-part episode.

Additional Resources from United Educators 

• Safeguarding Our Communities from Sexual Predators: What College Presidents and Trustees Should Ask – Sexual abuse prevention starts at the top by setting a culture of inquiry and protection for reporters. This document can help trustees and their presidents question whether the institution is adequately protecting minors on campus.

• Reputational Risk Toolkit – In 2017, UES surveyed board chairs, presidents, and CFOs on effective risk management and its impact on institutional reputation. These resources discuss findings and implications.

Stay up to date on education-related risk management matters via the United Educators blog.

"There's a really big difference between having two victims and having 20 victims. And when I talk about reducing the impact, it's about having reporting mechanisms in place."

To round out our National Campus Safety Awareness Month series, United Educators Risk Management Consultant Justin Kollinger spoke with us about what community college trustees need to do to safeguard their campuses against potential liabilities and safety concerns, including:

• Preventing and addressing harassment and abuse on campus;

This is part one of a special two-part episode. 

Additional Resources from United Educators

• Safeguarding Our Communities from Sexual Predators: What College Presidents and Trustees Should Ask – Sexual abuse prevention starts at the top by setting a culture of inquiry and protection for reporters. This document can help trustees and their presidents question whether the institution is adequately protecting minors on campus.

• Reputational Risk Toolkit – In 2017, UES surveyed board chairs, presidents, and CFOs on effective risk management and its impact on institutional reputation. These resources discuss findings and implications.

Stay up to date on education-related risk management matters via the United Educators blog.

This is the second half of our discussion with National Center for Campus Public Safety Director Kim Richmond. Richmond discusses what trustees and other community college leaders need to know about issues ranging from sexual assault to firearms on campus, the Clery Act, Title IX, emergency management and other issues. Richmond walks us through these concerns, explains how to prioritize public safety concerns, how to prepare for on-campus crises, and she directs listeners to additional free resources, including webinars and publications. 

The National Center for Campus Public Safety was created by Congress and funded through the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to serve as a national clearinghouse for campus safety and security-related best practices and other resources on issues that include:

• Active shooters

For more information, visit nccpsafety.org/library.