Media Contacts:
Dr. Leila Gonzalez Sullivan, 919/513-4870
Anna Turnage, College of Education, 919/755-1677

Oct. 30, 2003

New Institute Sharpens Skills of Community College Leaders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Department of Adult and Community College Education in North Carolina State University’s College of Education and the North Carolina Community College System are co-sponsoring a Department Chairs Institute to develop and enhance the leadership capabilities and effectiveness of new and experienced department chairs.

The workshops are being held in Greensboro on Nov. 6-7, in Greenville on March 25-26, 2004 and in Asheville on May 13-14, 2004. The Greensboro workshop is already full. Spaces are limited for the other available workshops. The registration fee is $400.

“North Carolina community colleges and their sister institutions across the nation are experiencing extraordinary challenges as they struggle to continue delivering high quality educational services in a period of dramatic economic and cultural change,” says Dr. Leila Gonzalez Sullivan, visiting associate professor in the Department of Adult and Community College Education.

The department chair is the front line of leadership in these colleges as well as the source of candidates for higher-level administrative positions. They have a primary responsibility for curriculum, faculty management, student relations, budgeting and communication of institutional policies, and other tasks, Gonzalez Sullivan says.

“Yet many have had no formal training to prepare them for these roles,” she says. “In most cases they are selected from the faculty ranks, where the responsibilities are substantially different.”

The two-day workshops include topics such as an overview of the N.C. community college system, personal dimensions of leadership, managing people and conflict resolution, among other topics.

For more information about the workshops or to register, please contact Gonzalez Sullivan at 919/513-4870.

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