Handful show up for live interview; no live questions or interaction allowed; not streamed on YouTube; poorly advertised; big change from when former Dean Tina Redd was interviewed

OPINION. Only a handful of residents showed up for the live interviews Tuesday, October 25 on the Verde Campus of the two potential Dean candidates one of whom will replace Dean Tina Redd.  Recall Dean Redd resigned her position because of frustration with her Prescott bosses and poor working conditions.

The Tuesday meeting was poorly advertised by the Yavapai Community College to east side residents. Moreover, residents are aware that whoever is chosen will have little or no actual decision making authority in the development and operation of the College on the east side of the County.  All decision-making is tightly controlled by the Prescott based executives who operate from their  headquarters on the Prescott Campus.

The College totally controlled the one-hour Tuesday interview of each candidate with residents not allowed to ask live questions.  Questions had to be submitted earlier in writing to the College over the internet, with the College filtering the submissions and deciding  what questions would be asked.

The College also did not live stream the event on YouTube.  In a County the size of the nation of Israel you would think the citizen tax supported institution would at least live-stream the event so residents didn’t have to take a day off work and/or travel miles and miles to attend the interview. In addition, the College shows a surprising disregard for those who are disabled, the elderly, and working folks when it refuses to live stream events like this.

The College  did provide internal access via zoom to College employees.  About six of the several hundred employees of the College looked in on the interviews if the zoom screen at the meeting was correct.

The process was in stark contrast to the interview of former Dean Tina Redd when dozens of residents showed up for her interview.  Moreover, residents were allowed to ask live questions of Redd and also allowed  to interact with her.  That process was dumped by the College this time,  apparently out of concern it could  not totally control the questions or interaction between  attendees and the candidates.

Dr. Richardson has degrees  from Valparaiso University (BME), Northwestern University (MMus) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (EdD).  According to her  Linked in post, from 2013 to 2021, she led the academic operations within the College of Letters and Sciences at National University, a private, non-profit Hispanic serving institution.

Dr. Richardson will be interviewed for the position of Verde Valley Dean on October 25, 2022 at 9:30 on Tuesday, October 25.  The interview will be held in building “M”  on the Verde Campus.  Her resume, as posted by the Community College, appears below.

Now Associate Dean at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois.  Holds a Master of Arts focused in Political Science from Loyola University of Chicago, and a M.A. in History and PhD in Political Philosophy from Ural Federal University of Russia

Dr. Irina Del Genio will be interviewed for the position of Verde Valley Dean on October 25, 2022 at 8:30 on Tuesday, October 25.  The interview will be held in building “M”  on the Verde Campus.  Her resume, as posted by the Community College, appears below.

Second year in a row for award

Yavapai Community College was awarded the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. This was the second year in a row that the College has received this award.

In a September 27 press release, the College said that “the award represents a significant achievement, reflecting the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive the budget award, YC had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as:

• A policy document
• A financial plan
• An operations guide
• A communications device

Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.”

There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website, https://www.gfoa.org/. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Government Finance Officers Association advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.

Source:  Yavapai Community College press release of September 27, 2022. https://www.yc.edu/v6/news/2022/09/bap.html

If trial program is successful, University will compete with community colleges in this area

The Arizona Republic newspaper, in a story by Alison Steinbach, reported that Arizona State University (ASU)  is exploring the possibility of offering two-year degrees.  According to the story, ASU  is expected to launch a new two-year Associate of Arts in professional studies degree, starting as part of a targeted trial program next year, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents.

Traditionally, associate degrees have been the purview of community colleges and technical schools. However,  some four-year universities have recently begun to explore this area of education.  ASU’s decision comes after Arizona’s community colleges got state approval last year to begin offering four-year degrees, which the universities opposed.

Source. Arizona Republic newspaper story by Alison Steinbach of September 17, 2022. The full story may be accessed on line by clicking here. 

Job opening posted in Chronicle of Higher Education was dated August 10, 2022 with closing date of August 21, 2022

The Blog notes that the national search for the new Verde Campus Dean, according to the Community College’s posting in the Chronicle of Higher Education, ran for only 11 days.  To some, this seems an unusually short period of time to conduct a national search for such an important position.

The Blog also notes that Dr. Karen Reed from Shaker Heights, Ohio was selected as the Interim Dean of the Verde Valley for Yavapai Community College to begin work  April 11, 2022.  The College anticipated, according to its press release in April, that Dr. Reed would  serve in the role until October. A national search for the permanent dean was to be conducted.

The Blog further notes that a national search for an Associate Dean for the Verde Valley Campus back in 2016 began on October 14, 2016, and closed May 16, 2017—a period of seven months.

Caller reported a man, 20-to-30 years old, wearing dark clothing and a tan hat waiving something at passing cars and heard shots fired after that

Yavapai Community College briefly went into lockdown Sunday afternoon after a report of shots fired near the campus in Prescott. The Prescott Police Department reported  receiving a call at around 2:30 p.m. that gun shots were heard in the 800 block of East Gurley Street, near the intersection of Gurley and Arizona streets. The Police Department says that a caller reported a man waiving something at passing cars and heard shots fired after that.

Yavapai College went into lockdown because of the incident at 3:56 p.m. and the lockdown was lifted at 5:20 p.m. There were no reports of injuries, or property damage  as a result of the incident. If anyone has seen someone matching the suspect’s description, they are asked to  to call 9-1-1, or (928) 445-3131.

Authorities are looking for a man, 20-to-30 years old, wearing dark clothing and a tan hat.