This is the beginning of a new academic year at Lane Community College and my first opportunity to make a statement to the community as president. I'd like to take a moment to extend a special welcome to members of the community. I would also like to welcome my colleagues from around the state, especially Linn Benton Community College.

You know the book everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten, well much of what I've needed to know about community colleges, I learned at Linn Benton.  They prepared me well for my work at Lane. I also would like to take the opportunity to introduce some members of our executive team - the Vice presidents and associate vice presidents.  Marie, Cheryl, Donna, and Steve, and my assistant Tracy Simms.

My first task, which is really a joy, is to thank the citizens of Lane County for their outstanding generosity in supporting our bond measure six years ago.  You put your faith in Lane by voting to improve our facilities so that we, in turn, can create more effective learning environments for our students.  This building, which houses most of our student services, is an example of placing students and their learning at the heart of what we do.  The way in which students access our services drove the building design. The integration of services that this building allows truly helps us serve students more effectively. As you tour the new and remodeled buildings today you will see what a difference your financial support has made in the lives of students and staff. 

My heartfelt thanks.  

I want you to know that I take very seriously our role as stewards of the community's investment and our mission to meet the educational needs of our district.

I believe we have demonstrated this in how we have managed the bond funds and we continue to be vigilant in how we use tax dollars to support our mission. 

One of my first activities as president was to develop priorities.  The board has worked with me to develop an exhaustive work plan that will guide our efforts in the next year. For the next few minutes I'd like to highlight a few things in the plan that I believe are of most interest to the community.

One of our goals is service and connection to the community.  In that regard, it is of paramount importance to us that we are assessing and meeting the needs of the citizens of the county.  An area of focus will be our role in the economy and workforce training. As I've talked with people since taking this job, it's become very clear they are worried about the economy and about their jobs. Recently, hundreds of workers have been laid off in our community. Lane has been a key partner in responding in times of economic slowdown in the past and we plan to redouble our efforts now.  People can get help identifying a career, prepare for more than 50 different jobs, and improve current job skills or prepare to transfer to the university. Many opportunities are now available at night and on weekends. The college also provides programs to help small businesses get started and programs to help larger companies train their employees.

My priorities for workforce training this year are:

A second area of emphasis is student learning. Lane's vision statement is to provide quality learning in a caring environment. We already have a reputation for small classes and strong student support services. We are committed to placing students and learning at the heart of what we do.  We are very mindful of the fact that we serve a very broad spectrum of learners and we must offer many learning options to meet their needs.

Some of my priorities for student learning are:

Students come here to take classes but we know that without the rich array of student services they are rarely successful so we will continue to view students in a holistic way and provide as many services as possible.

A third major area of concern is the fiscal health of the college.  To serve the community we must have the capacity to offer programs and services that the community needs. As most of you know, our sources of funding changed dramatically in 1990 when Oregon's property tax limitation measure passed. The legislature, rather than our own district voters, now decides our level of funding. 

My priorities for fiscal health are:

At the same time that the community desires more access to Lane we will need to reduce our spending to live within our means.

All of these are important goals for the college and the community and we will work very hard to achieve them.  We are also interested in the how we do our work.  One of the important tasks we have before us to create a culture of caring where we care about each other, our students and our work and to build a climate of achievement for student and each other.  It is in those kind of authentic interactions that we can best serve each other and the community.

We have our work cut out for us.  We also have excellent faculty, classified staff and managers to make it happen. 

I want to thank the board for its confidence in me, and I to welcome everyone to Lane Community College.
Now it is time for tours.  Those of you who are interested in touring by van should follow our pied piper as he plays you to your transportation.  Hector Smith of the Eugene Highlanders will wind his way through the crowd and direct you to the vans outside.  Staff are standing by to lead walking and van tours of the bond construction across campus or a tour of this building.  If you'd like to take a self-guided tour, use the map on the other side of your program as your guide.  Please also feel free to enjoy more refreshments and music by Lo Nuestro.

Thank you for coming and please come back again.