CCCC board candidates weigh in on issues

The Cloud County Community College Faculty Association hosted a Board of Trustees Candidate Forum on Wednesday, October 30, at 7 p.m. in Cook Theatre.
Three seats are up for election this year, those of current Trustees Ellen Anderson, Tom Tuggle and Larry Henry.
Both Anderson and Tuggle are seeking re-election to the Board of Trustees and will face off against registered candidates Richard Hubert of Concordia, and Jim Koch of Clyde and write-in candidate Jerad Monzon of Concordia.
Anderson and Tuggle, both elected to the board in 2011, sought re-election in 2015 and won.  
All five candidates were asked to weigh in on three questions regarding their skills to be board members, goals for the future of the school and stance on the job of a Trustee.
The first question presented to all parties was: “What have been influential life experiences, educational opportunities and career highlights that lend themselves to making you a strong and valued board member?”
Write-in candidate Monzon cited his parents, time spent in the Army, and many years spent as both a graduate and employee of Cloud as key factors, both educationally and experientially, that illustrate his motivations.
Monzon also cites his time working for community industries in an I.T.-related capacity as influences that drive him to look at workforce development as a focusing point.
Candidate Koch spoke about his experience with diverse personalities and experience during the farm crisis and in banking as some of his most useful motivators.  
Koch, a graduate of K-State, was a history teacher before returning home to Clyde and taking up farming. While there, he faced the farming crisis of the late 70s-early 80s and eventually got into banking.  
He is decreasing his time in the bank after January 2020 and is interested in devoting his time to the board of Cloud. He feels he will be a good steward of the fiscal situation because of this banking background.
Koch has been actively involved in this county throughout and references his time spent as a board member on numerous boards, such as the Brown Grand, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Community Foundation, as proof of his abilities.
Candidate Hubert was next to weigh in. Hubert, a native of Concordia and graduate of Cloud, moved on to K-State where he earned a degree in engineering before going on to work on non-nuclear components as a testing engineer.
He cited his skills at learning new things and solving problems as key strengths and talked about becoming a project lead and seeking out as much information on an issue as possible so to be able to present it and begin working on it.
Hubert feels he works well with many different types of people as a team player and has been president of the Homeowners Association and served on several car clubs before his return to Concordia.
Ellen Anderson was next to approach this question. Anderson spoke about her education and the value of education overall.  
Anderson, who has a degree in psychology, said her education is something that “made her a survivor.” Anderson was also involved in the farm crisis of the late 70s and 80s and said it took everything.  Everything but her education.
She built back afterwards and went on to a career in social work, became a mediator and served as the head of Corrections in the county.
She cited her negotiation skills, sense of humor, and skills as a good listener as being critical factors in her success as a board member.
And finally, Tom Tuggle gave his take on the question. Tuggle says he was blessed to come from a good family with good morals and was able to go to college and law school.  
Education is important and Tuggle feels he has used his to bring strength to the Cloud board in that he is able to get all the facts and remember that is it important to look at both sides of every issue.  
Tuggle cited his ability to find solutions using this approach as one of the most important strengths he brings to the board.
The second question all candidates were asked to present on was, “What are three goals that you would like to see realized at Cloud County Community College in the next five years?”
All candidates shared a goal in common, that of increased enrollment. Enrollment has declined and all candidates felt it very important to create growth.
Candidate Hubert explained his three-point approach to all goals as this: goals should be challenging but reachable, should have a timeline, and milestones to show progress.
Hubert would like to see solar and wind classes increase and more of a variety of these sorts of technical classes, like Ag tech classes focusing on the use of advancing technologies in Ag/Business.
He would also like to see a community user and student partnership for the newly formed Cloud Fabrication Lab, or Fab Lab, for short.  
Tom Tuggle would like to see increased marketing for existing programs such as Nursing, Ag, and Renewable energy as programs that can grow. He believes these technical programs have the most growth potential.
He would also like to see improved and increased contact with the community and students. In particular, he would like to see international students be able to learn and teach members of the community so both parties can gain from the relationship.
Jerad Monzon talked about the responsibility to students and the community to maintain the high level of education and financial stewardship.
He would like to see more engagement between the college and the community by an increase in communication of the great things happening at Cloud and that Cloud is doing.
He agrees the best place for promotion of growth is in Agriculture.
Jim Koch would like to see new opportunities for Ag, Wind and the other technical programs, expanded with growth designed to meet the local economy.
He expressed the importance of showing the value of Cloud to the community so that the belief that Cloud is a drain can be combatted.
He also wants more emphasis on the role and place of the Geary County campus so that it is better defined.
Ellen Anderson focuses on student success and how this has led to increased workforce development, like how programs, such as nursing, have shown success of completion by students.
She would also like to see more focus on the Fab Lab and creating further certification degree programs from it.
And finally, she would improve new Trustee orientation programs to help the new incoming Trustees get the needed information about Cloud and its policies faster.
The final question presented to the candidates was, “How do you see the role of trustees related to college policy versus college operations?”
On this the candidates all agreed; the role of the board is to set goals and make policies, while the day to day operations are up to the President and the faculty and staff of Cloud.
Jim Koch says the board should set the policy and then let the Administrative team do their work. It is important to support the President and provide the vision. But he also stressed the need for an evaluation process of the Administration.
Tom Tuggle says he has spoken to the Higher Learning Commission who have stressed the importance of this system. The job of the board is to hire a good President, monitor their progress and evaluate effectiveness, and fire a President if needed. A good board member is not a “Yes person” who only lets the President do what they want.
Ellen Anderson said this is why it’s good to have a less top-heavy administrative team. It makes the operations of that team more precise. She feels it is an exciting time at Cloud as things grow and change for the better.
Jerad Monzon says that the faculty and staff are the ones responsible for administering the changes in policy and the board should govern from a place shaped by the Vision and Mission statements of the college. The board protects the fiscal responsibilities and helps support the President as needed.
Richard Hubert added that the Trustees must answer to the voters in the end as they are the ones who elect them to their positions. The faculty and staff of Cloud are paid professionals and should be let to do their own work since they know how.
All five candidates believe that Cloud has many good things going for it and that it can prosper. They all have great pride in Cloud and believe that it should be encouraged to be viewed as an asset and not a drain. That with better fiscal stewardship and marketing, people will see that Cloud is devoted to its students’ education and the growth of this county.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5,  and the polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Early voting can be done at the Cloud County Courthouse before then.