Dear Colleagues at MDC:

I am writing to express my personal sympathy and that of the member colleges of the Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges in the loss of George Autry. All of us have profited greatly from the consulting that George did with us regarding the State of the South. George focused early on the issue of declining male participation in education and the resulting economic impact on the South. He was able to bring in the resources of the Ford Foundation and other groups to focus on this very important issue.

Just about two years ago, George remarked that even though this was a highly significant issue, it was still being ignored in many quarters. In fall 1998 the Atlanta Constitution used GeorgeÕs work to highlight the issue, and then in quick succession several newsmagazine and newspaper opinion editorials began to give serious consideration to the issue during late fall of 1998 and winter of 1999. When George visited with our Board in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 7, we were all able to comment on how far we had come in calling attention to this very important issue.

George was most remarkable not only for his understanding of the South but also for his empathy with the underserved and the underprivileged, who were still very numerous in the South of the nineties. As George saw the South begin to change toward a more urban economy, he understood the stresses and strains on the people involved in those changes, especially on the less educated.

The community college movement has lost one of its staunchest allies. We shall feel keenly the void left by George Autry in many ways. He was our friend and our colleague, and he was able to make us all strongly believe that through education we could indeed make a difference in shaping the future of the South. Community colleges have lost an advocate, and I feel the personal loss of a friend who cannot be replaced.

Sincerely,

Dorothy L. Lord

President, SACJTC

Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Community Colleges Annual Business Meeting and luncheon

Commission on Colleges' Presidents' Breakfast

All college and university presidents are invited to a special breakfast on Monday, December 6, from 7 to 8:15 a.m. (Note that due to a format change, Dr. Crystal Kuykendall will not speak to presidents as previously announced.) This session is designed to alert presidents to upcoming issues and to encourage networking among presidents of member institutions. The agenda will address (1) the 1998 Higher Education Amendments, (2) cross-regional accreditation, and (3) the Accreditation Review Project. Time will be allotted for questions. There is a separate fee for this event.

Minutes of the Winter Board Meeting

Present: Dorothy Lord (Georgia), President; Julius Brown (Alabama), Vice President; Cuyler Dunbar (North Carolina); David Cole (Mississippi); Jim Hudgins (South Carolina), Past President; and Marshall Smith (Virginia), Secretary/Treasurer Guest: George Autry, MDC

Absent: Allen Edwards (Tennessee), Editor; Terence Kelly (Louisiana); Bob McSpadden (Florida); Ed Hughes (Kentucky); and John Pickelman (Texas)

President Dorothy Lord called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Richmond Room of the Opryland Hotel. A quorum was present.

The Board congratulated Jim Hudgins on his selection as the new state director of two-year institutions in South Carolina and then discussed his remaining on the Board through December 1999. It was noted that the Òpresidents onlyÓ stipulation for Board members was a convention and not a matter of stipulation in the organizationÕs bylaws. After discussion, Julius Brown moved, Cuyler Dunbar seconded, and the Board voted unanimously to ask Jim to remain as South CarolinaÕs representative through December 1999.

Marshall Smith discussed the membership of the organization, noting that 250 memberships were budgeted and that the Association had 251 paid memberships at present. It was further noted that mergers in Alabama had tended to reduce the overall number of potential memberships, while the accreditation of some of the Georgia technical colleges had tended to add to the number. State-by-state membership rolls were distributed; the secretary/treasurer will mail information copies to absent Board members with the draft minutes. Dorothy Lord and others emphasized the importance of Board members working with the secretary/treasurer to ensure that the membership level remains at least at the level of 250 institutions.

Marshall Smith discussed the end-of-year financial report for 1998, noting that while revenue was down almost $3,682.41 from the projected amount, expenditures were down $10,158.95, a positive differential of $6,476.54. Corporate sponsorships accounted for the greatest discrepancy between projected and actual revenue ($5,500), while on the expenditure side, Board expenses were down $6,052.99 and honoria were down $2,400. He noted that the annual luncheon had the highest number of attendees ever.

Marshall Smith presented the proposed budget for 1999. This document featured an increase of $1,500 in protected revenue (corporate sponsorships for the luncheon) and expenditure increases for the annual luncheon and for operating expenses. The overall budget would project $3,450 less in total expenditures, again primarily due to decreases in Board expenses. A complete 1998 report and 1999 proposed budget are contained on a single document attached to these minutes. Based on the budgeted and actual figures for 1998, as well as the proposed budget for 1999, he recommended that an amount in the range of $2,500 to $3,500 be taken from the operating account and placed in a new certificate of deposit.

Julius Brown moved, Jim Hudgins seconded, and the Board voted unanimously to approve the 1999 budget as presented. Jim Hudgins moved, Julius Brown seconded, and the Board voted unanimously to authorize the secretary/treasurer to take an amount not less than $2,500 nor greater than $3,500 from the operating account and to place it in a new certificate of deposit.

Cuylar Dunbar requested that the secretary/treasurer send a sponsor list linked with directors with the minutes. Possible new sponsors were identified: VALIC, NationsBank, and USA Today.

In the absence of Allen Edwards, it was noted the editor always needed new written monographs and articles for the newsletter. George Autry volunteered to send new material to Allen for possible inclusion in a later occasional paper.

Dorothy Lord appointed the following Board members to serve on the nominating committee: Jim Hudgins, chair; Cuylar Dunbar; and David Cole. The nominating committee was charged with recommending new Board members for the Class of 2002 to replace Cuylar Dunbar and Terence Kelly, as well as a slate of officers for 2000. Members of the Class of 2002 should represent North Carolina and Louisiana.

George Autry reported on MDC research and activities related to the issue of male participation and persistence in higher education entities in the South. He noted that MDC was studying the global flows of people into the South. Three vulnerable groups now exist because of in-migration: (1) undereducated workers over 40 years of age, (2) single female head of households, and (3) younger males. Emphasis on the self-esteem of females in middle schools has been unintentionally detrimental to males in middle school. The resulting loss in self-esteem for males may be a partial driver of lower college attending rates in the South for males.

MDC wishes to help make it politically correct, or at least acceptable, to discuss the plight of males. The underrepresentation of African-American males continues as a significant problem.

A major question in American higher education in the early years of the next century will be whether or not community colleges will take more of a leadership role in the education of freshmen and sophomores.

MDC has considered several programs aimed at the underserved populations: TRIO, mentoring in both middle schools and high schools, summer enrichment programs, and scholarships, such as the Hope scholarship in Georgia. George Autry identified a successful program at Alabama Southern Community College called Project Quest.

George Autry requested the sense of the Board about approaches MDC might take toward further study of the problem. A discussion ensued. It was noted that improved college attending rates occurred in metropolitan areas where the community college CEO, the regional senior institution CEO, and the public school superintendents met regularly to discuss problems and share ideas.

George Autry presented a handout from the Rural Community College Initiative. He noted a possible white paper in the relatively near future from MDC that would focus on the generic funding formulas for community colleges and how those who teach the hardest to teach are rewarded. He emphasized that community colleges should be full partners with senior institutions and not occupy a supplicant role. He also noted that this is more difficult to accomplish than to articulate.

The Board discussed the annual meeting and the annual luncheon for 1999. Marshall Smith reported that 23 tickets would be distributed to each Board member not later than mid-November. He noted that Board members are responsible for selling at least 23 tickets each. Cuyler Dunbar noted that having the receipt portion at the end of the ticket would allow luncheon attendees to tear off the receipt and not have to bring it to Atlanta. Marshall Smith agreed to make the change. After discussion, it was the sense of the Board that door prizes would continue to be governed by last yearÕs stipulations: one prize per Board member at an approximate value of $50.

Dorothy Lord set the Board meeting for Saturday, December 4, at 5 p.m., with the Board dinner to follow at 7 p.m. She appointed Bob McSpadden and John Pickelman as the Audit Committee for 1999.

Marshall Smith shared a request from Jim Rogers, executive director of the Commission on Colleges, that SACJTC move its luncheon from Monday to Tuesday of the convention week. After discussion, the sense of the Board was to retain Monday for maximum exposure and the greatest potential number of attendees.

The Board voted to conduct the 2000 spring meeting in Washington, D.C., on April 8, 2000, at the Hilton Hotel during the national AACC conference.

Marshall Smith noted that a maximum of $250 per Board member was available to help defray expenses associated with the present meeting.

Dorothy Lord adjourned the meeting at 10:40 a.m.

Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges

David L. Dodson is president of MDC, Inc. Since joining the firm in 1987, he has been project director for major initiatives in school reform, workforce development, and community economic development in the Carolinas, the Deep South, and Appalachia. Currently he is leading MDC's effort to transfer the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative to Africa. In addition, he has served as consultant on community capacity building and leadership development to the W.K. Kellogg and Casey foundations as well as the Pew Civic Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Dodson is co-author of The Rural Futures Program: A Guide for Trainers and Building Communities of Conscience and Conviction: Lessons from MDC's Recent Experience. He has been visiting lecturer at the Hart Leadership Program, Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy at Duke University, and trustee/director of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the Center for Community Self-Help, and the Center for Law and Social Policy.

Dodson studied at Yale College, Yale Divinity School, and Yale School of Organization and Management in the areas of architecture and planning, ethics and theology, and public and private management. Previously he served as executive director of the Cummins Engine Foundation and director of Corporate Responsibility for the Cummins Engine Company.