President's Corner

Professional development is supposed to give us a fresh look at our profession....give us time to consider ways of innovating and solving problems. If you were one of approximately half of our members who attended this year’s conference in Palm Springs, I hope you were able to "Find Your Oasis", as this year’s conference was titled. Personally, I enjoyed learning from our keynote speakers about disruptions in higher education and changes in preferences among the generation of students now entering college. Don’t forget to surprise your student services administrators and staff by using terms like "blurring technology", "rational exuberance", and "trust lust" in the next few weeks. I especially enjoy doing this as I have a background in enrollment services and financial aid.

As Michael Wood, our first keynote speaker, introduced the term "trust lust", he explained how consumers today are hungry for someone to trust and how much value is placed on reviews from others. As I have thought more about this, I cannot help but apply it to CCBO. CCBO is the only professional development organization serving only business and service enterprises of community colleges and community college system offices. Our professional development activities should be the most specific and most directly applicable to our roles at our institutions. If there is any organization that should satisfy the "trust lust" of business services professionals, it should be CCBO.

The morning before conference activities began for me, I drove out to Joshua Tree National Park to enjoy some hiking and rock climbing. Fortunately, it was a few days before the federal government shutdown! After parking the rental car, I spotted one of the higher rock formations at a distance. I’m sure you have noticed how a mountain always looks closer than it really is! After reaching the top, I sat for a few minutes, looking back at the car, now a very long distance away. It was then I began thinking how it was not a very good idea to be out here this far, alone. The crazy thing is I really don’t even like heights. After recording a video message to my wife just in case I didn’t make it back, I began to make my way back down, trying to choose the safest route possible. About halfway down, I stumbled and instinctually extended my arms as if to catch myself.

My hand pressed right into one of the many razor sharp tips of some kind of yucca plant (pictured), which pierced the center of my palm. After applying pressure and assessing the damage, I knew that though painful, this was not going to kill me. Then, the thought returned about how you should really not go hiking and rock climbing in the desert alone.

So, what does this have to do with CCBO? Well, our conference theme this year was "Find Your Oasis". I would now add the words, "But, Not Alone". This applies to CCBO very well. Have you spent some time in the desert in your profession? In my years of experience with CCBO, the greatest benefit has been the associations made with colleagues from around the country and with various vendor representatives. These relationships have been support for me and the source of solutions to problems. We’ve all known or worked with people who chose to go it alone. For various reasons, they felt they did not need professional development. Sometimes the reason given is budget restraints and other times other reasons equally legitimate. We all know, there are times when professional development is just hard to make a priority. But, I will assure you if a pattern develops where professional development is just not happening, it will be your institution that suffers along with you as a professional. If you are struggling with "trust lust" for some organization to qualify as your professional development partner, I hope CCBO can earn your trust. Check out our reviews by calling those of us who have participated in CCBO for several years.

Finally, as I write, I am looking at a CCBO Leadership Academy graduation plaque from 2001. Can you guess the location engraved on the plaque? How neat for me that the location of the conference during the year I am president of CCBO is the same as where I graduated the CCBO Leadership Academy ten years ago. I have another reason to "Remember the Alamo"! Though I hope to see you in San Antonio, you will be hearing from CCBO much sooner. Are there yucca plants in San Antonio?