LEADERSHIP
our instruction is online, and about 30 to 35 percent is what
I would call didactic or hybrid right now. So you’re seeing
those numbers changing. We have a lot of first-generation
college students. We have a lot of folks who are from disadvantaged
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backgrounds. These kinds of students tend to
benefit and flourish better in a didactic classroom situation
with the personal attention of the professor, and they’re not
attuned to the online learning capacity, either because they
don’t have the connectivity or they just haven’t had that immersion
yet. And so I think we’re going to see things swing
back to a more balanced or perhaps even more didactically
based instructional process as the COVID restrictions ease
and eventually go away.
Q: How much has enrollment dropped this year compared
to last fall?
A: Our full-time equivalency, I think year over year right
now is probably down just over 10 percent, but we continue
to see upward progress with enrollment in Fall B courses that
begin Oct. 14. Registration goes through Oct. 13.
Q: Do declining enrollment and the trend toward online
education have much of an impact on the college’s revenues?
A: It does, because we’re funded by the state on a headcount
basis. And so when our FTE count goes in, in the fall, it
sets the kind of the roll of the dice for the legislature on how
we’re remunerated the next fiscal year. And so yes, it’s a big
deal for us. And in addition there are the state’s own liquidity
issues. With the deficit the state has and kind of what it’s
looking at economic forecast going forward, it could really
be kind of a double or triple whammy. I don’t want to guess
what the legislature’s going to do, but there are going to be
challenges with regard to revenue projections for the state
going forward because our tourism is down and the revenues
from those kinds of things are down. The question is, “What
does the economy do and what does that look like?’’ If it’s a
worst case scenario, we may see a reduction in state financing
across the board, coupled with declining enrollment or
headcount for this year, which then sets the stage for some
headwinds for us.
Q: Your last academic job was at Florida A&M. How is it
different here?
A: At A&M there was a constant turnover of the senior
leadership team. I think I went through four chief financial
officers in my five years there, I had two presidents, I think
five or six athletic directors. There was just so much churning
of the water that nothing could ever germinate. You’re
constantly dealing with a sea of interims and new personnel.
Whereas I’m the new guy here, and I’ve got a great supporting
cast that has been here for long periods of time. People
understand what’s going on. Dr. Massey and the stability of
the workforce and the leadership team provide me the ability
to come in and not miss a beat.
Q: What’s the approach you’re taking in your new role?
A: I’d like to spend 90 days, 120 days just learning and observing
and absorbing everything before I begin to make any
kind of major changes or thrusts or ideas. That doesn’t mean
I’m just going to sit here and just take notes. I’m constantly
asking questions: What’s working? What’s not working?
What worries us? What opportunities are we not seizing on
right now? Leadership change is a wonderful opportunity.
What I told the leadership team here is: “I demand loyalty,
but not as an individual, I demand loyalty to our mission.
Because that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to support
the mission of this college.’’ I want people to recognize that
Moore and his wife, Robin, have been married for 35 years. They met in a
high school geometry class in their hometown of Charlotte, N.C. They are
the parents of three sons. One is a physician while the other two are following
their father in academia.
I have to earn their trust and respect every day. I work for
everybody here. I’m a servant leader. And that’s what I have
to do. I have to earn my job every day and respect every day.
But I expect 100 percent loyalty to the mission and to the law
and to the statutes in the state of Florida, because we’ve got
to do this ethically. And we’ve got to do this professionally
and we’ve got to do this with enthusiasm. I’m always about
the mission. The mission is our true north. Always.’’
Q: Do you see the role of IRSC changing under your
leadership?
A: Dr. Massey was Elvis, OK? And I understand that what I
can bring to the table is ... I’m going to be very energetic and
try to be as visible as I possibly can. And we’ll be meeting
with people from everything, from corporate boards to school
boards and law enforcement. I’ve got to go out and really
firm up relationships. One of the first things I’ve done since
I’ve been here is to go through our continuity of operations
planning because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. We
are in the middle of hurricane season. And as you know, the
country is roiling right now with all kinds of unrest as it relates
to race, as it relates to equality. And so one of the things
I made sure of is that how are we structured here? Do we
have a handle on things? Who in the community do I need to
interact with so that we’re not meeting for the first time God
forbid we ever have a tragedy or a problem? And the team
here has a great plan. I think they’re very capable.
Q: You’re a former member of the military. One of your
goals is to help our service veterans. How can the college
do that?
A: As a veteran, I recognize that veterans and their families
go through a lot. I have a special spot in my heart for our
members. We as a society don’t realize sometimes the amount
of strain and stresses we have put our military through.
What I’m trying to do here is build a welcoming environment
for our veterans, both those that are rotating out of service,
either through retirement or just exiting, so that they have
a smoother transition into the civilian workforce. My goal
ultimately is to capture the attention of our service members
about a year before they begin to exit the service. We can
give them credit for their life skills and military skills they’ve
developed and get them on a fast track to do a job that will
pay them a very good living wage. For example, as you may
know, we’re a center of academic excellence for cybersecurity
as designated by the National Security Agency. And that’s an >>