The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007 Page: 9 of 31
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The Ranger • www.theranger.org
April 20, 2007 • 11
Vincent Reyna
By Julian Aguilar IV
improvements must be made as a whole, not as
reasons for the recent name change.
"We have a branding issue
here. No one knows who we
are. The media didn’t even
know who we are. ”
Bruce Leslie
chancellor
Chancellor Bruce Leslie addresses, chairs from all district colleges at the Council of Chairs Luncheon April 2 at the Institute
of Texan Cultures. Leslie helped to fund the luncheon organized by the chair of Council of Chairs, Alex Bernal.
“Since no one answered your question," Bernal
said, looking toward an audience full of smirks,
“we have looked at the stipend issue, and while
money is not bad, support is good.”
In closing, Bernal humbly remembered his
mother telling him not to bite the hand that feeds
him, pointed out that not all change is necessar-
ily good.
He told the audience that the district is made
up of five unique colleges, and that five flywheels
to him are better than one. '
“The chairs were not involved in the ACC name
change,” Bernal said, adding that as an English
chair, “Alamo Community Colleges is” or “Alamo
Community Colleges are” is just confusing.
Likening the district’s leadership to former .
U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s administration,
Bernal pointed out that Kennedy’s advisers fell
into poor decision-making because Kennedy tried
to minimize conflict.
He said the group had misconceptions about
unity because they were afraid to voice their opin-
ions in front of their leader, and the subsequent
Bay of Pigs conflict was a result.
“Kennedy learned his lesson,” Bernal said.
“We need to make decisions that don’t just
come from the top down.”
Departmental chairs, bond packages key
reasons for district success, chancellor said
working on its first bond package.
He said he knew what “Alamo” was going through, and the tim-
ing was just right.
Leslie believes that each college should be developed with its
own character.
“District is a legal designation that does not reflect what we
are as an entity,” he said about the recent approval of Alamo
Community Colleges as a new public identifier.
To Leslie, the board was clear that colleges were continuously
competing against each other, and so the community perception was.
one of small, individual schools.
“We’re not changing the legal representation, but the brand,” Leslie
said. “We’re trying to better market the qualities of these colleges.”
Again reverting to sales tactics, Leslie said there is much to gain
from showing the advantages of each college.
“You don’t have to worry about where to go,” he said. “We’ll
deliver it to you.”
Leslie said his management philosophy was essentially to get the
right person in the right job and let them do their job. He doesn’t
believe in micromanaging, and the synergy created by working and '
collaborating together will allow performance to be the ultimate
gauge.
I
Ik
L ", 31
Formerly recognized as the Alamo Community
College District, board members, at Leslie’s sug-
gestion and without input frojn district chairs,
approved Alamo Community Colleges as a new
public identifier for the five colleges in the
district.
At the chair’s luncheon, Leslie cited the com-
munity’s perception of divided colleges and the
desire to create the benefits of a five-college sys-
He also said
because the. public
views the district as
divided, media were
unable to get the prop-
er message out during
the mid-January ice
storms that delays in
canceling classes and
left faculty and staff
wondering whether to
venture out in danger-
ous conditions.
“We have a brand-
ing issue here. No one
knows who we are,” Leslie said, again pointing
out how Cisneros’ previous comments struck him.
“The media didn’t even know" who we are.”
Leslie knows that the public’s perception of
quality directly affects the amount of money the
district receives.
Another part of his plan to change that percep-
tion involves changing an enrollment policy Leslie
individual colleges. /
Sympathizing with the plight of chairs who
act as ambassadors, spokespersons and human
resources managers for their departments, Leslie
said hasn’t changed since he himself enrolled in told them they lacked a skill set needed to prop-
erly act as chairs.
“How can we expect everyone to do a good job
without proper training?” Leslie asked, proposing
a succession plan which will provide a support
system to properly train individuals identified as
chair candidates. •
Leslie had originally planned to speak and
leave, but at the last minute decided to open the
floor for questions, telling the audience that his 2
O’clock appointment could wait.
One hand went up.
“Is it possible to initiate a study on rewarding
chairs for the work they do?” asked Dr. Al
Barringer, vice president of St. Philip’s Southwest
Campus.
Leslie said he was familiar with the rewards
Barringer experienced while working in Houston’s
community college system, and he would remain
open to thoughts on a topic that he feels is not at
all radical.
After a short silence, and Leslie seated himself,
Bernal stepped to the podium.
Over the course of nearly an entire semester, The Ranger has
tried to secure a- proper interview with Chancellor Bruce H. Leslie,
but because of the chancellor’s busy schedule, he said, it has been
difficult for him to keep meetings.
Quickly passing by the gray Ford Crown Victoria provided to him
by the district, Leslie threw open the doors to his building before one
scheduled interview and said, “Oh, geez, I forgot you were coming
in today.”
For Leslie, the concept of community college was relatively new
in 1967 when he took his one and only community college class.
He was quick to add, however, that the math course he took was
“much better” and played an integral role in him entering the Naval
Reserve as a junior grade lieutenant.
For most of his career, Leslie has been active in every community
he has worked in. Upon leaving Houston for San Antonio, Leslie left
behind community service to better establish his home here.
Leslie, however, is still active in the Mexican Institute of Greater
Houston, and although he recently resigned from the board of the
American Leadership Forum, is still heavily involved.
His wife, Cheryl, still lives at the family’s Houston residence
among items Leslie’s considers dear to him, including a 21-foot ski
boat, his violin and a set of bagpipes.
Right now, Leslie is focusing on giving speeches to community
groups, administrators and faculty throughout the district.
While Leslie said he was still adjusting, he also said that every-
one respects the fact that he is new, which makes his job easier.
Every morning, Leslie said he gets up early and heads straight to
his computer where he spends at least two hours answering e-mails.
If there are no outside meetings, Leslie meets with his staff in an
attempt to keep abreast of intra-office functions.
He said luncheons were fairly typical for him, but he was usually
on the run, “selling” the colleges and meeting with the presidents
of each college at least twice a week. Also, he said he deals quite a
bit with the media.
Leslie said it was odd that he wasn’t working when he applied
for the position of chancellor for this district, but that’s just the
nature of his business.
“You work until the board or you want to move on,” he said. “It’s
really just part of the ebb and flow of administration.”
Leslie said he is an acquaintance of Dr. J. Terence- Kelly, who
served as district chancellor from December 2003 to April 2005.
Leslie said the board invited him to apply while the district was
likened to planning a
wedding, Chancellor
Bruce H. Leslie spoke
to department chairs
from each of the five
colleges.
Leslie’s initial
“Howdy, y’all” was
met with a‘ weak
response.
Noting' that only
one person ran from
him when being
introduced, Leslie
said that at $16.70
k per head, the event was worth the price to speak
with 80-plus people.
He asked the. chairs in attendance if they real-
ized how tough their job was going to be when
they were elected and chuckled when fewer knew
than didn’t, although hardly anyone raised their
hands either way.
Leslie said when he first came to the district,
former Mayor Henry Cisneros told him that the
community desperately needed the district.
‘“Dr. Leslie, when we think about the best
community colleges, we think of Maricopa, Miami
Dade, Dallas. We don’t think of Alamo Community
College District,’” Leslie said, recounting their con-
versation.
Cisneros confirmed Leslie’s comments April 3
in a telephone interview, adding that the district
still had a long way to go, but community college
is a good vehicle to move forward.
Mary Alice Cisneros, Henry’s wife and District
1 council candidate, did not return calls from The
Ranger.
Leslie’s desire to see the district become great,
he believes, is reinforced by the success of the
recent bond package, but more important, by the
department chairs.
“How good we are, to a great extent, is depen-
dant on you,” he said, recognizing that chairs
know the role they need to play in order-to reach “There are things we do well, and there are
the community — a goal Leslie puts at the top of things we can do better,” Leslie said, adding that
Chancellor busy ‘selling’ colleges as individual entities after adjusting to district
- By Julian Aguilar IV
Laughter filled the second floor Connally
Room April 2 at the Institute of Texan Cultures
as colleagues reunited for the annual Alamo
Community College District’s Council of Chairs
Luncheon.
After being thanked for funding an event that
Alex Bernal, chair of this college’s English depart-
ment and chair of the district Council of Chairs, tern as indicators for needing a new name.
■ U
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college.
Through a program he referred to as a college
connection, Leslie said the district will provide
enrollment to local high school students as a way
to better understand why students will go through
an entire enrollment process and never show up
for class.
While the program also will help to close
the gap between high school and higher educa-
tion, Leslie hopes to track student progress from
grade school through college to better learn what
prevents some people from reaching academic
success.
Listing areas in which the district colleges are
ranked nearly last, including course completion
and student retention, Leslie also noted .that the
district is the lowest in administration cost-per-
student, and ranked second in the number of
degree certificates awarded in Texas.
“There are things we do well, and there
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San Antonio College. The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007, newspaper, April 20, 2007; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1354398/m1/9/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting San Antonio College.