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Posted on Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 5:41 a.m.

Executive Profile: Larry Whitworth, president of Washtenaw Community College

By Sarah Rigg

larrywhitworth.jpg

Larry Whitworth

Though he believes this year’s surge in enrollment isn’t likely to continue next year, Washtenaw Community College President Larry Whitworth is making plans to accommodate an increased number of students. Among those plans is seeking a site for a second campus.

“We’re getting close to being maxed out with our current facilities,” Whitworth said. “Last year, we went from about 12,500 to almost 14,500 (students). We certainly can’t sustain that kind of growth indefinitely." He noted, however, that he thinks last year was an anomaly in the rate of growth.

Whitworth said that the economic downturn in Michigan has been a driver of higher enrollment.

“More and more people are starting to recognize post-secondary education really is a requirement in order to stay economically viable,” he said. He said that good-paying factory jobs obtainable with a high school diploma “really don’t exist anymore.”“So, more and more people are looking around, asking what’s next, and that’s where we come in,” Whitworth said.

Whitworth said he does expect continued growth at the college, “but probably more at a normal pace, maybe 3 to 4 percent a year.”

To accommodate that growth, Whitworth said the college is working on expanding its distance learning programs.

“I think we have one of the finest distance programs in the country,” Whitworth said. He explained that the faculty videotapes “the best lecturer for a topic,” and then that video is available to students as a download or a DVD. Lectures are supplement with texts and assignments on a software interface program called Blackboard.

“Part of what I’ve tried to do is keep the school thinking aggressively about the future, creating programs and approaches that are creative and adaptive,” he said.

Part of that plan for the future also includes looking for a location for second campus.

“We’re exploring a number of options,” Whitworth said. “Ann Arbor is a central area for good transportation, and it’s centrally located, so that’s an area we’re exploring pretty carefully. I do anticipate that two to five years from now, we’ll have another campus.” Whitworth said the college has been in talks with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to examine transportation and parking options if WCC chooses downtown Ann Arbor for the new campus.

Whitworth said community colleges play an important role in higher education and that they’re the best option, not merely a second-rate choice, for many people.

“We are the open door. We really try to welcome everybody,” Whitworth said. WCC is especially helpful for those who aren’t sure what their path is when they graduate from high school.

“We help them get started, figure out what their deficiencies are and remediate that and get them on a path," Whitworth said. "Community college is the portal to the future for the vast majority of people that really don’t have an initial plan.”

When conversation turns to his accomplishments as president of WCC, Whitworth is modest, saying that “the secret is having great faculty. "We find great, exciting, energetic faculty and turn them loose. My job is to not get in the way and make sure they have resources they need, and that’s what makes the place run.”

Background

Age: Late 60s.

Education: I have an MBA from Duquesne University and a doctorate in curriculum and supervision from the University of Pittsburgh.

Family: I’ve been married to my wife Barbara for 45 years. We have a son, Matthew, who lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and two children, Luke, 6, and Alexis, 4. We have a daughter, Megan, who lives in Iowa City with her husband and three girls, Ashley, 14; Ally, 11,  and Emily, 8.

Residence: Saline.

Business Insights
Best business decision: My best business decision, other than the decision to accept the presidency here at Washtenaw Community College, was to abandon the decision to install PeopleSoft as our principal management software for the college. Moving the college to SCT Banner has saved the college millions of dollars and has provided a stable IT backbone for all of the business operations of the college.

Worst business decision: Fortunately, I am truly struggling with this question and unable to come up with a significant decision that has impacted my career or the institutions that I have had responsibility for. Have I made bad decisions? The answer of course is yes, but I always tried to stay flexible, generally taking a very conservative position that allows me to move to Plan B as quickly and as fluidly as possible.

Best way to keep a competitive edge: Education, curiosity, creativity, tenacity and flexibility. Spending a lifetime in continuous learning, whether formal or informal is of course the first step, but an individual must continue to be curious about all that is going on around them. Curiosity often leads to creativity, and tenacity is required to turn creativity into a competitive edge. Always staying flexible, however, is required in order (to correct mistakes) quickly and (recognize) that variations on the theme may be in fact more powerful than the original idea.

Personal hero: I have great admiration for Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. These guys have had a profound impact on the world as a result of their intelligence, their curiosity, their creativity, tenacity and willingness to do what was necessary to build great companies. I particularly respect Bill Gates for his generosity. More people with great wealth should follow his lead.

How do you motivate people? My solution is to find people who are self-motivated, providing them with the resources and tools they need to be successful and to get out of their way.

Word that best describes you? I have no idea. I hope there is no single word that describes me.

First Web site you check in the morning: After checking my e-mail I will usually check MarketWatch to see what’s happening on the business front and with the market.

Confessions

What keeps you up at night? The thing that keeps me up at night, occasionally, are new ideas and new projects. These are the things that get me excited. Problems almost never keep me from a good night's sleep.

Pet peeve: Whiners and complainers.

Guilty pleasure: Cooking with butter.

First job: Lifeguard at The Little Club in Grosse Pointe.

First choice for a new career: Although I consider myself an educator, I’ve been in administration for 43 years, and I’m looking forward to my new career by returning to my roots as a faculty member teaching Organizational Behavior and Management.

Treasures

Favorite cause: My favorite cause is the elimination of illiteracy. Locally I support Washtenaw Literacy and United Way and personally believe that illiteracy is the root of almost all social and economic problems.

Favorite book: Recently, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell.

Favorite movie: I can’t say that I have a favorite movie but I would say that I enjoyed and was very impressed with the recent 3-D movie “Up.”

Favorite hobby: Golf.

Favorite restaurant: Mac’s Arcadian Seafood in Saline

LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Social networking Web sites — I really don’t get it.

Typical Saturday: Attending to weekly chores, maybe visiting the farmers market and, when the weather is good, golf in the afternoon.

What team do you root for? The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wheels: Lincoln MKS

Who would play you in a movie? I’m going to leave that up to Spielberg’s best judgment.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at sarahrigg@yahoo.com.

Comments

Annie

Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 5:36 p.m.

Yes, they spent $4000 on a dinner. Because the entire board works on a volunteer basis, and has one of the lowest budgets of any major business in the area.

townie

Thu, Mar 25, 2010 : 2:37 p.m.

Worst business decision? How about a $10,000 junket to the Book Cadillac Hotel for the WCC trustees, including a $4000 dinner tab? Topic of the meeting? Budget shortfalls and a tution increase.