Washtenaw Community College chooses Northwood University provost and COO as new president
The newest candidate to join the field of educators under consideration to lead Washtenaw Community Community was chosen Wednesday as the school's next president.
Rose Bellanca, provost and COO of Northwood University's Florida campus since fall 2008, has received a verbal offer, said Pam Horiszny, chairwoman of the college's Board of Trustees.
President Larry Whitworth announced in September that he planned to retire.
He'll remain on the job until August, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Bellanca has been with Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 2008. The university also has a campus in Midland.
Bellanca has ties to Michigan: Her resume also includes time as president of St. Clair County Community College and as provost and chief academic officer of Macomb Community College. She also taught in a doctoral program at Wayne State University.
Horiszny said Bellanca was not among the three finalists in the second search round to replace Whitworth. She came into the mix after another candidate dropped out.
"We had reviewed her application with a number of other applications and decided we'd go with three (other) finalists," Horiszny said, adding that she'd ranked very highly in that process. "... She turned out to be an outstanding candidate."
The selection followed public meetings and interviews with the selection committee, trustees and representatives from many areas of the university, Horiszny said. The meetings attracted as many as 150 people, she added.
Bellanca's COO experience includes strength as a fund-raiser, 20 years of strategic planning and finding ways for community collaboration, Horiszny said.
"Given the financial challenges that we're facing ... that becomes increasingly important for us," she said.
But Bellanca also brings a student-centered focus to the job, Horiszny added: "The most important thing for her is student services and student success."
Bellanca comes from a four-year institution but looks forward to returning to the community college environment, Horiszny said.
Enrollment at WCC has grown as costs of four-year institutions climb and employment trends require more training.
"Community colleges used to be an afterthought," Horiszny said. "Now they're at the forefront of education."
Horiszny said Bellanca's contract could take several weeks to finalize. Whitworth earns $206,308 in base pay.
Comments
andralisa
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 6:27 p.m.
Come on Pam H. look into this ASAP! It is your job to do so...
Peter Eckstein
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 6:15 p.m.
I cannot comment on the particular qualifications of this individual, but other commenters have raised very serious questions. All I can say is that Northwood University is not the first place I would go looking for the president of a public institution. It is a highly ideological place, as suggested by the strong patronage of the DeVos family. This is a description of a conference it is now putting on in Detroit: <a href="http://www.northwood.edu/idea/2011/spring/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.northwood.edu/idea/2011/spring/</a> As the speaker list makes clear, it is commited to an agenda of smaller government and economic "freedom," just the sort of regulatory freedom that brought on the current Great Recession. My understanding is that all incoming students (at least in Michigan) are given a "free market" tract to read, though I do not know if they are required to read it. I was also disturbed to read in the latest on-line magazine from Northwood, though it is largely devoted to sports teams, an article celebrating a faculty member who went to South America and helped children by such acts as translating to one girl a greeting card allegedly from God (but actually printed by Hallmark), which allegedly made the girl feel much better. Whatever one's religious beliefs, I think few would consider it anything less than a hoax to suggest that God sent this card to this girl. None of these things about Northwood automatically disqualify this candidate for president of WCC. I would certainly hope, however, that the trustees make clear that WCC has a very different mission and that she is not being considered in order to bring a Northwood approach of political and religious indoctrination to a public college.
fritz
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:20 p.m.
clearsaint is correct. If the Washtenaw board does its due diligence, it will find that beneath the veneer lies a candidate who does not understand (and appears not to care to understand) the complex issues of the institution, who pits people against one another, and who does not make any real attempt to connect with students or to become a part of the community. If she is confirmed as president, the people of Washtenaw Community College - the students, the board, the faculty, the staff, and the administration - will be getting more drama than Jersey Shore. Good luck with that.
Tom Bower
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 7:53 p.m.
Quoting fritz: "who does not understand (and appears not to care to understand) the complex issues of the institution, who pits people against one another, and who does not make any real attempt to connect with students or to become a part of the community." Broad comments. Specific examples?
mohomed
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.
Wow she is really good looking! Good job WCC!
Cash
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:06 p.m.
Chip, I wasn't aware that the board was paying the salary of the administrators. Silly me. I thought taxpayers and students were paying the price. Tell ya what, if the board wants to take over all of the salary expenses.....be happy to let them spend it however they choose. As long as they are spending MY money, I'll continue to speak up. Oh yeah, it seems the Michigan legislature is feeling that what the board thinks doesn't matter as well. At least as far as lower level employees are concerned.
Cash
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:28 p.m.
Chip We need a sarcastic font! LOL Yes, being an educator automatically cancels out your opinion. (Sarcastic font on ) And even more so, you are clearly over 50, thus your opinion and mine is totally unimportant. I am sorry that teaching has become so disrespected in some citcles. It's a disgrace. (no sarcastic font here) Keep your chin up! Cash
Chip Reed
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:11 p.m.
sorry, I was being sarcastic. I have been disappointed with the current president, and I don't expect much from his loyal board... But I've only taught there since 1978, so what do I know?
Chip Reed
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 11:31 a.m.
Hey, if the board is happy, what business is it of ours?
ryan444123
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 4:37 a.m.
Being a former WCC student and a current Northwood student, WCC shall experience tremendous growth thanks to this new president!
Ralph
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 11:32 p.m.
Don't be asking for any additional taxes!
Clearsaint
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 11:28 p.m.
This board cannot possibly have done due diligence about her term at St. Clair College. She convinced her allies on the board there to adopt a gag order that forbade trustees from talking to anyone on campus without her permission. (Call the ACLU to verify that one). One of her friends was sued by a trustee for coming to his house and threatening him for disagreeing with her (see St. Clair County court records) . She outsourced the job of the provost who earned a vote of no confidence from the vast majority of faculty (see Times-Herald). Blimey, she locked herself in a bathroom during her last board meeting and refused to come out (see Downriver Voice). Then she took a medical leave to search for her next job and gave just a one WEEK notice when she quit--the week before the fall semester started. She is the Sarah Palin of academia. She will divide your campus into two bitter, bitter halves. And your best, brightest, most honorable people will leave as soon as they can.
Clearsaint
Fri, May 20, 2011 : 12:35 p.m.
The bathroom incident was reported in a letter to the editor of the downriver Voice by a witness in spring 2008.
Tom Bower
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
Clearsaint, I found the following:<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/21/stclair" rel='nofollow'>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/21/stclair</a> Quoting from the article: "Last year [2004], Hamilton filed a lawsuit against a friend of Bellanca's who visited his home and, he said, urged him to treat the president with more respect. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in March 2004." The links embedded in the article are no longer active. <a href="http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2005/05/26/localnews/20050526-archive2.txt?viewmode=fullstory" rel='nofollow'>http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2005/05/26/localnews/20050526-archive2.txt?viewmode=fullstory</a> The above information was easy to find. I assume the WCC Board and/or search committee would have been aware of this information and taken it into consideration. I have not been able to verify your comment that "she locked herself in a bathroom during her last board meeting." What is your source?
Lady RaBa
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 4:08 a.m.
I did a Google search once the new president was named and found all of these things that you are mentioning. This is quite concerning. I find this even more upsetting after having an exemplary leader in Dr. Whitworth at the helm for 13 years. I hope that the site visits are handled with judiciousness and a lot of scrutiny.
Cash
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:24 a.m.
Holy SMOKES!!! This sounds like a huge mistake! Oh my sympathies to the WCC staff!
Cash
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 10:44 p.m.
$206,308 for a community college prez? While the state Republicans use their whip to beat the lower level government workers, those at the top are totally left to reap all of the rewards, looking down on the workers and laughing. No one is TOUCHING the administrators. So, one is left to wonder...is the goal of Republicans to break unions or to control costs? If costs are a concern, why do we continue to see the absurdly out of control top administrators pay climbing?
Cash
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 10:09 a.m.
While the state increases income taxes on the working poor by up to 100%, sent EFMs to break contracts for lower level workers-not touching high paid administrators, and the state has been found to have the WORST public defenders for the poor in America...need I go on?.....they add insult to injury by doing nothing to control the expenses at the top. Reinventing Michigan is taking the whip to the working poor and elderly and turning a blind eye to those who have the most. In fact ,some of the governor's own top hires received increases. What you do for the least of your breathren, you do for me. Nuff said.
Cash
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:27 a.m.
And what about the worker's, Nikki? THey don't matter to you? Because they are having alws passed against them almsot daily...but NOTHING is being passed against administrators. If it takes a TON of money to pay an administrator, why is it that we are trying to cut the wages of the people who actually TEACH at schools like WCC? "We don't do things that way here"...which explains the financial condition of AAPS.
Nikki River
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
You're kidding right? The fact that WCC is a community college is beside the point. It's an organization with a $100 million dollar operating budget. Running it is not a minimum wage job. How is it that some taxpayers think hiring the low bidder is better than the best leader? If you want to live where the schools are poorly run, you might want to move out of Ann Arbor - We don't do things that way here.
Bablat
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.
What a joke.