Improving faculty morale proved to be the first challenge for Ray Di Pasquale, the newly hired president of the Community College of Rhode Island. Reversing a decline in enrollment will be the second. Continuing active involvement in work force development will be third.
After serving for four months as interim president of the college, the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education made Di Pasquale’s hire official last week. He is the fourth president of CCRI, the largest community college in New England.
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“You couldn’t hope for a better outcome,” said Higher Education Board Commissioner Jack R. Warner. There was a strong pool of applicants, he said, but there was also a strong consensus from the community and board members as to who would be the next president.
Each of the top three candidates interviewed with different groups at CCRI, Warner said. Senior staff, deans, alumni board members, unions and student leaders met with the applicants in open forums where they were encouraged to ask questions.
Warner said Di Pasquale faces the difficult task of creating stability in an institution where staff and faculty twice voted “no confidence” in Thomas D. Sepe, the previous president, who stepped down in December.
Boosting morale at the college was the first line of business, Di Pasquale said. “The first month I spent a lot of time listening,” he said. “What people needed was a venue to vent.”
Di Pasquale said the college had been managed using a top-down approach with little or no input from faculty in the decision making. And a lack of communication about why decisions were being made left many employees sour, causing a decline in morale.
One of the first things Di Pasquale did was have faculty fill out a survey to identify areas needing improvement, major obstacles to progress and suggestions for what the president’s priorities should be, he said.
About 200 of CCRI’s 750 full-time and part-time employees answered the survey, he said. The majority suggested rebuilding trust and confidence in the administration as a priority.
To help restore trust, Di Pasquale said, “we’re opening the books to the entire college,” allowing for more public input into how money is spent. Continuing an effort begun under Sepe, he is also setting up a formal governance structure that will give the faculty more say in decision making.
CCRI has seen its enrollment decline despite the opening of a new campus in Newport last year. As of this spring, 14,595 people attend the college – two-thirds of them part time – compared with 15,460 a year ago, 15,272 in 2004, and 14,742 in 2003. The decline, combined with rising energy costs and limited state funding, left CCRI with a $4 million deficit.
“When a college is losing enrollment, it means it’s not functioning the way it should,” Warner said. Di Pasquale has a record of increasing enrollment at other schools, he said, and that was a factor in the decision to hire him, as was his extensive experience – 31 years in higher education, including 25 at community colleges.
As vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at the State University of New York in Brockport, Di Pasquale increased freshman applications by more than 50 percent, said Warner. He also improved first-year student retention by 14 percent.
Di Pasquale said he hopes to raise CCRI’s enrollment to 16,000 this fall.
Though Sepe left when enrollment and morale were low, he was well-regarded within the business community for building partnerships to develop the state’s work force during his five-year tenure.
One such partnership involves Lifespan, which has been working with the college for three years to help fill jobs in nursing, diagnostic imaging and other health care professions. CCRI awards more degrees in those areas than any other school in the state.
“We have more connection to CCRI than most universities in the state,” said Brandon Melton, senior vice president for human resources at Lifespan. “CCRI is so critical for us,” he added, noting that the college’s programs are the most affordable and accessible for students who are working parents.
Di Pasquale said he plans to continue CCRI’s commitment to work force development and “aggressively” pursue new opportunities and partnerships with business leaders.
He has agreed to sit on the Newport County Chamber of Commerce board. And he said his personal goal as president is to be “active” and “visible” in the business community.
Christopher “Kip” Bergstrom, executive director of the R.I. Economic Policy Council, said he thinks Di Pasquale is “going to be a very strong partner” in continuing efforts to support economic and work force development in the state. “He seems to be very clearheaded.”
Di Pasquale said the state’s small size is an asset because it allows for quick one-on-one access to state leaders.
“One of my major goals is to continue to build very strong partnerships with business leaders in the state,” he said. “And to have a really good ear, to make sure I’m listening.”
