Alan Marble (at left), the first to speak to those assembled in the auditorium of the Elsie Plaster Community Center on Crowder's main campus in Neosho, asked for different words, perhaps, equating himself as "endangered." An employee of Crowder for 21 years, Marble, who admitted to humble beginnings and starting out as a Crowder student with no direction, most recently obtained a doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in educational leadership. He worked his way up from director of continuing education, a position he held in 1986, to one with more of a business development emphasis. He currently is interim president, a position he has held since June 2006 with the resignation of Steven Gates.

Marble credited Barbara Collie who taught psychology at Crowder for his motivation to get two undergraduate degrees in that field. She convinced him that he only would have success if he applied himself. As an example, he said that when he was thrust into an entrepreneurial experiment by President Farnsworth to bring in money that would pay his salary, he said he succeeded despite being a fund-raising novice.

Working at times with a shrinking budget, Marble saw himself as part of the process that maintained full employment and even issued salary increases. He said he was overwhelmed by how Crowder pulled together during tough times and defined each participant, especially students, as part of the "Crowder family."

Quoting statistics that show the high pass rate of nursing students and the high graduation rate of engineering students, the success of the Homeward Bound program in encouraging college enrollment, and the impressive growth of off campus centers, Marble suggested that what is past is a prolog for the future. He outlined a 10-point program that includes: an enhanced honors program, making the Maret Center a dynamo, having the new academic building/library become a focal point of a new campus quad that eventually would include renovation of the existing buildings and an additional housing complex, off-campus growth in McDonald County, and even the creation of a university center complex that would offer B.A. degrees. He called his ideas a "place to start a conversation."

In defining his leadership role he quoted a Chinese proverb that says, "A leader is best when people barely know he exists." And regarding strategic planning, he said one needs to be planning but also needs to be nimble. "I don't believe in plans that are three inches thick," he said. "Things are changing too fast."

Taking advantage of the press coverage of Marble's talk, Thomas Baynum (at right), the second candidate for the post, spoke extemporaneously, explaining why he is a good fit in the "Crowder family." He defined his "professional life," how his positions were taken away with a change in administration, but as he moved on, how he eventually became vice president of academic affairs at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, TX. With experience both as a teacher and as an administrator, Baynum said that looking for a presidency has been his goal: "to make a major impact on a community." He said he has been training himself for that.

Baynum said there were two parts to people: with who we are as important as what we do. He began his personal history by mentioning his religious side, how he grew up in the inner city of Wilmington, DE, worked full time, and took care of his sickly mother as the youngest of five siblings and the only one left at home.

Like Marble he relied on the nurturing ability of a faculty member, for him one who told him he was good at going to school and convinced him to break ties with his family and go away to college. He chose a small school, one where he could "feel safe" and get what was needed to be successful. He majored in English and French, calling the latter his "form of art."

He talked of an instructional paradigm and how to measure student success--in fact he used a lot of words that demonstrated his command of educational theories and practices and said it was a challenge to meet the educational needs of students and at the same time retain a quality of education. He suggested the use of Internet teaching for those students who were "time-bound and place-bound" but also called for weeding out those students who find no benefit to college. They should be in continuing education programs instead, he said.

In discussing his leadership style, he said he preferred a one-on-one approach but also an administrative council or the use of staff to bring departmental problems to the fore and bring solutions back. He also had to insure Rudy Farber and the other "community leaders" in the audience that he definitely saw his role as a partner in community development. As for his rapport with students, he said he has worked with the student senate at Palo Alto and that he likes "to celebrate with students."

Spouses:
Marble's: Lori handles public information for the Missouri Dept. of Transportation in Joplin. She formerly worked as Crowder's PR director. They have 3 children.
Baynum's: "Sally can have her change of seasons" is what Baynum said of his wife of nine years. She has one child from a previous marriage.
Ellis': Her husband has been involved in electronic communication systems while at Butler. Not only does he bring expertise in that field but he also is a musician. They have one child.

Still sporting a drawl which she clarified was from West Texas, Leann Ellis (at left) in explaining why she wanted to leave her post of eight years as vice president of academic affairs at Butler Community College in Eldorado, KS, became the last candidate to present herself on campus.

Although Ellis repeatedly was confounded by the multi-part questions addressed to her by college and community members, she nonetheless presented herself as a candidate that would build on what Crowder already does very well. Her focus on learning rather than teaching, like that of Baynum, follows the practices of Terry O'Banion, executive director of the League for Innovation at the community college level and his model for a community college of the future.

Included in expanding or improving learning accountability, Ellis sees the need to focus on economic development issues like expanding the workforce--on "how to do that and how to do that better." Included in the list of areas in which she said Crowder should be proud were the nursing, technology and fireside programs and the Maret Center which she labeled "ahead of the curve" in the need to push forward on alternative energies.

Ellis said she believes in a strong enterprise resource management system--how to use it more effectively and more efficiently. She praised the progress made on the new academic facility and its provision for a safe learning space and said, "put a wireless point out there and that will be where students will be."

Growing up within a 100 mile radius of Lubbock, TX, Ellis is the daughter of a minister she considers a role model for servant leadership. Ellis who graduated cum laude in speech communication at Texas Tech University took a position as an adjunct in a speech development program at Reece Air Force Base. Currently, she holds a Master of Arts in speech communication from Texas Tech and a doctorate in educational administration, community college leadership from the University of Texas-Austin.

Ellis considers the role of president as multi-faceted, as a champion and advocate for students, faculty and staff and to work within the framework of the college's mission. Regarding the first thing she would get done as president, she admitted that she would have a party and turning to the audience, she said, "You're all invited!"

For a brief curriculum vitae of each candidate go here.

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