WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

The College Council now consists of the President as chair and eight voting and six nonvoting
members. Curriculum Council consists of the Vice President of Educational Services serving as
chair, eight voting and ten non-voting members. Student Services Council consists of the Vice
President of Student Services serving as chair, eleven voting members, and eight non-voting
members. Several standing committees, task forces, and event teams were also identified. A
student representing one of the student leadership councils serves as a voting member at each of
the three Councils, the individual student or student group selection left up to the student
organizations.
Administrative Structure
To understand whether the governance structure promotes effective leadership, an interview was
conducted with WNCC President, Dr. Eileen Ely. The following paraphrases of statements made
during the interview represent her views:
• Presidential Position:
Dr. Ely describes her role as the educational head of the College who exercises general
leadership over affairs of the College and brings such matters to the attention of the
WCCA Board that are necessary to keep the members fully informed. The President
carries out the direction given by the Board and has power on behalf of the trustees to
perform necessary administrative functions.
• Interview Summary:
The only limitations to the President’s authority to manage the College are that she may
not violate federal laws, state laws, or Western Nebraska Community College Board
policies. In return, Dr. Ely makes every attempt to keep the Board informed as to
continuous progress in various areas. She also obtains input from the Board, as well as
from members of the President’s Cabinet.
The new administrative structure seems to have improved communications. Dr. Ely indicated that
on occasion Board members have stated that they did not need to know about all actions, some
items being within the scope of the normal College administration functions. According to Dr. Ely, it
appears that with good relations and communications, the Board and administrative have avoided
problems.
In her first year as president, Dr. Ely maintained the existing administrative structure within what
had been called the President’s Executive Team. Based on information gathered in that initial
year, Dr. Ely restructured the organization by adding a new Vice President of Outreach and
switching the Center Director positions at Alliance and Sidney to Associate Dean designations in
the summer of 2007. She also created separate vice-presidential positions for Educational and
Student Services.
In the fall of 2007, Dr. Ely reorganized the Executive Team into the President’s Cabinet. The
President’s Cabinet includes the following members:
Chief Executive Officer
Vice President of Human Resources and Institutional Development
Vice President of Student Services
Western Nebraska Community College Page 55