Gerald W. Smith Memoir - Brookens Library

Q. By staff rraembers do you include yourself?A. The ~Ucy that we adopt& in accordance with that law ms thatsecretarial persome1 d d be enrployed strictly under the universitcivil servlce program, but that the professional staff initially, atleast, would be hi~d without strlct adheranee to the c5vil servlce program,as was authorized in the law.I believe that covers the initial programs and I would like to stop hereand address ourselves for a little bit to sane of the matters that theBoard had to deal with in the perfomnance of its work In relation to allthese things that had already been brought before us. Because there metwo or three things that me very important and particularly, when youtake ate account that for the First year, I would say that 75% or moreof our energy and time had to be in response to the tremendous move forthe organization and reorganization of the districts.Q. Before I shut this thing off and you change the subgect, I just wantto add that the way you have presented these early meetlngs and theseearly beginnings in very human terms, Gerry, it is just a delightful experienceand since I know a number of the persons involved, I can actuallysit here and sense some of the exciteraent, yes, excitement, 1 guess, isthe word that they must have experienced.A. Havhg spoken to the subject of getting underway axrd-with an ilWstrationaf7&e agenda for the meeting of October 1st; for the purpose ofillustrating that the Board had. no time to get ready and that; they werein f'ull swhg mdiately, I would like now to list some of the principalitems of business that required the attention of the Board in the fPrstfew months of its operation, and then come back later on and speak tosome of them at least. I have already said enough to make it very clear,that the Board was faced inmediately with the matter of the organizationand reorganization of a new state system of community colleges under theAct and that that was a major item of business on the first day they met.I may have already said on tape that that was for at least another yearand a half to take a major part of the time and. attention of the St@teBoaYd for the district organization and reorganization, But; the Act alsoprovided that the State Board was to provide state wide plannlng foyc-ty colleges as institutions of higher education, and to coor@lnatethe program services and activities of all camunity colleges in th Stateso as to encourage and establish a system of locally initiated and kis-tered comprehensive comity colleges. That was listed in the fir t dutyof the State Board.1Q. What you just said Is actually a reading of a section of the Act?A. I Just quoted this f'mm the Act. And. so agah for the first fewmonths this matter of plannhg, of study, of coordination, and so forbh,were matters that were covered in one way or another on every agenda ofthe Board meet-, so that we got our pattern for this organizatian.