Amid bad times, Byrne sees
brighter future for two-year colleges
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity . . ." -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
With apologies to Charles Dickens, it is the best of times and it is the worst of times in Alabama's community college system, according to new Chancellor Bradley Byrne.
While the scandals wracking and undermining public confidence in the two-year schools must still play out to their disturbing and dispiriting conclusion, the many and undeniable positives in the system can be brought out of the shadows, encouraging the good teachers, administrators and personnel as well as the public at large in a belief that the incredible foolishness of the past is over and a wiser age is dawning, Byrne said.
The "bad news" will linger for a while as the various state and federal investigations of corruption run their course and new leadership is installed, said Byrne. But the negatives will now vie with "good news" about the system, he said, such as a $5 million renovation of the Southwest Campus of Bishop State Community College as well as the creation of new campuses in north, south and west Mobile County.
Virtually ignored and untouched since the 1960's, the southwest campus will become home to technical training in automotive repair, auto body repair and the construction trades, said Byrne.
"... we may also put the Manufacturing Sciences Center at Southwest if the engineering studies come back positive on the drainage for the part of the property we're considering for that," Byrne added.
If the site proves unsuitable, the Manufacturing Sciences Center would likely be situated on the BSCC's new Brookley Campus where an Aviation Sciences Center will be a highlight, said Byrne.
A site off Hwy. 43 in north Mobile County has been offered as a donation for an adjunct campus, Byrne noted.
Another local project is a Maritime Sciences Center to serve the maritime industry here. The facility may be located on the Causeway just east of the tunnel.
The changes at the BSCC southwest campus reflect the broader vision of the state's community colleges to develop a workforce to meet the needs of industry for qualified employees. In Alabama this year, 100 new and expanding industries were announced, with $5.7 billion in capital investments, representing 10,000 new jobs. In the Mobile area alone, the employee needs of ThyssenKrupp, Berg Steel and Austal make the role of the community college here critical to fulfilling the area's economic potential.
Under the aegis of Byrne and the state Board of Education, there are 27 institutions including community colleges, technical colleges, a four-year university and a military academy (Marion Institute). There are 82 instructional sites.
Other characteristics of the community college system are 284,368 total students, one-third of whom are minorities, with an average age of 27. The cost of tuition is about half that of public universities.
According to Byrne, due to the poor example set by BSCC, Mobile has little idea of the enormous, salutatory impact a well-run, two-year college can have on a community. It is ridiculous that BSCC has enrollment of about 2,500 in a metropolitan area that should attract at least four times that number, Byrne suggested. Toward that end, Byrne said BSCC would begin to truly serve the community expanding beyond downtown and areas east of I-65 to become more accessible to people in southwest Mobile County, west Mobile and north Mobile County.
The "bad acts" of a few shouldn't forever condemn the whole system that continues to have competent educators and employees and a vital mission in the state's success, according to Byrne. To restore public confidence and support, Byrne said the system's watchwords would be "accountability," "transparency" and "ethics training for all."
In the case of BSCC, Byrne said the accounting firm of Ernst & Young had been brought in to illuminate its finances from top to bottom, including its business operations, processes, financial controls and monitoring.
A similar mission on the academic side was assigned to James L. Fisher Ltd. which was charged with conducting an intensive institutional review, identifying issues and opportunities and developing a strategic plan.
A local firm, Sullivan-St. Clair was hired to balance the scales of bad publicity with the other side of the story.
Statewide, the system is an economic engine with 11,000 employees and overall annual budgets totaling almost $1 billion.
Byrne anticipates a brutal battle lies ahead with legislative interests which do not share his road map for leading the system in a new direction.
In the meantime, Byrne said he has "never had more fun than the last three months" traveling around the state visiting the system's facilities and their employees.
"I typically tour the campus, meet with faculty and staff, have a community meeting and do at least one press interview," he said. "It's physically very demanding but the response is overwhelmingly positive."
According to Byrne, he has been to 21 colleges and 16 branch campuses (which are usually in another town or city than the main campus). He will visit the other six colleges and 12 more branch campuses, along with the statewide AIDT staff, by Thanksgiving, he said.
"I have a much better feel for the system and the state as a whole from this tour," Byrne said.
He said he will throttle back for the holidays and then gear up for the legislative session beginning in February.
"My trips between New Year's and the end of the session in May will be more targeted as I need to stay focused on our legislative agenda," said Byrne. "By New Year's, the Department will be completely reorganized and fully staffed up, and the (state) Board (of Education) and I will have appointed four new college presidents."
"We have a lot of work left to do but the progress is real," Byrne concluded.
Earlier this year, Byrne resigned his seat in the state Senate representing District 32 or most of Baldwin County in order to accept Gov. Bob Riley's offer of the two-year college system's chancellorship. A native of Mobile, Byrne resides in Fairhope on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay with his wife, the former Rebecca Dukes. They are the parents of four children: Patrick, Kathleen, Laura, and Colin.
