Sullivan interested in TVCC affairs
By larry meyer - argus observer
Sunday, May 6, 2007 12:22 AM PDT
| |
| David Sullivan is running to retain his seat on the Treasure Valley Community College board of directors in the May 15 election. Sullivan said he would like to work on student retention in his next term and is completing his eighth year on the board. |
ONTARIO - A neighbor of the Treasure Valley Community College Campus, David Sullivan, who is completing his eighth year on the TVCC board, said he has always been interested in the progress of the college. Sullivan is running to retain his seat on the board in the May 15 election.
“I want to see (the college) operate effectively and efficiently,” he said.
About a year into his first term, the college went through an embezzlement situation, “which proved to be a valuable lesson,” Sullivan said. Following the incident, the board and administration instituted policies and standards to prevent a reoccurrence.
“We’ve held to those standards,” Sullivan said. “It’s not something we just wrote. Our most important responsibility is being stewards of the public’s money.”
The budget is a balancing act of trying to work within the state revenue received, holding the line on expenses and trying to keep tuition down to attract students, he said.
“The budget is always a big challenge,” Sullivan said. “We have to keep costs reasonable.”
One of the challenges the college is trying to deal with is student retention, working to keep students in school and complete their academic programs. To a certain degree, it is a problem at most colleges, but TVCC’s retention rate is worse than the norm, Sullivan said. The college has received a grant to analyze the problem and develop solutions, he said.
“We need to keep them (students) engaged — keeping them in the classroom,” he said.
One way the college is working to keep students, he said, is the enhancement campus life to provide more activities.
Sullivan noted the board approved an extra fee charged to students, which is used to bring more programs to campus, and the new dorm is an added advantage.
One issue with higher education, Sullivan said, is that students are not coming to college as prepared as they used to be, and some students have to take extra courses to build up their skills.
Sullivan said he is pleased with the direction the college is going. Programs like nursing and welding put people directly into the workforce, he said.
Sullivan also wants to continue to grow the athletic programs. The baseball team is a good ambassador for the school, Sullivan said, and he would like to see the other teams to develop into that also.
“Athletics are our best marketing tool,” he said. “I’m really excited about the direction our athletics are going.”
Sullivan graduated from the University of Oregon, was involved in ag lending for two years and spent several years in Washington, D.C., involved in commercial lending. He came back to Ontario to be involved in the family business, which includes restaurants and property management.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "