College Connection: Learning by listening
By Randy Griffin
Friday, September 4, 2009 10:20 AM PDT
“Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.” — Bernard Baruch.
Growing up in Eastern Oregon, I learned quickly that, if I sat quietly, I could learn a lot about what was going on around me. Since I was really shy, this skill fit perfectly with my desire to not draw a lot of attention to myself.
And I learned it’s amazing what you can find out when no one thinks you’re listening.
As an adult I became a little more outgoing, but I still realize the value in listening to others — and I’ve also learned it’s amazing what you can find out when people know you are really listening.
As acting president of Treasure Valley Community College, I’m committed to making sure I am out in the community and I am listening to what you think about the college. What are we doing well, and what can improve in order to serve our community better? I’m scheduled to present information about TVCC at a number of local service clubs next month, and I’m eager to find more ways to hear from our community. Since I plan to do more listening than talking, I’m grateful for this chance to introduce myself to those I don’t know and hopefully share a little about why I am so passionate about TVCC and the opportunity we have to serve this community.
As I mentioned, I’m an Eastern Oregonian, which means I know that Eastern Oregon doesn’t start in Bend. I was raised in Huntington. My local family roots go back to the 1940s when my Grandpa Lee moved his family to Ontario to farm. I grew up in Huntington, and, after graduating from Huntington High School, I went on to earn degrees from Treasure Valley Community College and Eastern Oregon University. After seven years as accountant/auditor at Nichols Professional Group, I was hired to work in the business office at TVCC. I’ve held a number of positions at the college, including TVCC co-president in the early 1990s as well as dean of administrative services.
Now, as acting president, I start my 26th year at the college. During the summer, as the college’s leadership changed, a number of people stopped me to ask about the college and if there were any concerns about being acting president. I want to share with you what I’ve told others: It takes a team.
And, while I am excited about the challenges in this new role, I’ll be the first to tell you it takes our entire faculty and staff to make the college run effectively and efficiently. We have an incredible group of dedicated employees.
We’ve all been working hard to balance priorities and make sure that, even while we were faced with some administrative changes, the students came first and our programs and services were solid.
After a more than 33 percent increase in students this summer than last, we are still working furiously to get ready for an almost 30 percent increase in enrollment this fall. Classes start Sept. 21, and we are gearing up for a pretty impressive year of activities and events.
I look forward to the opportunity to meet more of you in my new role, and forgive me if I seem to be listening more than talking. I really do want to know what we can do to serve this community better.
If you’d like to hear more about TVCC, I’m happy to meet with local groups or answer any questions you may have.
Randy Griffin is acting president of Treasure Valley Community College. He can be reached at rgriffin@tvcc.cc or (541) 881-8822, ext. 310
