Governor to School Presidents: Take it Seriously

Governor Bob Riley says Alabama two-year colleges and their presidents are doing a good job in helping Alabama continue to push the envelope when it comes to economic development. But before they rest on their laurels, Riley reminded the presidents that he is not slowing down and that last week he was “talking to a company that could very well bring 10,000 new jobs to an area of the state.”

Riley told the summer meeting of the Alabama Community College Presidents’ Association that in spite of the strains, challenges, and opportunities already on the postsecondary system, if Alabama is going to live up to its potential, they are going to have to believe and do more. Riley promised the assembled presidents his administration “won’t challenge you and ask you to do it without resources.”

The governor did not say in the speech where he would get the resources but told the educational leaders if they continued to widen the gap between what Alabama is capable of doing, particularly in regard to workforce development, and what other states are trying to do “you won’t have to worry about funding. We won’t have to worry about per capita income growth; we won’t have to worry about all the quality of life issues we’ve had to worry about for the last several generations. Take it seriously.”

The state’s chief executive told his audience, “We would not have gone from $7 million dollars to $50 million in workforce training funding if it hadn’t been for people sitting in this room. One thing I can tell you today, $50 million is not going to be enough, not with all the challenges we are fixing to layer on top of the challenges that you’ve already picked up.”

Alabama’s Director of Workforce Development, Matthew Hughes, said if after next fiscal year there is not adequate funding for the state’s workforce development programs, the programs will “collapse.” Chancellor Bradley Byrne says the system will be okay for the next fiscal year. “The Legislature gave us the flexibility to carry money forward from this fiscal year into next fiscal year, so we’re going to hold some money back from this fiscal year and carry it forward into the next fiscal year and we’ll get through next fiscal year without any of our direct programs having to take a hit.”

But, the chancellor emphasized, there are some things “that you do that support those direct programs that we won’t be able to do, for example the radio campaign that we talked about we won’t be able to do that. Some of the adult education money has also been used to supplement what we’ve been doing in workforce development. We’re not going to be able to do that. We’ll get through next year…we’ve already challenged ourselves to learn how to do things better and more efficiently. So this next 15 months is a transitional period…But, after this 15 month period is up, if we don’t have a substantial increase in the funding of adult education we’re going to start failing in adult education. We will crash and burn.” The system’s adult education program feeds students into many of the system’s workforce development programs.

Riley said during his speech that he realizes it’s easy for him to make promises other people have to carry out, but that he has faith that Alabama’s economy will survive the economic downturn “better than most” and that he knows the community college presidents are up for the challenge.

“When you look at the number of opportunities that exist today that are putting pressure on our system to turn out more people for the shipbuilding industry, for aviation, for auto then you begin to realize when the governor goes out and accepts another responsibility it’s the easiest thing in the world. Because all I’m going to get is praise for doing it. But I’m telling you, if it wasn’t for you I would not do it. I have so much confidence in your ability to make sure that we live up to the promises that we’re making to the people out there today that it allows me the flexibility and freedom to push the edge of the envelope a little farther every time because you never fail.”

Hughes says one of the ways the system is living up to the workforce development challenges is through programs like the Build Mobile maritime training program, previously run at Brookley Field, but now run at the Carver Campus of Bishop State Community College.

“The welding and shipbuilding program continues to grow and will have between 100-150 students in it this fall term. But over the three years that the Build Mobile program has been in existence, that program has put more than 500 people to work in the maritime industry and this is a 10-week training program, funded through workforce development funds through the Department of Postsecondary Education.” He said initially some jobs paid a little more than $20 an hour with full benefits, but the last correspondence he got one company wanted to pay graduates of the program $24 an hour. “Most people don’t even stay the full 10-weeks of training because they get jobs before the 10-weeks are up and they leave and go to work. This is an example of a successful workforce development program and a good use of state workforce development dollars. You’ve got 500 people out there making a better living for themselves, their families, their children. It’s a better life for them and their community. That’s what we should be doing with workforce development.”

Hughes says decisions have to be made by people at the regional level. “We have a need to drive decision making on workforce development priorities to the regional levels. The only way to do that is to involve people from those regions. The workforce development system needs to be market driven, needs to be led by private sector employers, economic developers, and elected officials. We do not need to be making decisions in Montgomery about what workforce development priorities are in Houston County, Geneva County or in Madison County. They need to tell us what the priorities are and it’s our role to serve them and to give them the resources the best that we can to meet those workforce development priorities.”

Riley told the assemblage of college leaders they were the only ones that would be able to ensure the state could meet all the demands of excellence required by many national and international companies when making a decision about whether or not to bring their businesses to Alabama. “Higher education can’t do it; K-12 doesn’t have the option. The only people that we have, that can live up to that level of excellence are sitting in this room.”

Riley told the presidents he was not pandering. “This is a statement of fact. Your attitude over how you look at your job over the next two, three, five years is going to determine what this state is like for the next generation… Alabama today is at a juncture where we, if we make the right decisions, make investments in the right place, if we’re truly committed to excellence you’re going to see an Alabama that never takes a back seat to anyone ever again.”

Whether it’s in K-12, community colleges, higher education, capital development , per capita income or quality of life issues, Alabama is absolutely poised to lead not just the South, but to lead this nation for the next generation. We could almost go with the people that we have on the drawing board today. But every time we sign another one of these companies, it means another supplier is going to come. Every time we get another supplier in that means some local business is going to be challenged because they are going to lose some of their better employees. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done.”

Many schools such as Wallace Community College – Dothan with its Global Learner College initiative are trying to prepare themselves and their students for a global workforce economy. Representatives of the college told the college presidents on Monday that the effort has resulted in an increased enrollment for three consecutive terms. Some of the concepts the school is trying to incorporate into everything that it and its students do are integrity, visionary leadership, outside-the-box creative thinking, advanced digital learning, quality, entrepreneurialism and competitive competence.

There will be a new governor elected in 2010 to lead the state. One of the names creating a lot of buzz in political circles sat and listened intently to what the current governor had to say Monday. So, will the two-year college chancellor run for governor in 2010? Find out what he’s currently thinking, here.