Postsecondary International Network Newsletter Fall 1998

Cynthia Heelan Becomes PIN President

Cynthia Heelan, Colorado Mountain Community College (US) president, was elected to serve as president for a two-year term starting July 1998. Her term will run through June 2000. The presidency is rotated through each of the member countries. The PIN Vice president moves to president. Andrew Jackson, Box Hill Institute of TAFE (Australia) CEO, was elected to serve as vice president and will become president in July 2000.

Now we look forward to the future of PIN. We are looking forward to a visioning process with the entire membership of the Postsecondary International Network. Bill Warner, (Executive Director) and I, ask for your full participation in helping us to think about ways that we may reflect our history and yet shape a new and exciting future for this organization. Please be thinking about where you think this organization should go, how should we involve our colleges, what should be the product of PIN and other significant questions related to our future.

The process will be as follows:

1. The Executive Committee will draft a vision statement. Information will be provided to the Committee regarding vision, and each member will draft his or her own vision concepts.

2. Bill and Cynthia will incorporate Executive Committee ideas into a statement of vision.

3. The full membership will review and comment.

4. Bill and Cynthia will prepare a final draft.

Once again, thank you for an excellent summer meeting; we look forward to our meetings in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand and Australia in 1999-2000. These meetings are wonderful opportunities for us to expand our international awareness and our connection to the education community with a global perspective.

FITPIN – Progress and Plans

The Faculty Implementation Task Force of PIN (FITPIN) was busy during the past year expanding its membership and developing new activities of collaboration among its members. And the coming year should prove to be an especially exciting one as we begin to develop a model international business degree program applicable for our member institutions.

During the past year FITPIN:

- expanded from 7 to 17 participating PIN institutions;

- initiated several student-to-student projects such as international socio-economic research, joint international marketing plans and sharing/analyzing financial statements;

- developed and submitted two proposals for externally funded projects (EC funds);

- continued development of one semester faculty and student exchange programs;

- held a workshop at Durham College and elaborated a plan for expanding our inter-institutional activities;

- set up our own list-serve (electronic bulletin board) to improve our communications.

During the coming year, FITPIN plans to:

- implement a plan to expand collaborative activities including a student business quarterly, international internships, international contributions to student newspapers, and credit-bearing joint study trips for students to lesser developed countries;

- support the re-initiation of the global leadership program to be hosted by Colorado Mountain College this year;

- form a sub-group of members to develop a model degree program of international business which can be adapted and implemented by all PIN institutions.

Already five FITPIN members have agreed to work on the international business program. Work should begin on this ambitious project later on this fall. 1998-1999 will be a most interesting year. Colleges interested in participating in the international business program should contact Peter Van Brunt, Delhi College (US).

Membership Growing

PIN membership continues to grow. The membership reflects the new members that were approved at the April 1998 Executive meeting. The current status of members by country is:

June 27 – July 2, 1999

Barnsley College (England) and Langside College (Scotland) will co-host the 1999 Summer Conference. Barnsley College will open the conference on Sunday, June 27 with a PIN business meeting and opening banquet. The conference program will be presented on Monday, June 28 and Tuesday, June 29. Wednesday, June 30 will be a travel day to Langside College, Glasgow, Scotland. The second half of the conference program will be presented on Thursday, July 1 and Friday, July 2. In addition to a stimulating program, the colleges are arranging a variety of social events to allow participants an opportunity to experience the local culture.

2000 Summer Conference

Australia and New Zealand will host the 2000 conference. Each country will develop a 2 ? to 3-day program. The conference will be held during the last week of February or the first week in March. Note: This will be summer down under. John Scott, New Zealand, and Andrew Jackson, Australia will coordinate the program.

2001 Summer Conference

Mohawk College and Delhi College will host the 2001 conference. Mike Schafer, Mohawk College (US) president, reported that the colleges will work together to present a high-quality conference.

PIN Executive Committee

The PIN Executive Committee is charged with administering the business of the organization. Each country is allocated three members on the Executive Committee. New Zealand and Australia had not previously had members on the Executive Committee and other countries have vacancies. Each country is responsible for recommending their Executive members. The current membership includes:

Get To Know Your Executive Board

Here is an opportunity to get to know some of the PIN Executive Board members. The members not presented in this edition will be presented in the next edition.

Irene Lewis, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Irene Lewis became president of SAIT on 2 July 98. She has held several senior positions over her 30 plus years in the field of education and training, and is looking forward to leading this success-oriented organization.

SAIT welcomed PIN members this past July, and the information sharing and collaboration among the member institutions truly demonstrated the intent of PIN. As a result there has been dialogue between our faculty and those of other colleges which included sharing of information and materials. We anticipate future partnerships or joint ventures which will indeed better the learning environments of all our learners.

Andrew Jackson, Box Hill Institute of TAFE

Andrew Jackson has undertaken graduate courses in mechanical engineering, agricultural engineering and vocational education; and postgraduate courses in administration.

He commenced work as an engineer with the Australian Paper Mills, then had a career change to vocational education where a number of years were spent in developing links with industry to establish relevant training courses, and finally managing technical and further education institutes since 1982. He has been the of CEO Yallourn Institute (now called Central Gippsland Institute) and is now the CEO of Box Hill Institute situated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Box Hill Institute has been transformed from an institute relying on Government funds to one now generating 50% of its revenue from external income which is derived from the sale of products and services both nationally and internationally.

Involvement with PIN has allowed Box Hill Institute to access with major international institutes and to discuss and to formulate strategies in areas of common interest.

For example, it has developed a business relationship with Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada in the supply of new training arrangements for Freeport's copper mine in Irian Jaya (Indonesia), and become involved in staff exchange programs.

Joe Preusser, Central Community College

Joe Preusser is the president of Central Community College in Nebraska and is a member of the PIN Executive Committee. He started working for Central in 1971. He has been an instructor, department chair, dean, campus president and since 1984 the college president of a three-campus system. Central Community College is a locally governed political subdivision, deriving a portion of its support from property taxes levied in the 25-county district which it serves. This area encompasses 14,000 square miles and has a population of about 282,000.

Dr. Chester Gausman, founding president of Central, was a charter member of PIN. Dr. Gausman made the motion on April 29, 1979 to form a Postsecondary International Network which would link American and Canadian two-year institutions more closely. Central Community College has been an active member in PIN and has participated in at least one PIN activity each year since the organization began. PIN has proven to be a valuable organization in which Central Community College has been able to share and discuss issues with other CEOs, improve international understanding, provide staff development opportunities, student exchanges and cultural experiences ranging from students to the Board of Governors.

John Scott, Christchurch Polytechnic

John Scott was one of the first New Zealand CEOs to join PIN and has been an enthusiastic promoter of the benefits within the NZ Polytechnic sector. Starting in primary teaching John has worked in secondary and in special education, before joining the Polytechnic system as a Counsellor and then as head of an art dept. Having founded Wanganui Polytechnic, one of the leading art and design institutions in NZ, John moved to Christchurch Polytechnic in 1994. He is now the longest serving CEO in the NZ Tertiary Education Sector and has held every major position in the NZ Polytechnic association.

John states that he is particularly committed to international education and the internationalization of the curriculum. NZ is an isolated country with a penchant for travel, and our Polytechnic has a real awareness of the benefits of globalization. PIN has been the best network system I have found. It is made up of people who become friends, with a common mission and a belief in the benefits of sharing resources, as well as promoting articulations and global understanding through exchanges and networking."

David Eade, Barnsley College

David Eade is the principal of Barnsley College, which is a large tertiary college in South Yorkshire, England. A merger of three smaller colleges and the sixth forms of the town’s schools in 1990 formed the college. David was appointed in 1990 to lead the college through the merger and then act as its first principal. Prior to that David had been the Director of Further and Higher Education in the City of Leeds where from 1984 he was the Principal of an inner-city further education college. David is a member of the English Further Education Funding Council and the further education representative on the Yorkshire and Humberside Assembly. Membership of PIN has benefited Barnsley College in both general and specific ways. There is an undoubted strength to be gained from being involved in an international organization which celebrates diversity whilst recognizing similarities, and which values the local whilst dismissing the parochial. PIN helps to widen our vision and puts the college in an international context. In terms of the specifics, both staff and students have had experiences and opportunities from PIN activities, which would not have otherwise been available to them. Our Export Management students, for example, gained enormously from their study visit to Thunder Bay. Further initiatives are under way following the Calgary Conference.

Faculty/Staff Exchange Visit Program

The exchange and visit program is designed to facilitate faculty exchanges and visits among PIN member colleges. The exchanges and visits are designed to enhance the professional development of faculty and to further international understanding of two-year colleges. The colleges are expected to support and facilitate the exchange/visit process. The college and the faculty members develop the exchange or visit to meet their institutional and individual objectives.

PIN will award two $500 stipends to facilitate faculty exchanges and visits to each country for the academic year. It is expected that the college will match the dollar amount of the stipend. The match will be cash or an in-kind contribution.

1. The Faculty Exchange and Visit Program Application Form should be used.
2. The program criteria must be addressed in the application.
3. The narrative should be no longer than 1000 words.
4. The college president/principal and the faculty member must sign the application form.
5. If there is a need for assistance in identifying a host college, PIN will assist in identifying appropriate host colleges.
6. Faculty Exchange and Visit Program Application must be submitted to an Executive Committee of their country.
7. All applications will be reviewed at the annual Executive Committee meeting in March/April.
8. The Executive Committee will identify the award recipients at the annual Executive Committee meeting.
9. The PIN president will notify the successful and unsuccessful applicants by May 1.
10. The $500 stipend check will be sent to the college president, who will make the award to the faculty member.

1. All applicants must be PIN members.
2. The goals and objectives of the exchange or visit must be identified.
3. Activities that will be used to achieve the goals and objectives
   should be identified.
4. The benefits of the exchange or visit for the college, department, and the individual must be identified.
5. The exchange must be consistent with the goals of the PIN organization.

Executive Director

Bill Warner was appointed Executive Director of PIN at the summer business meeting. The responsibilities of the Executive Director include:

Financial

• Manage funds – investment and checking
• Issues checks
• Collect dues
• Prepare financial statements
• Reconcile accounts

Membership

• Maintain membership directory
• Assist recruitment of new members

Newsletter

• Prepare and distribute two newsletters annually

Meetings

• Coordinate agenda
• Prepare and distribute minutes
• Assist conference host to plan the annual conference

PIN Projects

• Coordinate exchanges and visits
• Liaison with FITPIN and other PIN projects

Planning

• Coordinate PIN planning process

• Facilitate input from membership