College didn’t take at first for Diego Tibaquirá.
A civil engineering student initially, he got a “C” in calculus and did not enjoy computer programming. So the Bronx native left school and joined the Marines for eight years.
Stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina, he learned leadership skills and learned more about accountability and responsibility. Then he returned to school at Craven Community College in New Bern, North Carolina, where he aced calculus and discovered a newfound love for computers.
Now a senior associate professor of computer science at Miami Dade College’s School of Engineering and Technology, Tibaquirá in 2017 was named Robert Russell Memorial Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair and serves as lead faculty in the Dual Language Honors College and lead advisor for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He’s drawn upon the leadership skills he learned in the Marines and elsewhere, as well as his own beginnings, in broadening his portfolio beyond his curriculum.
This excerpt comes from the current issue of Community College Journal, the flagship publication of the American Association of Community Colleges.
“I want to make sure we give our students every single opportunity possible,” says Tibaquirá, one of 50 recipients of the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Recognition. “I want to make sure our students are well grounded by the time they’re ready to transfer to another institution, and also to help maximize their scholarship potential. I want to provide them with tools they can utilize to transfer to schools they never thought possible and to apply for scholarships they never thought they could get.”
A collaborative route
Those sorts of passions can motivate community college faculty to become leaders both inside and beyond the classroom. To support such faculty, colleges need to ensure that campus leaders provide professional development and leadership opportunities for people at all levels of the organization.
Penny Edwards, who became a full-time psychology instructor at Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, South Carolina, in 2006, helped to develop courses and served on the faculty senate before rising to social sciences department head three years ago. She says her earlier endeavors, combined with her natural leadership interests, moved her in that direction.
“In the classroom, and this probably extends to other endeavors on campus, I am the type of individual who tries to listen to people, and listen to the thoughts they have,” she says. “The way I teach is very interactive in a variety of ways, not just in active and collaborative learning inside the classroom, but also in that I incorporate the students’ input on the direction the class takes. … I’ve had students involved in creating course policies, and the syllabus.”
Edwards says she tries to take a similarly collaborative route when interacting with colleagues in committees and work groups.
“I try to listen for what various factions are talking about, what their stance is and bring those pieces into a cohesive whole that addresses the concerns of each, to synthesize that into some sort of plan or track we can take as a group,” she says. “I do tend to be task-oriented. If there’s a goal in place, I try to bring big ideas down to — it’s important to have a vision — but where does the rubber meet the road?”
To faculty who are interested in finding their way into leadership, Edwards encourages getting involved outside the classroom, networking with colleagues and communicating not only outside your department but across the “student affairs-academic affairs divide. Collaborate with them in experiences students can benefit from both inside and outside the classroom. Your efforts aren’t always with another faculty member — it could be with financial aid, it could be with student development.”
And faculty members can be from other divisions, she adds.
“You can work with someone in industrial engineering, you can work with someone in humanities.”
Local leadership
Edwards participated in a countywide leadership program a few years ago in which she worked on a project to beautify a local senior center, during which she made connections with others in the community.
“That was quite a transformative opportunity,” she says, and has led to her serving on the Leadership Pickens County Board of Regents for the past three years. Nationally, Edwards has stepped up into leadership as a member of the AACC’s Faculty Advisory Council, to which her colleagues nominated her. “I was incredibly honored, speechless actually, and proud that our faculty voted on me,” she says. Nevertheless, after her interview with AACC, Edwards was convinced she would not be chosen. “I thought I did horribly, but apparently, I did not,” she says with a laugh.
Upon being selected, Edwards sat down with campus leadership to craft a set of work groups on which she would serve to disseminate intelligence from the field.
“I’ve been acting as a liaison between the national stage, from what I’m learning at AACC, and bringing that down to the various committees and groups that I’m on,” she says. “I feel more connected to my institution and to higher education in general than I ever have.”
Ronnie Booth, president of Tri-County, says Edwards has always been involved in improving the campus and finding solutions, and she was the “obvious choice” when the college needed a department head, a valuable addition to the president’s advisory council that meets quarterly to discuss strategic big-picture issues, and a “pretty quick decision” for the AACC nomination, as well.
“We saw her as owning her job, and doing what needs to be done, and that gets a person recognized,” he says. “It’s a trite phrase, but she has a can-do attitude.”
Edwards’ most recent adventure has been her selection to the AACC John E. Roueche Future Leaders Institute, which she attended in early December. There, she networked with 24 people in mid-level leadership roles.
“I came back, and I told my dean that was the single-most influential professional development opportunity I’ve ever had in my career,” she says. “I felt so empowered. I felt that was a transitional point for me…I definitely have a clearer sense of the directions I would like to go. Of course, I could not have gotten there without all these things prior. I absolutely recognize this laddering effect that has occurred. I am grateful for the opportunities and support my institution has provided.”
