Who's in charge? Who cares? (point of view).

Dear Editor:

The May 27, 2002 issue of Community College Week was devoted to the topic of the large number of community college presidents expected to leave over the next decade. The orientation of the analysis was framed by the cover question: Who will replace them? When 1 read that, my response was: What, if any, impact will this have?

In his Point of View piece, headlined, "How to make your college change and still make everybody happy," Century College President Larry Litecky described the internal chaos he found when he was appointed. However, even in such an extreme situation, he recognized the importance of the college's infrastructure and faculty/staff. Dr. George Vaughan forcefully states the limits of the actions of presidents at the conclusion of the main article: "Most successful presidents do not make sweeping changes."

Perhaps the time has come for us to change our focus and to examine the structures, networks and cultures that enable our institutions to function well in spite of changes in the occupancy of the office of president.

Sincerely,

Mark Oromaner
Dean of planning and institutional
research
Hudson County Community College
Jersey City, N.J.