2008 Woodie Awards
Dr. Victoria Morrow 'a good fit' as Skyline's new President
Dr. Morrow is ready to take challenges head on
Neill Herbert
Date created: 1/31/05 Section: NEWS
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One such thing that the whole California Community College system has had to deal with is the recent statewide budget crisis. Despite a lessening in the severity of the crisis, Morrow is keeping a wary eye on finances.
"I'm not through worrying about how the budget is going to shake out," she said. "I think it won't be as bad as it has been the past couple of years, but it's still not what we need. We need to be sure that fees are dealt with in much more of a moderate, predictable way than they have been. This roller coaster ride is just madness."
Morrow's top priority for the semester is familiarizing herself with the college's facilities, its faculty and staff, its students, and its programs and services and strengthening the institution's connections to the surrounding community, all in order to identify ways to improve areas that need work and strengthening those that are successful.
To that end, she meets with faculty regularly, including weekly meetings with the facilities crew leaders to make sure campus construction is going as planned. To solidify connections with the community, she joined the San Bruno Rotary Club. To connect with students, she also meets with ASSC President Ilka Barcala and, at times, the two set up a table in the cafeteria so that students can meet the leadership face-to-face. President Morrow has also expressed desire in holding "town hall" meetings on a regular basis to get direct feedback from both staff and students.
As she is eager to make the transition process as quick and easy as possible, she hopes that people will stop her if they see her on campus and introduce themselves, and even stop by her office to "say hello."
When asked how long she thinks it will take to get completely comfortable in her new role, her tongue-in-cheek answer-"Maybe 15 or 20 minutes."-seems believable due to her upbeat attitude. Of course, she looks forward to growing more and more comfortable and knowledgeable about her office over the long haul.
"The kind of deep knowledge that I'm talking about is something that will get richer with each passing year."
So how long does she plan on being at Skyline?
"As long as it feels like fun."
Judging from her positive outlook, it could be a while.
"I'm not through worrying about how the budget is going to shake out," she said. "I think it won't be as bad as it has been the past couple of years, but it's still not what we need. We need to be sure that fees are dealt with in much more of a moderate, predictable way than they have been. This roller coaster ride is just madness."
Morrow's top priority for the semester is familiarizing herself with the college's facilities, its faculty and staff, its students, and its programs and services and strengthening the institution's connections to the surrounding community, all in order to identify ways to improve areas that need work and strengthening those that are successful.
To that end, she meets with faculty regularly, including weekly meetings with the facilities crew leaders to make sure campus construction is going as planned. To solidify connections with the community, she joined the San Bruno Rotary Club. To connect with students, she also meets with ASSC President Ilka Barcala and, at times, the two set up a table in the cafeteria so that students can meet the leadership face-to-face. President Morrow has also expressed desire in holding "town hall" meetings on a regular basis to get direct feedback from both staff and students.
As she is eager to make the transition process as quick and easy as possible, she hopes that people will stop her if they see her on campus and introduce themselves, and even stop by her office to "say hello."
When asked how long she thinks it will take to get completely comfortable in her new role, her tongue-in-cheek answer-"Maybe 15 or 20 minutes."-seems believable due to her upbeat attitude. Of course, she looks forward to growing more and more comfortable and knowledgeable about her office over the long haul.
"The kind of deep knowledge that I'm talking about is something that will get richer with each passing year."
So how long does she plan on being at Skyline?
"As long as it feels like fun."
Judging from her positive outlook, it could be a while.
