University Economic Development Association

Dean of Continuing Education, Workforce Training, and Economic Development

Title   Dean of Continuing Education, Workforce Training,
and Economic Development
Organization / Institution   South Texas College
City, State   McAllen, TX
Information  

South Texas College, a comprehensive, multi-campus public community college in the Rio Grande Valley, has launched a national search for the Dean of Continuing Education, Workforce Training and Economic Development. This administrator will report directly to the President. The Search Committee invites applications, nominations, and expressions of interest.

Complete information is available in the Search Profile at https://apptrkr.com/1498337

The Opportunity
Founded in 1993, South Texas College (STC) is a nationally recognized community college with over 32,000 credit and more than 13,000 non-credit students each semester and a faculty and staff of more than 2,600. The college has five campuses, plus a sixth virtual online campus, and offers more than 121 degree and certificate program options and four applied baccalaureate degree programs.

The largest and fastest growing higher educational institution south of San Antonio, STC also offers continuing, professional, and workforce education programs and Dual Credit courses for eligible high school students.

More than 70 percent of the students are the first in their families to attend college, and more than 95 percent of the students are Hispanic. The Dual Credit program, which represents nearly 40 percent of the total enrollment, served over 100,000 high school students since 2000.

Shirley A. Reed, MBA, Ed.D., is the current and founding President of STC. A highly respected college administrator, Dr. Reed brought two decades of experience in higher education to the presidency, having served previously as Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services at Northland Pioneer College in Arizona.

Her passion for providing educational opportunities is evident in the many accomplishments of the College over the past 25 years. STC has transformed not only the lives of its students and graduates, but also the entire Rio Grande Valley.

STC has long been recognized as a catalyst for regional economic prosperity and social mobility for its service area in Hidalgo and Starr counties. Since the creation of South Texas College, the unemployment rate in its two-county district has dropped from 24.1 percent to 7.9 percent for Hidalgo County and from 40.3 percent to 13.0 percent for Starr County (August 2015). Additionally, the population below the poverty level has dropped from 41.5 percent to 34.8 percent for Hidalgo County, and from 59.6 percent to 39.2 percent in Starr County.

STC serves more than 23,000 non-credit continuing education students a year, of which over 2,000 are part of the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing. Whether through career preparation, career pathways, customized corporate training, professional education and development, professional conferences, or personal enrichment courses, STC provides quality education opportunities to enable students to reach their professional and personal goals and companies to have a skilled and trained workforce to prosper.

For complete information, visit www.southtexascollege.edu/cpwe/

The Dean of Continuing Education, Workforce Training, and Economic Development is an exceptional opportunity for an entrepreneurial leader who is committed to serving students and the community and is passionate about their success.

The Position:
The Dean of Continuing Education, Workforce Training, and Economic Development (Dean) provides visionary, results-oriented leadership in delivering quality educational opportunities for lifelong learners and custom training for businesses, industry, and area companies. The Dean is responsible for developing, managing, and administering programs in the areas of Adult Basic Education, Customized Workforce Training and Economic Development, Personal Enrichment, and Professional Education and Development.
Working with a 20-member staff, the Dean develops programs that offer quality and lifelong education opportunities through career preparation, career pathways, customized corporate training, professional education and development, professional conferences, and personal enrichment courses. The on-site programs are offered on the Pecan Campus, Starr County campus, and the Technology Campus.

Responsibilities:
• Provides leadership for the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and training in response to the needs of the community.
• Provides entrepreneurial leadership and accountability for operation of a financially self-sustaining unit of the College.
• Develops, recommends, and administers the annual department budget and is responsible for maintaining accountability and sound fiscal management.
• Fosters collaborative partnerships internally within the College and externally with all segments of the community, agencies, businesses, and organizations.
• Develops annual department staffing plan and oversees the recruitment, hiring, management, evaluation, and development of staff, adjunct trainers, and training consultants.
• Interfaces with key academic affairs and student services personnel to integrate noncredit continuing education programs with credit programs.
• Develops short- and long-term plan for implementing and expanding online processes for registration and other automated operational functions.
• Responsible for the development, implementation, and compliance with federal, state, and local grants and contracts.
• Responsible for department inventory and controls, course curriculum, program quality, policy formulation and interpretation, enrollment data, course attendance records, and oversight of personnel timekeeping records.
• Facilitates the purchasing of suitable diagnostic tests, textbooks, materials, and other instructional resources as necessary for continuing education, customized workforce training activities, and other departmental programming activities.
• Leads the strategic planning process to establish goals, action plans, and institutional effectiveness (IE) plans leading to increased annual enrollment and recovery of costs for self-sustaining funding of the department.
• Submits required reports to College administrators and regulatory bodies.
• Develops and spearheads marketing and promotional activities to promote student enrollment, responsiveness to community needs and public awareness of departmental capacity achievements and activities.
• Ensures compliance with all regulating bodies.
• Supervises the Continuing Education, Workforce Training, and Economic Development staff.
• Serves as a member of college councils, committees, and task forces and represents the College at conferences and meetings.
• Represents the College in meetings and workshops with economic development organizations and their business and industry prospects.
• Meets regularly with local, regional, and state government representatives to discuss and evaluate strategies that support workforce education.
• Negotiates the acquisition of capital equipment to support training activities and programs.
• Secures grants, contributions, and other funding sources to support continuing education, workforce training, and economic development programs.

Qualifications:
A master’s degree in Education or related field is required; a doctorate is preferred. Candidate must have at least five years of experience in any of the following or combined areas: adult education, continuing education, workforce training, customized training, or other relevant experience. A minimum of two years of progressive administrative/supervisory experience is required.

Knowledge of non-credit continuing education, program development, operations, management, marketing, and grant development is preferred.

Due to travel, candidate must have or qualify for a valid Texas driver’s license and proof of liability insurance.

Other requirements include:
• Excellent oral, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills
• Strong computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Office including, but not limited to, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, the Windows environment, and internet research skills
• Demonstrated ability to develop partnerships and procure necessary resources
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects that require demonstrated leadership ability in an environment of rapid growth and change
• Ability to adapt to constant change and periods of fast-paced, high-intensity work situations
• Ability to analyze situations quickly and objectively and to determine proper course of action
• Detail and deadline oriented with a solid background in program development, operations, management, marketing, and grant development
• Knowledge of potential applications for automation of continuing education systems to optimize efficiencies and streamline processes
• Team player with the ability to collaborate with all departments, functions, and support services of the College
• Ability to apply basic accounting and develop financial revenue and expenditure projections for a self-sustaining unit of the College
• Strong management, operations, business, and accounting skills
• Ability to work evenings and/or weekends as needed; willing to travel throughout the College district using own means of reliable transportation
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with a diverse, multi-cultural community serving a predominantly Hispanic population
• Demonstrated commitment to achieving the vision and mission of South Texas College
• Ability to conduct academic research, read, analyze, and interpret, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations and ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to inquiries from executive management, faculty, staff, students, public groups, regulatory agencies, and/or Board of Trustees
• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, defining and solving potential problems, collect data, establish facts, and drawing valid conclusions, with ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists

All applicants are subject to a national criminal background check under South Texas College policy. Because this is a security sensitive position, finalists will have a federal background check.

To Apply   …….

To Apply – Application packet must include: a) letter of interest, b) current curriculum vitae, and c) at least five references with full contact and e-mail information and must include references at each place of employment within the past 10 years. (References will not be contacted without the applicant’s consent.)

Submit application packet (preferably as PDFs) to STC-CE@myersmcrae.com by July 29, 2019, for best consideration. The application process will remain open until the position is filled.

Submit nominations to STC-CE-nominate@myersmcrae.com with complete contact and e-mail information on the individual being nominated.