Banner Staff Report

The Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College Board of Governors recently completed a performance evaluation of president, Joanne Jaeger Tomblin and unanimously approved a contract extension for a four-year period. The Board is required to conduct a written performance evaluation of Southern's president every fourth year of employment as president. The principal finding of the evaluation was that "President Joanne Jaeger Tomblin has achieved and exceeded all requirements of the evaluation criteria. Overall observation from the various constituent groups and individuals in the review about the performance and leadership of President Tomblin has been exemplary."

The review was the second in Tomblin's tenure as president since November 16, 1999. The evaluation was completed by a five-member Presidential Review Committee appointed by the Board of Governors composed of its own members with representatives from the faculty, staff, students, and external community.

"The Presidential Review Committee is satisfied with the level of detail we were given and believe that we provided for an open dialogue with the constituents associated with Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College," Committee Chairperson, Linda Akers said.

"Tomblin has provided strong, effective goal-oriented leadership to Southern during the past eight years," said Board of Governors past-chair, Shelley Huffman. "I join the rest of the Board in applauding her many accomplishments. We look forward to continuing to work closely with her for the next four years, as Southern moves forward on a host of important fronts."

"We believe that Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College is led by one of the most outstanding leaders in higher education today, and through her leadership Southern will become the premier community and technical college in West Virginia," Board of Governors Chairperson, Kevin Fowler said. "Our assessment found that President Tomblin is an honest, competent, seasoned, and visionary executive who has assembled and effectively leads a strong and cohesive team of higher educational professionals. President Tomblin is tremendously popular with Southern's student body because they recognize that her concern for them is genuine. During budget cuts that the institution has taken in the past, I have heard her say again and again that the top priority must be protecting its core academic functions," added Fowler.

The Review Team determined that Tomblin showed absolute loyalty to the institution, a strong work ethic, an understanding of West Virginia and its higher education system, excellent communication skills, a reputation for honesty, and an ability to attract private resources to the institution.

"The kind words and comments expressed throughout the Presidential Evaluation Report overwhelm me," President Tomblin said. "I am humbled and honored to accept the high responsibility of leading Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College for another four years. I take tremendous personal pride in the College's achievements, and enthusiastically embrace the challenge of taking this institution to the next level of excellence. I was impressed with the inclusive and openness of this evaluation. I sincerely thank the members of the Presidential Review Committee who took time from their busy schedules to conduct the interviews with the various constituencies and complete the reports."

The board found Tomblin had set a high standard of quality for herself and the college, earning respect for her leadership and commitment to quality. The Board of Governors, which includes faculty, classified staff and student representatives, receives formal reports and updates on key indicators of Southern's performance on a regular basis. However, there are other, more formal, evaluation processes that are utilized to assess the President's performance.

The principal finding of the review was that President Tomblin has achieved and exceeded all requirements of the evaluation criteria and more than exceeded expectations. Tomblin recognized and brought to the Board's attention issues that challenged her leadership skills during the past several years. The board viewed that openness as a sign of strength and the college has overcome obstacles and challenges including operation on lean resources at times through creativity and innovation. Her leadership brought to the college multi-million dollar state of the art facility, campus improvements, advanced technology, and new programs thanks to partnerships with the public school system, business and industry.

President Tomblin showed commitment to student learning and student success while achieving these goals. Overall observation from the various constituent groups and individuals in the review about the performance and leadership of President Joanne Tomblin has been exemplary. The board received strong, positive feedback from constituent groups about the dramatic changes that have occurred at Southern as a direct result of President Tomblin's leadership and hard work.

The review concluded that "President Tomblin has the full confidence and commitment of all campus constituencies, both internal and external, and the community at large.....Tomblin sets the standard for all community and technical colleges in West Virginia and is a model for leaders of higher education.

Tomblin is credited with several major accomplishments in her tenure, a time marked by a sluggish national economy, increasing competition, increased government regulation, reduced state support to higher education, heightened national security concerns, and expanded missions for community and technical colleges.

In September of 2006, Southern became the first community and technical college in the State of West Virginia to start a Major Gifts Campaign - Vision 2020. In approximately 18 months, the fund-raising campaign has reached 86 percent of its five-year goal of $7,000,000. She rebuilt the institution's Development Office and empowered academic leaders to develop new programs and strengthen curriculum providing equity between divisions, Career and Technical and University Transfer, as well as adding additional academic departments and department chairpersons.

All of Southern's Allied Health program graduates received a 100 percent passage rate on national licensure examinations during the 2007 academic year. Employment of graduates in the Allied Health programs remains at 100 percent. The West Virginia Board of Nursing highlighted Southern's Nursing Program as the best in the state following the release of information regarding licensure passage by West Virginia's nursing schools.

Southern's Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies has been a focal point since its opening in October 2006 and has worked in cooperation with coal and other energy sector business and industry to meet the current and future training needs of both entry level and experienced workers.

The Review Committee recognizes Tomblin has effectively made dramatic and positive changes in Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College which is significantly better as a result of her leadership. The College has truly benefited by her team approach management style of leadership, which has fostered a much more participatory environment Southern is on the move and is the crown jewel for giving opportunities to so many citizens of West Virginia. The progress Southern has made during her tenure speaks for itself.