Remarks from the editor

Community College Enterprise, The, Spring 2004 by Reibling, Louis A

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

-W. Edwards Deming

CHANGE is the theme of uncountable books, songs, poems and studies. Some of the words are predictable, some are profound, but the volume of writing underscores the inevitability of the phenomenon.

Four members of our editorial staff will soon embark on significant changes. Jeanne Bonner and I are retiring from Schoolcraft College in June. Gordon Wilson and Janet Schneider will retire from the college in December of 2004. Gordon and I will retain our respective positions with The Community College Enterprise and will strive to provide the quality and relevance you expect from the CCE. I hope you'll join me as I wish Jeanne and Janet health, prosperity and the time to enjoy them.

Several articles in the current issue discuss change in its various stages, from inception to implementation. Pamela Eddy studies two higher education presidents and their constituents to determine how their respective approaches to change affect the acceptance and success of institutional change. In a parallel discussion, Clarissa Craig writes that successful, adaptive institutions approach change holistically and continuously.

As a society, we face changes in our national composition, and diversity is an issue to a greater or lesser degree on every campus. Many may think campus demographics should mirror the demographics of society as a whole and for that reason alone promoting diversity is the right thing to do. In the regular feature, "Two Sides of the Same Coin," Steve Berg interviews Lester Monts and Pedro Luna and demonstrates that diversity on campus is desirable not only as an equitable reflection of society, but as a valuable component in the learning process.

In the first of a two-part article, Virginia Hamori-Ota presents her research-based process for swiftly and efficiently launching new programs in higher education. August Hoffman, Dawn Thompson and Arlcne Cruz describe the effects on self-regard among students participating in an experimental gardening program they developed.

Two articles illustrate challenges faced by groups often considered marginalized in higher education. Denise Dedman and William Pearch examine the itinerant status of adjunct faculty members. Thomas Steinmann, Michael Miller and Myron Pope look at the particular challenges female community college students encounter.

In our book review and technology review features, Julie Schneider reviews Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching in Science, Tecnnology, Engineering and Mathematics, the result of a study by the National Research Council, and Linda Davis evaluates Microsoft® FrontPage®, a web design tool.

Louis A Reibling

Louis A. Reibling,

Ph.D.

Editor