February 22, 2017 – Pearl River Community College

A strong storm front cut across Louisiana last night so I dragged my feet in heading out of the city.  No reason to drive right back into the rain that had just passed.  Heading out made me want to stay.  Marti Graz was next week and I like the funky vibe of a city who’s residents leave art on the streets for others to find, besides I still had not tried King Cake.

But I needed to keep moving east.  The plan was to camp in the woods in Southern Mississippi one night and then move on to do the same in Alabama.  The closest Community College was in Poplarville so it would be my next site to visit.  As I crossed state lines I stopped at a rest area with a welcome center, where the nice retired military woman providing information also offered me a slice of King Cake!  The world has a way of working things out, and while this trip has not been smooth it has found a way of presenting to me the experiences I need to have.  On this morning it was King Cake, and boy is that stuff sweet...

Pearl River Community College

Pearl River Community College is only a few miles up the road from the state line.  I chose to take the two-lane route 11, instead of the faster interstate and arrived at the college around noon.  First thing I noticed was a plaque in the main courtyard giving the history of the college, which is one of the Country’s oldest two-year colleges, and predates the Mississippi University system having been established as an Agricultural High School in 1909.  

The next thing I did was check out the student center and the cafeteria.  Where I was treated to an all you can eat delicious meal of shrimp po-boys, Jambalaya, beans, salad and desert.  I tried to wander into the cafeteria to see what was on the menu and the nice woman working the register stopped me, and explained that it was pay to enter.  The price of $6.75 explained two things.  Why there was this great feeling of community at the college (food brings everyone together) and why it must be very hard to remain thin in Mississippi.  All the food was excellent and not what one might expect from cafeteria faire.  Perl River also has resident students so I believe this was the cafeteria for both the public and the residents.

After stalking yet another physiology instructor and finding them very busy with students and classes.  I went to library to find more information about the history of the college.  If this trip evolves into anything more comprehensive than a tour guide, it would be good to have some context on the establishment of two-year colleges.  I was surprised by what I found.  Pearl River not only has a rich history, it has a museum devoted to this history.   In discovering this I also discovered a walth of information in the form of the colleges public relations production manager and curator of the museum.

At CCSF we have had difficulties for some time in getting everyone on the same page with our public relations and communications.  A public relations person who focuses much more on the governmental side of things has handled much of the internal communications and for the past few years.  Consultants have handled the task of developing advertising materials.  The resulting messages are not imbued with the college’s history or place in the community and this has been a sore spot for many in the community.  

At Pearl River the production of materials is connected with the media classes so they use the resources they have and train students in the process.  I had to laugh as I approached the public relations building dedicated to this because it stood in such contrast to our office of public relations and our media design programs, which are not connected.  The museum was a labor of love of the director.  It started out as one small room in a small building next to the police department, and has grown.  The four rooms have very professional displays of the rich history of the college including its founders, early college life and sports and educational technology.  (Calvin would love such a place at CCSF, for it literally had the first college computer, an apple.  If CCSF could house such a museum one wing could be the apple museum he has collected).  On display were old typewriters, card catalogs, and film projectors, as well as uniforms and a reproduction of an early dorm room.

This college clearly has a pride and understanding of history and its place in it, and that is maintained by people like the people we have at CCSF who know the history or are willing to put in the work to research it, because its important.  I connected this to another process of the college as well.  In January the long time president of Pearl River announced his retirement.  Rather than bring in a national search consultant, the president has been grooming his successor for years.  I understand both the president and his successor went to the college progressed through the educational ranks within the college and are products of the history that is being preserved and valued.  

I get that this is a very conservative way of running a college, and there are some consequences (talk to me for details).  But given CCSF has taken it to the other extreme with four presidents over three years and new outside search consultants who do have significant influence on shaping the future of the college, I thought It needed to mention it here for perspective.  CCSF has a rich history and that history is intertwined with the history of San Francisco.  CCSF also has people who know a lot about what makes good education.  At both colleges, I have seen individuals giving above and beyond to establish the quality of the programs they are incharge of (Of note, is that a museum once created is much easier to maintain than a science program…)  

Our challenges at CCSF appear to be we are not always on the same page or pulling in the same direction on priorities, so the efforts of the individual are not in many ways appreciated, supported or in the works case undercut by the institution.  A more sports oriented culture (I believe the presidents of Pearl River have come up as leaders in their athletics programs first) might be one way to go.  But perhaps there is a middle path.  I left the college thinking what is the culture of our institution?  The mission statement of Perl College is very simple and straightforward and is posted on the walls of the building.  So is ours but our vision for the college is much more complex, as are we…