BIOGRAPHY Dr. Barbara Buchanan

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1 Dr. Barbara BIOGRAPHY Dr. Barbara has more than 18 years of experience in Texas community college leadership. She served at Panola College in Carthage, Texas where she led continuing education, workforce development, adult basic education, corporate training, and grant development. She left her position as associate dean to accept the role of academic dean at Lone Star College- Montgomery. She led the largest academic division within the Lone Star College System. Dr. now holds the position as Vice President of Instruction for Paris Junior College. She earned her bachelor's degree in English and her master's degree in English with an additional 18 graduate hours in history from Stephen F. Austin University. She earned her Ph.D. from the College of Education in Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University in College Station. Dr. has been a strategic leader who considers all facets of a plan and accomplishes goals. Working with local, state, and national leaders, she led efforts to plan, fund, and build a regional training center in Shelby County. She also secured funding to install Panola College's telecommunication backbone that networked all campuses, and she authored their original distance learning plan. At LSCS-Montgomery, she directed the developmental demonstration grant that redesigned writing and reading courses into integrated models. During her time there, she continued to encourage innovations that resulted in a facultyled writing center and in learning networked courses that enhanced student engagement. She has presented and showcased her successes at numerous state and national conferences. Being a servant leader is important to Dr.. She relates to others by listening to their goals and dreams, and she looks for opportunities to empower them. Dr. values honest and open communication to build strong relationships. She supports faculty and staff and shares information effectively across all areas of the college. She has served on both the East Texas and the Deep East Texas Local Workforce Development Boards. In addition, Dr. has served as a member of the board for both TACE and TACTE at the state level. She is currently on the board of directors for Texas Community College Instructional Administrators (TCCIA). Locally, she is a member of the Lamar County Rotary Club, and serves on the board of directors for the Lamar County Education Coalition and the Lamar County Child Welfare Board.

2 July 30, 2014 Dear Selection Committee: Please accept my application to serve as your next Vice President for Academic Success at San Antonio College in the Alamo System. Currently, I am employed as vice president of instruction at Paris Junior College, a medium sized rural college in northeast Texas. During this year, I have led numerous initiatives at the local, state, and national level. We focused on Achieving the Dream and attended as invited guests to the conference hosted by Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) in Santa Fe for leaders in student success. At the state level, I succeeded in gaining state approval for our new core curriculum and led the efforts to move toward fast tracking students through non-course based initiatives and by integrating reading and writing courses. For the 9 years immediately prior to this one, I served as an academic dean in the Lone Star College System where I led an outstanding group of faculty members and support staff. My experiences within this multi-campus system prepared me to work collaboratively in a large community college system, and my hope is to return to such a system. Many system-wide initiatives were implemented during my tenure there. We focused on Achieving the Dream, Foundations of Excellence, strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, developing student learning outcomes, implementing developmental program changes, and SACS reaccreditation; I served in a leadership capacity on these successful endeavors. My background has prepared me for all aspects of the community college and especially to work in a large college system. After serving on our system wide workforce

3 development council at Lone Star, I have extensive knowledge about planning and implementing new programs while using data to drive program evaluations as we seek continuous improvements. Under my direction there, we started new fire science and EMT programs. At the course and department levels, we led the way in implementing strategies to assess student learning outcomes. During my last two years there, I directed the demonstration developmental grant from THECB. This 1.5 million dollar grant was one of only five awarded in the state. Under the auspices of the grant, we were the first college in the state to fully integrate developmental reading and writing courses and we were invited to present at numerous state and national conferences. After joining Paris Junior College, I also worked collaboratively to start various new workforce programs including plumbing and electrical programs. I also helped the faculty move to integrate our developmental courses and to begin working on the new math pathways project. Thus, I have extensive experience in areas ranging from developmental education and workforce programming to transfer academic coursework. Innovation and excellence have become standard under my leadership. While at LSCS Montgomery, I led a group to design and implement a new writing center which is faculty driven; it was highlighted during our last SACs visit as one of the best support services on our campus. In addition, we designed and started the first foreign language lab within an instructional division. We started other endeavors that gained recognition as well such as thematic based courses and learning networked courses where as many as 18 courses shared a common theme and common learning experiences. After moving to Paris last year, I brought the same innovations to this campus and led efforts to integrate

4 their developmental courses and to triple the number of second start courses we were offering in our schedule. I joined the Lone Star College Montgomery nine years ago as the dean of a newly formed division and led it from an enrollment of 5,000 unduplicated students to 10,600, making it the largest instructional division in the Lone Star College system. I recognize what it takes to lead in a growing environment. I have consistently maintained a positive environment and made certain that faculty and student needs were met and exceeded. Upon my arrival at LSC-M, I implemented the first dean s evaluation tool; my faculty and staff evaluated me annually. We met to review results and I am pleased that their feedback was positive each year. Last year, I was fortunate to advance my career and accept my new role as vice president of instruction for Paris Junior College. I recognized that there was much I could bring to this college. However, I am eager to return to a more urban setting with a progressive mindset. My experience, knowledge, and talents will serve me well as I step into your open position as Vice President for Academic Success. I look forward to hearing from you and hope for the opportunity to visit with you in a face-to-face interview to further discuss our future. Sincerely, Barbara, Ph.D. Vice President of Instruction Paris Junior College

5 PURPOSE PROFILE Barbara, Ph.D. I lead within community colleges and my mission is to encourage economic development within the community while providing students with life changing opportunities Strategic a natural propensity to consider all facets of a plan objectively and examine ways to accomplish goals. Started multiple new workforce programs, i.e., plumbing and electrical at Paris; fire science and EMT at LSC-Montgomery; welding and HVAC in Shelby County at Panola College Led faculty and gained core curriculum approval from THECB for PJC Established integrated reading and writing courses at PJC for the first time Offered first non-course based options in math and reading at PJC Expanded second start course offerings at PJC Acted as the principal investigator and director of statewide 1.5 million dollar developmental demonstration grant at LSC-M. Engaged community leaders and collaborated to locate fire science program within The Woodlands Regional Training Center Formed a college wide group to establish a writing center led by faculty. Modeled for most recent SACS visit as one of best support services. Opened first language lab on Montgomery campus as support for all foreign language and ESOL students. Formed coalition of city, county, and college to secure funding and build Shelby County Regional Training Center for Panola Secured location and cooperation to establish a campus site in Marshall for Panola College Started an adult basic education program for Panola after an 18 year absence Relator-encourage relationships by listening and understanding others feeling, their goals, their fears, and their dreams. Value honesty and willing to entrust yourself to others. Act as a servant leader; started and actively participated in first adjunct hiring fairs at Paris Junior College First academic dean at LSC-M to encourage feedback from faculty and staff in formal evaluation process each year. In nine years, both faculty and staff have given exemplary ratings. Each year, I hold a special meeting after the evaluation to address topics and show my true desire to hear any concerns and note any possible improvements. Learner-energized by the process of learning and enabled to work in dynamic work environments Have actively participated in CCCSE and Achieving the Dream for numerous years and continue to stay abreast of national trends in education. Led all academic and workforce instructional areas for PJC and ensured compliance in new state mandates Within my division at LSC-M, we had workforce and academic and developmental education programs. From starting new programs to evaluating programs with annual reviews and courses with student learning outcomes, continuous improvement or seeking best answers

6 thrills me. Self-Assurance-faith in my abilities as a leader and able to take risks, meet new challenges, and deliver on promises Confident that I can ensure compliance in all state mandates and continue as progressive leaders in both academic and workforce development Led efforts to begin looking at more outcome based assessments at PJC Led new endeavors like creating thematic courses within our developmental education department at LSC-M. Led efforts to offer learning network courses that involve faculty and courses across various divisions. We gained benefits of learning community experience and keep interest and involvement high. Arranger facing multiple variables allows me to align and realign for the most productive configuration possible. Shining example of effective flexibility and at my best when facing complex problems. Upon arriving at PJC, I realized little progress had been made to engage faculty and submit the new core curriculum. Within a short time, we pulled faculty together and came to a consensus and submitted. We gained approval with our first submission. During our recent grant project at LSC-M, we were told in mid-stream about the need to offer integrated courses. Our group was the only one to offer within the first semester and the only college to fully integrate before the end of the grant. We were also asked to change our college entrance exam and we used the opportunity to get the diagnostic information and formulate curriculum based on our insights. EXPERIENCE Vice President of Instruction Paris Junior College Paris, Texas (2013 present) Accomplishments Led efforts to submit and gain approval for new core curriculum Integrated reading and writing Authored and submitted 1.3 million dollar workforce grant proposal Implemented math pathways project Revamped adult education program to include additional county Started faculty observation process Implemented early registration process within academic divisions Responsibilities Lead through visioning, planning, and evaluation of academic and workforce programs Ensure compliance to state and accrediting agencies Lead curriculum development Ensure workforce development meets local business and area needs Work cooperatively with local business, industry, and schools Maintain positive working atmosphere for student and faculty and staff Oversee professional development opportunities Lead in strategic planning and institutional effectiveness initiatives Oversee hiring and evaluation of instructional faculty and staff Academic Dean

7 Lone Star College System Montgomery ( ) Accomplishments Sought and received one of five demonstration grants awarded for 1.5 million dollars Implemented integration of reading and writing courses Started thematic coursework in various disciplines Planned and started the fire science program in conjunction with THE WOODLANDS fire department and housed in their regional training center Planned and started the EMT program on the Montgomery campus Initiated Learning Network Courses across the college and now involves more than 18 faculty and courses in three separate themes Led the startup of the Write Place program a faculty led support area Planned and started the first language lab on college campus Led growth from 5,200 students in 2005 to more than 10,200 within division Responsibilities Led through planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of division Fostered culture of continuous improvement and feedback to ensure curriculum integrity, to address program weaknesses, and to build on program strengths Engaged stakeholders in long-range planning that will take the organization 3-5 years into the future including rollout, budget, staff development, faculty development, and succession planning Facilitated curriculum teams Exerted leadership for academic and workforce programs based on timely and accurate data. Use data to seek institutional effectiveness and continuous improvements Maintained human aspects, resolving personnel and student issues to develop a culture of success Implemented operate procedures that encourages growth and develop benchmarks through data-informed decisions Developed budget recommendations and manage budget allocations for effective, efficient, and productive educational programs and support services Associate Dean of Workforce Education Panola College Accomplishments Sought and received more than 7 million dollars in grant funds from local, state, and federal agencies; acted as principal investigator and director Led initiative to connect our main campus with other campuses through a federal telecommunications grant Formed coalition of city, county, and college leaders to secure funds and build regional training center Secured location and opened new college site in Marshall Authored our distance learning plan and received approval from The Texas State Coordinating Board to begin that program Served on two workforce development board simultaneously in two

8 different workforce regions with approval from the governor s office Brought the adult basic education program back under the direction of the college campus after an absence of 18 years Responsibilities Oversight of budget planning and expenditures, supervised both full time and part time faculty and staff for workforce and continuing education programs, led strategic planning and institutional effectiveness, served on the steering committee for reaccreditation EDUCATION Texas A&M University Ph.D., College of Education, 2000 Successfully followed three tracks offered within degree: workforce education, distance learning, and leadership Dissertation involved an incarcerated population; investigated recidivism and literacy using both the TABE and Work Keys as predictors Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, MA, English Major, 1996 Completed an additional 18 graduate hours in history Completed additional graduate hours in distance learning at the TELETRAINING Institute in Stillwater, Oklahoma Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, BA, English Major, 1994 Graduated Magna Cum Laude Additional Training League for Innovation Executive Leadership Institute Spanish Language Institute, Guadalajara Leadership Montgomery County, Conroe Chair Academy, Phoeniz, Az Management Series, Montgomery College WECM Facilitator in Training, Midland E-reader Grant Review, Washington, D.C. Management Solutions for DL, Stillwater, OK Teletechniques II, Stillwater, OK WECM Training Workshop, Austin, TX The Academy, Teletraining Institute, Stillwater, OK AchieveGlobal, Fort Worth, TX DL Implementation and Management, Teletraining Inst., Stillwater, OK TEACHING Instructor, English, history Lone Star College-Montgomery Instructor: English, history Panola College Instructor: English Stephen F. Austin University PRESENTATIONS Shifting focus: Implementing an Integrated Reading and Writing Curriculum, NISOD Conference, Austin, May Change You Can Believe In: Course Redesign in Texas. League of Innovations

9 Conference. March, Dallas. Double-Time: Accelerated Developmental English in Texas. National Association of Developmental Education Conference, Denver. Feb Let s Look at the Data: Fast Tracking Developmental English Students. Joint Conference of College Reading Learning Association / College Academic Support Programs. Houston, Texas. November, Where do we go from here: Developmental English Course Re-Design at LSC-M Communication Across the Curriculum Session, LSC-Montgomery ) October, 2012 Better Together: Aligning Adult Education and Developmental Education to Increase Student Success. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board DE/ABE Summer Institute, Austin, Texas. June, 2012 Promising Practices in Developmental Education: DEDP Grant Results NISOD, Austin, Texas. May 2012 Strategic Decision Making: Fast Tracking Developmental English Students NISOD, Austin, Texas May 2012 Strategic Decision Making: Fast Tracking Developmental English Students League for Innovations Conference, Philadelphia, PA. March, 2012 Overlooking Boundaries: Pursuing the Unexpected in Study Abroad Community College International Development, Inc, (CCID), Long Beach, Feb Designing Spanish Language Immersion Mexico. Community College International Development, Inc, (CCID), San Antonio, Feb VCT and CE. Pre-Conference Workshop and Conference Session, TACTE, Austin, 2004 Grant Writing. Pre-Conference Workshop and Conference Session, TCCTA Convention. Fort Worth, 2004 Successful Grant Writing Workshop. TCCTA Convention. Austin, Texas Work Keys and Self-Sufficiency, A Winning Combination. 4th Annual Work Keys Conference. Worthington Hotel, Fort Worth. September, 2000 Regional Assessment Training. East Regional Training, Texas Adult Education Professional Development Consortium. Carthage, TX, September, 2000 PROFESSIONAL SERVICE Present Service: Texas Community College Instructional Administrators (TCCIA) Board of Directors Lamar County Education Coalition Board of Directors Lamar County Child Welfare Board of Directors

10 President s Administrative Council Paris Junior College Achieving the Dream Council Lamar County Rotary Club Past Service: Lone Star College System International Education Committee Workforce Education Council, LSCS Deans Council Institutional Research Board LSC- Montgomery President Council Academic Council Achieving the Dream Core Team Foundations of Excellence Core Team Strategic Planning Committee Goalkeeper Building Committee Chair Vice President, Treasurer, and Board of Directors, Texas Association of Continuing Education (TACE) Board of Directors, TACTE (Texas Association of College and Technical Educators) Board of Directors, Deep East Texas Workforce Development Board Board of Directors, East Texas Workforce Development Board East Texas Workforce Development Board, Welfare to Work Committee East Texas Workforce Development Board, Oversight and Allocation Committee Deep East Texas Workforce Development Board, Finance Committee North East Texas Economic Development District, Inc., Texarkana Panola College Strategic Planning Committee Panola College Administrative Council Panola College Institutional Effectiveness Committee Advisory Committee, North East Texas Tech Prep Consortium Advisory Council for ACT Work Keys Board of Directors, New Destinations Board of Directors, Panola County American Heart Association Board of Directors, Panola County Boys and Girls Club Chair, Administration and Organization Committee, Panola College Self-Study Institutional Effectiveness Committee, Panola College Self-Study Shelby County Rotary Club Steering Committee, Panola College Self-Study