Program Outcome: Cultivate Community Relationships |
| Narrative and Reflection |
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There is no greater image of community and the best principles of building community relationships in the world of TV and movies than the iconic Mr. Rogers! So much more than the TV persona, Tom Hanks' portrayal of his life confirmed the man behind the persona was equally admirable and even more so. Respect, inclusion, equality, justice, and care beyond feelings were front and center in terms children and adults could understand without being patronizing or disingenuous even to the point of confounding academics. I wish I could be Mr. Rogers. From our first class, The Past, Present, and Future of Community Colleges, discussing early "town and gown" community and college relationships to our Resource Development class' "People don't give because they are not asked" enhanced my appreciation regarding community relationship importance and how powerful they are in pursuit of a college's mission. As Bassoff's (2001) book title Relationshift suggests community interaction is dependent on relationships and engaging community for support is not about solicitation but discussing an opportunity with a friend; not about take, but giving opportunity to one for participation in an interest or passion. The more passionate we are about an opportunity, the faster a personal connection with potential donor can develop. Being genuine, honest, and interested personally makes presenting opportunities, and "the ask," seem like a natural friendly conversation. Klingaman (2012) discusses how prestige or notoriety can be a powerful motivator, and even more so being involved in a successful endeavor can bond and seal community relationships. So being able to offer a strong possibility of success, like a great team or strong program, would further draw participation (Klingsman, 2012). The Marketing and Community Engagement class took what seemed like a disparate collection of activity and process and wove them into a beautiful tapestry of cultivated community relationships. Kahn's (2014) marketing mix concept discusses everything's importance from the seven seconds to make a personal connection in social media with gorilla marketing driving a consistent message across media channels to using psychographic profiles as a means to know who we serve, their preferences, habits, means, education, etc. Specifically, to be effective community college leaders we must define and understand communities we serve, communicate with, and make decisions regarding. Cultivating community relationships requires conducting secondary research or environmental scans including demographic, geographic, educational, economic, socio-economic, employment and social characteristics regarding areas and citizens our Community College serves. Levit (1960) says it best, community college success and longevity is inextricably linked via a college’s community relationships and response to the age-old question “What is it that we do or provide?” The answer reveals whether or not a college is focused on “products” or “customer service” (Levitt, 1960). Community Colleges are built upon a premise they will be more successful if they concentrate on meeting customer's needs by cultivating community relationships rather than on selling products. Colleges who are flexible and adapt to market requirements demonstrate proper mindset; creating an institution viewed as a customer creating, community satisfying entity (Levitt, 1960, p. 149). These Community Colleges are meeting market needs while demographic change is reshaping United States populations and methods for cultivating community relationships. |
| Literature |
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Bassoff, M., Chandler, S. (2001). Relationshift: revolutionary fundraising. San Francisco, CA: Robert D. Reid Publishers. ISBN: 987-18850039345 Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of 'marketing mix' and its elements (A conceptual review paper). International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 6(2), 95-107. Klingaman, S. (2012). Fundraising strategies for community colleges: The definitive guide for advancement. Sterling, VA: Stylus. ISBN: 987-1579227319 Levitt, T. (1960). Marketing myopia. Harvard Business Review. 38(4). 45-56. |
| Evidence |
| 1.) I selected my Resource Development class case for support paper discussing “worthiness” of community colleges, as a sector of higher education, as an investment recipient from any source––traditional or non-traditional, public or private. In today’s society, “worthiness” is largely based on credibility and performance which emphasizes importance of community relationships. A community college case for support is deliverable to a range of constituent audiences including Congress, state legislatures, federal agencies, taxpayers, students, and donors; showing community college's are best stewards of philanthropic giving when community relationships are properly cultivated. Front and center in cultivation is community college's role to supply local communities with a workforce, immediately responding to quickly changing needs and a skill creation focus over research endeavors of other highbrow academic institutions. The community college engagement opportunity supporting evolution of skills and needs for a shrinking (not growing ) workforce is urgent. With each year more population is leaving our workforce than joining. Community college's traditional funding models will not meet financial needs, even though many community colleges are ready and able to provide strategies, infrastructure, and programs to meet all challenges. Filling the gap requires support from like-minded donors, and that is only made available through cultivation of community relationships.
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| PO6E1-Turner_Patrick_A Case for Support_IDSL860_Final.pdf |
| 2.) I selected my integrated marketing and community engagement plan paper as representing cultivating community relationships by providing insights gained and suggested actions for a Schoolcraft College marketing and community engagement program. The paper discusses additional input from SEMCOG (South Easter Michigan Coalition of Governments) (2019), prior conclusions reached, rationale formulated, and data from previous community and consumer profile research as recommendation justification for cultivation of community engagement and relationships. Schoolcraft administration's community relationship opportunity is engaging non-brick-and-mortar students needs by assuring education delivery is convenient and accessible. The "digital warrior" student is no longer restricted to an 18-24 demographic. Tele-courses, internet/online degrees, and other non-face-to-face contemporary methods for non-traditional students has just scratched the surface (Falk, 2010) in an ever-changing community environment |
| PO6E2-Turner_Patrick_Integrated Marketing and Community Engagement Plan_100619_IDSL870-Final.pdf |
| References |
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Falk, C. F. (2010). Strategically planning campuses for the 'newer students' in higher education. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal 14(3), 15+. South Eastern Michigan Counsel of Governments [SEMCOG]. (2019). Future skills: Preparing for the changing world of work. SEMCOG, Detroit, Michigan. Retrieved from https://semcog.org/desktopmodules/SEMCOG.Publications/GetFile.ashx?filename=FutureSkillsPreparingForTheChangingWorldOfWorkJuly2019.pdf |