Thomas M. Bennett, Trustee

Parkland College, Champaign, IL

Philosophy

Education gives people a chance to dream, to do things they never thought possible, and to make a difference.  Everyone needs an opportunity to earn an education.  Without education, we are bound to repeat the errors of previous generations.  Without education, we are unable to break through the bonds of discrimination and fear. 

Community colleges are held in highest regard. They help make dreams come true and yet, provide a mission different from our four year counterparts.  Community colleges are at the grass roots level of our society.  Many can attend.  Given due diligence, many will graduate.  And many will continue to live, work, and contribute to the local economy, long after graduation.   Yet today, more has been asked of community colleges than ever before. 

Trustees reflect their communities.  They know what their friends and neighbors value.  Education professionals benefit from the board's leadership.  As trustee, I have the responsibility to tell the community college story.  Trustees need to share how important community colleges are, not only to the communities they serve, but also to our nation, by giving students the tools they need to be knowledgeable and competitive in a global marketplace.

The public understands that going to college helps individuals get ahead.  However, our communities are not totally aware that colleges also help society as a whole and that more people benefit than the graduates themselves.   We need to emphasize why access to higher education is important to society as a whole.  We need to talk about how having an educated populace affects health care, crime prevention, the economy, the quality of life, etc.  We need to demonstrate to our communities, business partners, and society how we:

• Are accountable with taxpayer dollars.

• Are working to keep the cost down and operate efficiently.

• Are achieving the results that people expect.

• Add value.  We can no longer afford to have an "entitlement mentality."

In addition, we need to:

• Build supportive relationships with our state and federal elected officials and government agencies.

• Build support and understanding throughout our communities.  Identify needs within our communities and work to address those needs.
   

• Develop programs that are financially sound and can help support themselves. 

• Look for ways to promote diversity and share how diversity can make us, as a society, stronger, more effective, and more productive.
   

• Promote stronger ties with our K-12 counterparts and look for ways to share resources and ideas and avoid duplication when possible.

• Encourage stronger ties with higher education and again, look for ways to share resources and avoid duplication.
   

• Promote more and better education for our own Trustees.

• Promote entrepreneurship for small business.
   

• Look for ways to promote and encourage more talented people to go into the health career professions - especially nursing.

• Promote math, science, and technology to students coming out of high school.

• Look for new ways to help thousands of people that struggle without a high school degree to achieve their GED, a high school equivalent degree.

• Look for new ways to help support a graying population.
   

• Look for new ways to focus on ethics and core values for our students.

Our efforts require a balance.  We must be very aware of the financial cost to each program.  In the long run, there can not really be a free lunch.  However, we cannot look at education only as an expense but we must also look at it as an important investment in the future, everyone's future.