By Diedra Eby
Photo by Diedra Eby.
“Transform lives through affordable education.”
According to Nicola Richmond, this should be Pima Community College’s mission statement.
Richmond is the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Analytics and Research for the college and she is currently leading the four year program to shape PCC’s future (2026-2040).
The meeting, held in the Downtown Campus Amethyst Room, will “help influence where the College focuses its time, energy and resources over the next four years.”
These include foundational conditions, such as how affordable tuition is, how the college meets the basic needs of its students, including daycare for students with babies, safety of students on campus, student time relating to availability of classes, learning value and future readiness and the adaptability of the institution including its capacity to change.
In her words, “scaling what works and letting go of what doesn’t.”
Douglas Griffen, Founder of the Advanced Strategy Center of Scottsdale, Ariz., had participants pull up the software he created called Converge. They went through a group of questions, answering and ranking them. The majority of those involved were PCC staff. Only three were students.
Photo by Diedra Eby.
The questions concerned affordability, designing PCC around student lives, belonging and safety, learning experiences that are engaging and proactive and human-centered support. Additionally, they considered a clear value and purpose, a physical and digital environment that signals care and quality, institutional responsiveness and resilience, and lifelong learning and community partnerships. After they were all commented on, they were listed in the order the participants prioritized them.
It is possible that a larger student body on the panel would have changed the outcome.
Griffen, Richmond and their panel now take this input to strategize further. In March, the Future Planning Week takes place in which participants have the opportunity to meet and give input on the final proposed strategies for the integrated plans.
Richmond has been working on the project for about a year between teaching her geology and physics classes as an adjunct professor. She anticipates the project to go to a vote with the governing board in June and to be implemented in the fall.
Photo by Diedra Eby.