Opinion

Let’s give ‘Ski’ what he’s asking for

It’s easy for a man to tell people he cares, that their input is valuable to him, that he wants to lead a community in a bold new direction. It’s even easier to dismiss such talk as rhetoric.

Can this be said about Mt. Hood Community College’s next president John “Ski” Sygielski, whose brief exposure on campus was filled with high energy, potential and promise? His legacy at Lord Fairfax Community College in Virginia says otherwise.

LFCC rose from 23 out of 23 colleges in Virginia for faculty salaries to 15. Sygielski helped start the first athletics program at LFCC in direct response to concerns of potential students. And, while soliciting six-figure donations and executing multi-million dollar building plans, he stills considers himself an educator at heart and says nothing he does is accomplished without a team.

He says all those changes took place after he actively listened to the LFCC community. He sat in on classes, held forums where he took his own notes then used those notes to create programs and resources that would help retain student and increase their quality of education.

There are those who are wary of such an open approach. After having seen many officials make just such claims, it is refreshing to hear them from someone whose track record shows he is genuinely concerned. Sygielski said that it took about a year for LFCC members to warm up to his openness.

Is it going to take MHCC that long to take our next president seriously? It shouldn’t, and it’s our loss if it does.
“Ski” has looked us in the eye and said his priority is listening to our needs and wants, and boy are there a few at MHCC. Maintenance is in a financial rut with a majority of its annual budget dedicated to re-roofing; competition between co-curricular programs are creating budget battlefields, and we are considering a tuition increase on the eve of a budget year in Salem. So, it’s not like there aren’t any qualms to share with our president-select.

“But I don’t have time to talk to him.”

“But he is only available in the afternoon, and I’m not.”

“But he’s still in Virginia.”

“But I’m not tenured yet.”

“Ski who?”

All these excuses can be avoided if questions and concerns are sent to The Advocate. Sygielski will be back in town in April for the MHCC Foundation Auction and The Advocate will be there to pigeon-hole him and get our fill of questions, and reader-submitted questions can be asked as well.

So ask us to ask him anything. Want to know his policy on maverick teaching styles? Ask The Advocate to ask Ski. Want to know his thoughts on lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender culture on campus? Ask The Advocate to ask Ski. Want to know if he is a fan of the Red Sox or the Yankees? Ask The Advocate to ask Ski. We’ll take any questions or comments, anonymous or otherwise, at advocatt@mhcc.edu. Or go bold and send it directly to Sygielski at john.ski@mhcc.edu.

Just remember, the question that goes unasked goes unanswered. And seriously, how hard is it to send an e-mail?