Around the Water Cooler, Minus the Water Cooler Build College Community, Resilience, and Trust through Campus-Wide Meetings

ABSTRACT

College leaders have been able to communicate messages related to changing conditions and expectations to a large group on a regular basis, and employees participate through discussion and question-and-answer sessions. Both the county public health director and the chief medical officer of the city's hospital have attended meetings several times and given MCC employees insight into the local situation, their concerns, and how the decisions we make as a college fit into the broader community discussion. Rotating facilitators allows several staff members to develop their leadership and communication skills. College leaders have been able to communicate messages related to changing conditions and expectations to a large group on a regular basis, and employees participate through discussion and question-and-answer sessions. Author Biography KELLEY L. CONRAD, PHD, is the vice president for academic affairs at Muskegon Community College, where she has worked for 26 years.