John Marshall had one bit of hesitation before deciding to toss his hat in the ring to become the next president at Allen Community College.
That’s because Marshall, who for the past 14 years has served as ACC’s vice president for academic affairs, is quite content in his current job, thank you very much.
“I absolutely love my job,” Marshall said during a public meet-and-greet Wednesday. “If the Board (of Trustees) would like me to serve as president, I’d love to serve. But if the board chooses not, that’s OK too. I love my current job, and I love being in Allen County.”
Marshall is one of three finalists for the college presidency, seeking to replace the retiring John Masterson. The others are Dr. Carmen Simone and Dr. Bruce Moses.
Simone went through a similar public discussion Monday before meeting privately with trustees that evening. Marshall did the same Wednesday.
Moses will be in Iola for his public meet-and-greet at 3 p.m. Monday at the Stadler Conference Room before meeting with trustees Monday evening at 6:30.
MARSHALL worked his way through college in the St. Louis area. His father was a professor who required his son to get a degree, but also earn his keep along the way.
So he did, taking more than a decade to earn his master’s degree in fine arts because he also worked full time in the process.
“All through that, when I left with a graduate degree, I was debt-free,” Marshall said. “It was really a tremendous learning experience”
The experience also allowed Marshall to develop an empathy for community college students “who go to school, do activities and aspire to go to a four-year university, and they have to work as well. Most students have to work in some way, shape, or form.”
In his time at Allen, Marshall has noticed the undeniable trends in higher education, including the proliferation of virtual or online learning. To wit, roughly 60% of the college credit hours earned at ACC are online, and only 20% are earned on the Iola campus, with a sizable chunk of the credit hours also gobbled through dual-credit courses on high school campuses in Allen’s service area.
And Allen is no different than other community colleges, which have seen a sharp drop in students attending those schools’ outreach centers. (Allen’s is in Burlingame.)
With that in mind, Marshall said it’s incumbent upon schools to continue to adapt.
Allen has benefited from the organizational structure put in place by the trustees and Masterson, as well as the faculty and staff, he said.
And while it’s vital to maintain Iola’s designation as a “destination campus” with state-of-the-art facilities, it’s equally important to better serve those who study remotely.
