Four candidates compete for the position of VPAA.
STLCC-Meramec faculty and staff congregated in the cafeteria conference room to question candidates for the vice president of academic affairs position on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and Thursday, March 1. The position was vacated when Former VPAA George Wasson became Meramec president; Vernon Kays, Ed.D., has been the acting vice president since. During the forum, candidates were allowed to inform the audience of their experience and qualification. Then, moderators asked a number of questions before opening the floor up to allow attendees to screen the candidates.
Denise King
Kurt Oberreither
-News Editor-
The only external candidate for the VPAA position, Denise King, Ph.D., said she is “not a lone ranger,” but was drawn to Meramec because of the expertise the deans and department chairs bring to the table.
“I think that [what the college is] now is very attractive to me and I think when I look at where we need to go in service of our students in the future, who we can be is very attractive to me and I’d like to be part of a team that is bringing that together; it’s a campus team and it’s a college team.”
King earned a bachelor’s degree in music and theater studies from Emory University and a Ph.D. in drama and humanities from Stanford University.
King currently serves as the dean of arts and humanities at St. Charles Community College. She has held administrative positions at two other community colleges: Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash., and Olympic College in Bremerton, Ore.
“I am interested in continuing to learn more about you and seeing how my past experiences, both as a theater person who likes to put teams together and a budget-cutter who understands that sometimes hard decisions have to be made in order to have the best quality product possible,” King said. “On top of that, there are a host of department chairs that provide support for faculty and students as we engage in the learning process.”
Yvonne Johnson
Kavahn Mansouri
-Editor-in-Cheif-
Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Yvonne Johnson, Ph.D., said she is “even-handed” as a leader; she said she likes to create a fair level environment for faculty and students.
Johnson began teaching full-time in 1988 at Collin County Community College after graduating from the University of Arkansas. Completing her Ph.D. in 1992, Johnson continued her career in 1994 at the University of Central Missouri, where she taught for 14 years. In 2007 Johnson arrived at Meramec and began serving as the dean of humanities and social sciences.
Johnson said she can help Meramec deal with declining resources.
“The administration is dealing right now with declining resources, it’s tough to make decisions. I think we will be allocating our recourses in the right direction so we can be helping our students in the right way,” Johnson said. “I don’t have a quote ‘plan,’ but we are going to buy what we need to buy.”
Johnson said that the students as well as staff have to work together to raise Meramec’s student course completion rate.
“We know we need to work on it, of course one person can’t do it all. We all have to work together,” Johnson said. “I’ve been told we have a plan that will help students to move through our program easily, and if not easily, successfully.”
Andrew Langrehr
Sadie Hill
-Staff Writer-
Dean of Science and Technology Andrew Langrehr, Ph.D., said the most important part of the position is that he supports and has the support of the faculty and staff.
Langrehr has worked his way up from adjunct instructor to dean of science and technology. He has been employed at Meramec 14 years and still team teaches chemistry class even though his position no longer requires it.
“I’ve been happy in each of the positions that I’ve been fortunate to have here,” Langrehr said, “I want what is best for our students, someone who will follow policy procedure, who is compassionate yet reasoned and I want a competent vice president. And I think that I have those skills and I’ll do well for our faculty and students, so that’s why I’m applying for this job.”
Langrehr said he believes he is a competent candidate because not only is the student experience important to him but the faculty experience is important as well.
“I think at St. Louis Community College we have lot of strengths. I care a lot about this place. That’s the only reason I’m interested in this job. I think the only way you can communicate effectively the strengths is if you believe that they are true. I feel like I can go out to the community when I’m speaking with organizations, parents or students and I think I can be excited about what we have to offer,” Langrehr said.
Angela Grupas
Kurt Oberreither
-News Editor-
Of the four candidates, Angela Grupas has been at Meramec the longest, with 23 years in the communications department.
“As I was reviewing my academic background and career, I realized I taught at every level of higher education,” Grupas said.
Grupas began at Meramec as a faculty member and moved on to the department chair position. Recently, as the acting dean of math and communications, Grupas spearheaded the revision of the associate’s in communications degree to agree with Missouri Department of Higher Education requirements.
Grupas said she wants to focus on curriculum, allocating resources and staff development.
