CH@T: CCCC’s president on her return ‘home’ and its future

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Dr. Lisa Chapman became President of Central Carolina Community College on April 1. This week, we speak with Dr. Chapman about her ascent to the position, CCCC’s academic achievements and her goals for the college.

Prior to becoming president, Dr. Chapman was the Senior Vice President/Chief Academic Officer at the North Carolina Community College System Office in Raleigh for five years. Before going to the state level in 2014, Dr. Chapman was at CCCC for 27 years. At the college, she previously held the positions of instructor, chair of the Math and Science Department, academic dean, vice president of Academic Affairs/chief academic officer, and executive vice president of instruction/chief academic officer.

While at CCCC, Dr. Chapman was instrumental in the establishment of Lee Early College, a partnership between Lee County Schools and CCCC. She was a leader in developing the college’s bioprocess technology program, the first in North Carolina, and the barbering program, the first at a community college. She also developed the college’s Division of Student Learning, whose purpose is to increase student success.

Dr. Chapman has worked to promote excellence in higher education through organizations such as the NCCCS Curriculum Review Committee and the North Carolina Community College and University of North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Joint Review Steering Committee.

In 1995, her peers at the college named her CCCC’s Instructor of the Year. In 2012, the North Carolina College Personnel Association recognized her for Outstanding Service in Support of the Profession for her continuing efforts to improve instruction at the college level.

Dr. Chapman holds a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Master of Science in Physiology from East Tennessee State University; and Bachelor of Science in Zoology from UNC-Chapel Hill. She and her husband Jeff have two children and two grandchildren.

What do you remember about your early days at CCCC, as you came to the college after being a biologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park?

I very quickly learned that the college culture centered around meeting our students’ needs and supporting each other as colleagues and friends. The college was very proud to serve its communities.

During your first tenure at the college, you were instrumental in the establishment of Lee Early College, a partnership between Lee County Schools and CCCC. You were a leader in developing the college’s bioprocess technology program, the first in North Carolina, and the barbering program, the first at a community college. And you developed the college’s Division of Student Learning, whose purpose is to increase student success. Those accomplishments alone must make you proud...

The college has always had a strong relationship with our K-12 partners in Chatham, Harnett and Lee. Lee Early College and our subsequent early college partnerships in Chatham and Harnett are great examples of how we work together to ensure there are accessible, outstanding educational opportunities in the communities we serve. And you are correct, I am incredibly proud of the successes each of the early colleges consistently support. Innovative program offering is another hallmark of the college’s tradition. Barbering and Bioprocessing are just a few of the many firsts in North Carolina for CCCC.

They are good examples of the importance of listening to the community and providing what the employers request, including delivering the instruction where and when it meets the greatest need. The college has always done this, and we continue to strive to improve our response to the rapidly changing workforce demands. While the Division of Student Learning was a natural development as we transitioned from primarily focusing on access to targeting successful progression and completion as well as access, our funding model does not directly support this type of student engagement. Many college employees stepped up to sustain a division whose primary responsibility is student learning and coordination of all the student experiences that impact learning. And once again, you are correct. I am incredibly proud the college has sustained and strengthened the work of this division for over nine years.

What was it like serving as Senior Vice President/Chief Academic Officer for the N.C. Community College System?

Serving as the SR VP/CAO of the System was a tremendous learning opportunity. While my role involved providing leadership for the innovative student success work in which the North Carolina Community College System was engaged, I was afforded a statewide and national view of the increasing importance of community colleges in the economic progress and success of local communities, the state of North Carolina and the nation. As you can imagine, state-level partnerships were critical to our work. The relationships developed during my service at the System Office were not only essential to the system’s successes, but continue to be important as CCCC works to support our local/regional economic development.

How difficult was the decision to return to CCCC from the N.C. Community College System office?

Central Carolina is a phenomenal college and we have great support throughout the communities we serve. I have repeatedly said that not many individuals have the opportunity afforded me. I am overjoyed to be working back home where I learned all about community colleges and the significance of their service and leadership in their communities. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time working and learning with great colleagues at the System Office, “coming home” was an easy choice.

Upon your return home to CCCC, what have been your early observations about the state of the college?

CCCC is an exceptional college. While continuous improvement should be embedded in the culture of any institution (as it is at CCCC), the college prioritizes student success and service to its communities. We are striving to most effectively use our available resources to meet the needs of those priorities and to consistently work with our local partners to secure additional resources to strengthen our current efforts and to meet future needs. The college’s accomplishments have led to several recently received accolades, including the No. 1 ranking in the Niche 2020 Best Community Colleges in North Carolina. These accomplishments can be attributed to outstanding employees and students. The college family is taking care of business!

How do you see the mission of CCCC?

Our mission statement indicates that we serve as a catalyst for individual, community, and economic development by empowerment through accessible lifelong learning. That is exactly what we should be doing.

Can you speak to the mission of the college, in particular to the topic of workforce development as well as our Career and Technical Programs?

Economic progress is critical for the survival of our communities and that progress requires a skilled workforce. Businesses and Industries come to our communities and stay and grow in our communities only if they have the talent needed to do so. The preparation for the essential skills required for these careers is available at CCCC, particularly in our Career and Technical Program offerings. We work closely with our secondary partners and their Career and Technical Education leaders, but much of the advanced skill development is our responsibility. We have highly qualified faculty who often come to us after spending time working in industry and who continue to work closely with their industry counterparts to ensure we are targeting current and future talent needs. Our leadership works closely with our local and regional economic developers to understand changing economic needs and to communicate how CCCC is prepared to address those needs.

How do you think CCCC...and our state’s community college system … is set in regards to our students being able to move forward to achieving a four-year degree and beyond through our various articulation agreements?

Our System has made substantial progress with our continued work on our statewide comprehensive articulation agreements with our public and independent universities and colleges. In addition, we have added several program-specific agreements and a number of our senior partners have added co-admission agreements with several colleges (including CCCC). The design we have allows students to move forward successfully, as long as they have early and sustained engagement with their academic advisors and as long as our senior institutions accurately and effectively communicate the baccalaureate pathway completions.

CCCC has targeted more effective advising for the last few years. This has allowed more and more of our students to successfully transition from us, through a baccalaureate, and on to a career, along a cost-effective and efficient educational pathway. We have very strong relationships with the senior institutions where the majority of our students transfer and while there are still improvements to be made, we are very pleased with the streamlined opportunities afforded CCCC students.

What are the immediate challenges that you see facing CCCC and our state community college system?

Our community colleges have never received sufficient funding to address the community needs most effectively — that is certainly true for CCCC and always presents us with challenges in meeting our students’ needs. It is more apparent every day as we engage in a more holistic student support approach. In addition, funding challenges can be compounded at multi-campus colleges like Central Carolina as we strive for excellence at all sites serving students.

Funding isn’t the only challenge, though. In addition, we consistently struggle with raising awareness of the excellent careers available in our local communities. We have industry partners offering employment opportunities that afford family-sustaining wages. We need a trained workforce to fill these positions and the college provides quality education that prepares students for them. We simply need more people taking advantage of these career pathways.

What are your dreams and aspirations for the future of Central Carolina Community College?

When I first had the opportunity to speak with the college family, I shared with them that CCCC takes care of family, takes care of students, and takes care of its communities. If we consistently do these well, in consideration of our changing demographics and evolving workforce needs, we will have happy, valued employees who engage daily in education and partnerships that change families’ lives...and we will continue to be a top-ranked college, not only in North Carolina but across the nation.

What message would you like to send to the citizens of the Central Carolina Community College service area?

I was a part of the CCCC family for 27 years and continued to keep a close eye on its progress while I was serving at the System Office. We are a great college committed to supporting the economic mobility that is essential to ensure the continued economic success of our communities and I look forward to working together to continue the successful support of our students and the communities we serve.