(Continued from pa^e 19)
tant that it is someone who works well with
others. Being a “people person” makes a
leadership position much simpler, especially
for him, because there are so many people
involved in the work pertaining to his depart
ment. The division of Health and Sciences
that Mr. Taylor oversees has three out of four
programs that are accredited by outside
agents, and, therefore, every four, five, or six
years he has to have a “self-study survey” to
turn in and is required to have a “visitation
site” to come in which makes for sometimes
stressful yet very rewarding times. Just this
past year there was a Dental Assisting survey
to focus on while still maintaining other areas
within the departments but “you just have to
keep things shuffled around and evenly bal
anced.”
Mr. Taylor feels that all the programs
in his division are equally important although
he sees that in the area of Registered Nurs
ing there will always be a need for graduating
students from that field. Dental assisting is
also in high demand on the job market at this
time and Mr. Taylor receives frequent calls for
both areas.
Mr. Taylor has two daughters and
three grandchildren. We would like to thank
him for all his hard work and dedication to
Wilkes Community Col
lege!
Ms. Jeanne Griffin
Chairperson of Business and
Public Service Technologies
By Daphine Grayum
Ms. Griffin began working for WCC in
1982, starting as an adjunct instructor in the busi
ness department, teaching classes in Alleghany
County In 1984 she became director of the Al
leghany Campus and held that position until 1997
when she moved to Wilkesboro to become chair
person of the Business and Public Service Tech
nologies Division of WCC..
Ms. Griffin graduated from Marygrove
College in Detroit, Ml, with a degree in Business
Administration. She received a Master's degree
in Adult Education from Florida International Uni
versity in Miami and also has 18 post-graduate
hours in Business from various universities.
A chairperson is responsible for a division
of the college. Duties include maintaining program
standards, revising programs, and developing
new programs; budgeting for equipment and sup
plies; working with faculty; scheduling classes;
evaluations; covering registration; and generally
overseeing the activities of the division.
The programs included in Ms. Griffin’s
division are: Accounting; Business Administration;
Electronic Commerce; Marketing & Retailing;
Computer Programming; Criminal Justice, Finan
cial Crimes/Computer Fraud; Culinary Technol
ogy; Early Childhood; Teacher Associate; Infor
mation Systems; Network Administration and
Support; Internet Technologies; Office System
Technology and Co-operative Education.
When asked what qualities make a good
leader, she responded, “A good leader needs to
maintain a balance between being firm and being
easy to work with. Getting people to work together
is easily accomplished if you are a mentor and a
coach. A good leader should not ask others to do
what he/she is not willing to do. A good leader
does not avoid situations that are uncomfortable.
Sometimes a leader has to make decisions that
are not popular and knowing how to deal with
controversy is helpful. Most problems are caused
by poor communication, so a leader must be able
to communicate well with those he/she super
vises. A good leader praises those who accom
plish the goals of the department and recognizes
that it is the workforce that makes the leader suc
cessful.”
Ms. Griffin stated that “my career has
been in education. I have taught grade school,
high school, adult education, and at the commu
nity college, and it has been personally rewarding.
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