Photos by Layla Garms
Mayor Tempore Vivian Burke addresses the crowd.
Residents want next chief to
be inclusive, broad-minded
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE \
Less than two dozen
people attended a meeting
held Tuesday night at the/
Hanes Hosiery
Community Center to
allow residents to weigh in
on the search for Winston
Salem's next police chief.
Police Chief Scott
Cunningham is retiring in
June. City officials are
aiming to have his replace
ment by the time he bows
out.
Many of the residents
in attendance listed the
city's growing diversity,
and learning to work with
one another across racial
and socio-economic lines
among the city and the
Police Department's most
pressing concerns.
"One of the biggest
things is actually building
relationships with minori
ty groups, especially with
in law enf9rcement," said
Zuleima Villa, vice presi
dent of .the Hispanic
American Democrats of
Forsyth County. "We need
Latino officers who can
speak the language, who
can relate to these groups."
Marva Reid, an outspo
ken East Winston commu
nity advocate, said she
wants a chief who's will
ing to take a proactive
approach in battling crime
rates.
"I'd like to see a police
chief who exercises more
crime prevention ip the
communities that are most
affected," she said. "I'd
like to see more proactive
than reactive (efforts). 1
think we'll have a better
community and less peo
ple in prison.'"
Darryl Hunt, founder
of the Darryl Hunt Project
for Freedom and Justice.
. said the next police chief
should be sensitive to the
needs and unique chal
lenges of ex-offenders.
sometimes tne ponce
can be a hinderance in
helping them get those
jobs or that housing that
they need," said Hunt, who
spent nearly 20 years in
jail for a crime he did not
commit. "We need some
body who can relate to the
impacted people and be
more responsive."
Daniel Dwight, an
engineer and longtime city
resident, said the commu
nity, including those at the
Hall of Justice, should
work harder to ensure that
the work of officers is not
done in vain.
"I think it's important
to have a strong leader, but
it's also important for
police officers to get sup
port," he said, "jt's very
frustrating for police offi
cers to have to arrest the
same person over and over
... I think we need to work
with the judicial system to
find a way to get those
people off the street. We
need somebody to work on
the merging of those two
things and doing what's
right for the majority of
the community (law abid
ing citizens)."
Steve Straus and Willie
Williams of
Developmental
Associates, a Durham
based consulting firm that
specializes in helping gov
ernmental. educational and
non-profit organizations
German Garcia
select the best candidates
for key positions, led the
meeting. They have been
hired by the city to help
find the next police chief.
The firm will begin the
process immediately by
advertising the opening
through a variety of out
lets.
l ne Developmental
Associates team will put
potential candidates
through a rigorous process
that begins with an online
application that is tailored
to Winston-Salem specifi
cally and takes between 30
minutes and an hour to
complete. City officials
will then review the appli
cants' responses and select
roughly 20 applicants to
continue on to the next
step in the application
process, which includes a
scored phone interview
with Williams and an
"EQ" test, which rates a
person's emotional intelli
gence. Straus explained.
The team will then recom
mend around seven candi
dates to visit to the city
from April 18-19. While
here, the candidates will
complete an in-person
interview and take part in a
variety of exercises
designed to assess their
competencies in various
areas. Straus said the exer
cises, which engage actual
citizens and city leaders in
staging real world-inspired
scenarios where the candi
dates must act as police
chief, are a key component
in the process.
"For a critical position
like this, we do not believe
in relying simply on the
interviews," Straus said.
"...The best way to get an
accurate assessment of the
candidate, is to be able to
see what they can do
directly ... then we can
have a lot more confidence
that what we're getting
from a candidate is accu
rate information."
City Manager Lee
Garrity said the city will
publicize its top two or
three selections and pro
vide opportunities for the
candidates to meet with
community members prior
to the final selection being
made.
Throughout the meet
ing, community members
were invited to ask ques
tions about the process or
the police chief job in gen
eral. Hispanic-American
Democrats President
German Garcia asked how
closely the city would
monitor and/or control the
movements of the police
chief, and whether he or
she would have free reign
to address problems and
create community initia
tives. Last year, the
Hispanic-American
Democrats were among
the local groups that
accused the Winston
Salem Police Department
of setting traffic check
points in specific neigh
borhoods in order to target
minority motorists.
Cunningham denied the
charge, yet the Department
changed its checkpoint
system after the ACLU of
North Carolina threatened
to file suit.
Garrity the city
would allow the chief to
lead the department as he
or she sees fit, within rea
son.
"What the (City)
Council wants - what I
want - is results, more
than anything," he
declared. "If the chief can
do that and not break the
law, we're going to give
them the leeway to do
that."
City Council Members
James Taylor, Vivian
Burke, DD Adams and
Derwin Montgomery
attended Tuesday's meet
ing.
Those who are still
interested in contributing
their input to the process
may visit
www.cityofws.org and fill
out the Police Chief
Selection Process form or
call City Link, 311, to
have a member of the city
personnel fill one out for
them, Garrity said. The
forms will be submitted
directly to the
Developmental Associates
team.
I
Williams
from page AI
served as a dean at North
Carolina Central
University. He said he
and his longtime wife
Carole are excited about
relocating back to the
South and becoming a
part of the Fisk family.
Fisk is home to just
650 students. The univer
sity, whose alumni
include Nikki Giovanni,
O'Leary, W.E.B. DuBois,
Dr. John Hope Franklin
and Dr. Johnnetta B.
Cole, is continuously
ranked among the
nation's top colleges. For
the 20th consecutive year,
the Princeton Review
included Fisk on its 2012
list of "The Best 373
Colleges" in the nation
and on its list of "The
Best Southeastern
Colleges" and Forbes
magazine ranked Fisk
among the top 25 percent
of 650 higher education
institutions in 2011.
Williams said the
school's rich
history and
commitment to
educational
excellence are
what inspired
him to make the
move to Fisk.
"It's really
the grandfather
of all HBCUs.
Fisk is it. It was
founded in
ibod, rigni aner me pass
ing of the 13 th
Amendment," he
declared. "The school
was founded to educate
freed slaves, and it's been
graduating African
Americans ever since,
and it!$ doing a wonderful
job. It has an absolutely
pristine academic reputa
tion. That's what attracted
me, because I think that
history portends what we
can do in the future."
Despite its strong aca
demic reputation, the uni
versity has struggled
financially in recent
years, prompting the
Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges
(SACSCOC) to place the
institution on accredita
^ Pill Univcnily Rho?o
Students and alumni mill around the Fisk campus
during Homecoming 2011.
tion probation. Williams
said Tuesday that getting
the university's finances
back in good standing is
among his chief priori
ties. In order to have the
probationary status lifted,
the school must balance
its operational budget for
fiscal year 2013 - which
Williams says will
require at least $5 million
in unrestricted gifts - and
have an audit without any
findings. The
former New
Bethel Baptist
Church mem
ber said this
week he was
confident the
university and
its supporters
would rise to
the challenge.
"It's going
to be impor
is tn rnntinup tn
O'Leary
tant for n
gain philanthropic sup
port that we've had over
the years and we need to
increase that, so that's
another challenge for us,"
Williams said. "It's going
to take a lot of work, but
that's certainly an achiev
able goal. Folks around
here understand what the
challenges are and they're
ready to attack them, so 1
think we'll be success
ful."
Fisk's student body is
a fraction pf the 3,500
students he governed at
Grand Valley, affording
Williams a much more
intimate setting, and he
has wasted no time in get
ting to know the students.
Since arriving on campus
Saturday, he's enjoyed
breakfast in the school
dining hall alongside his
students. He was slated to
address the greater stu
dent body Tuesday during
a town hall assembly and
subsequent reception.
"I'm getting to know
the students," he reported.
"That was a priority for
me because that's what
this is all about - the stu
dents."
Though his ever
advancing career has
taken him all over the
nation, Williams said the
city he hails from still
holds a special place in
his heart. He credits the
Winston-Salem commu
nity with helping to give
him the foundation upon
which he's built his
remarkable career.
"They talk about it
taking a community to
rise a child, and one of
the things I'm really
proud of is that my expe
riences in Winston-Salem
as a child were affirming.
Folks there were very
supportive," he comment
ed. "... I love Winston
Salem and I'm proud of
the fact that it's been able
to sustain itself over the
years and adapt to the
changes in the economy. I
hope that Winston-Salem
will continue to be a
place where students and
children in particular can
feel supported and
inspired and encouraged
to achieve as much as
they can achieve."
For more information
about Fisk University,
visit www.fisk.edu.
NORTH CAROLINA'S
Pre-College Program
NC-MSEN
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The Center for MalhenMks, Sdeme and Tedmology Education fCMSTE)
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nfv NfwirtcnK#Uli CJfpw XlPnCc twUCuiJOn "VrTWOilf [nK.*Mjtr?/
2013 Summer Scholars Pre-Colleae Program
Voted f in the 2012 Winston-Salem Journal Newspaper Readers Choice Awards for Best
Summer Camp
For Middle and High School Students (grades 6-12) who are interested in pursuing careers
in science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and teaching.
? Promoting Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education
? Academic Instruction ft Activities in Mathematics ft Science
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Deadfcw for enrolmer*: HaMtmW - M? t- 2013:
Payment Options art aahhli
For further information about the profram and onlne enrollment piease refer to th?
website. www.wssu.edu/ncmsen and select Summer Scholars or cal lX-7tO-W?
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