Dr. Dave Pelham has over 40 years of experience in higher education in a variety of institutions, systems, and NGOs. He began his career as a full-time faculty member at a private college and later, a university. He taught communications courses from freshman level to graduate courses. In addition, Dr. Pelham served as a debate coach for a nationally competitive debate program in the USA. His administrative experience includes assignments as an academic department chair, academic dean, vice president for student services, vice president for academic affairs, and college president. He has served in institutions with enrollments ranging from as small as 2,000 students to as large as 20,000 students. Dr. Pelham also served as a Vice President of a national non-profit which supports higher education. In addition, he has served as a Leadership Coach for administrators in higher education institutions in 6 US states. As an administrator, faculty member and coach, he has served community colleges, technical colleges, tribal colleges, and universities. He has been published in national and international journals on a variety of topics, including the justification for dual enrollment programs in California community colleges and an analysis of value argument in the university strategic planning process. He has also presented at dozens of conferences in the US and abroad on a variety of higher education related topics. He is the recipient of the Vision for Career and Technology Education Writers Award.
Title: Community Vibrancy as a Measure of Institutional Success
There are many ways to measure the success of an institution of higher education. Student enrollment, number of graduates, research productivity, and the number of graduates that go on to pursue higher degrees are just a few of the commonly used measures of institutional success. All of these measures have value. This presentation introduces the concept of community vibrancy as an extension of the evolution of institutional success metrics and makes an argument for it as an important measure of success critical to a holistic view of an institution’s progress.