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RCC president gets good grades, 12 percent raise By JOHN DARLING With its main focus swinging now to Jackson County, the Board of Rogue Community College gave its president Rick Levine high marks for his first year on the job, as well as a 12 percent raise to $112,079 a year. "He�s done really well," said RCC board member Dean Wendle. "He�s exceeded our expectations." Wendle cited as examples the partnerships Levine built with the local community and an internal reorganization he orchestrated in which managers at the Josephine County campus helped fill dean posts in Jackson County � all without hiring new people. The raise brings Levine into line with other community college presidents and was promised in his contract, provided he received positive evaluations after one year, Wendle said. Levine�s ratings were all "excellent" and "good," with no "fair" or "poor." He was rated for educational leadership, business, finance and relations with staff, personnel, the RCC board, other schools and the community. The board wants Levine to "put more effort into providing an appropriate structure and process for the discussion of academic standards at the college and that the highest professional standards be maintained," said Tom Bradbeer, dean of Human Resources and College Advancement, in a news release. "I felt pretty good about the board�s comments. I�d be very surprised if the ratings were all excellent, especially in the first year," said Levine, who came a year ago from a management post at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. "I�ve got more work to do with the board and the (RCC) advisory committee, finding out their vision and expectations and trying to determine the next steps," Levine said. "I still have to get out more and talk to as many constituents as possible." RCC is aiming for "more presence" in Jackson County, which was annexed by the Josephine County-based college four years ago and "is where the business and technology growth is going to be," said Wendle. The RCC board has asked Levine to look into eventual creation of a technology center in Jackson County. The center would teach long-term job skills using state-of-the-art equipment to "attract and retain" companies on the emerging edge of new technologies, Wendle said. "It would be in Jackson County," he said. "There�s no question where the business and technology growth is going to be. We want to have it where it�s going to do the most good." Two of the seven RCC board members are from Jackson County now, but at the March 2001 election, five of the seven members must be elected from Jackson County. Other RCC goals for the next year include setting up a one-year licensed practical nurse program to meet a large demand in the health care field, getting public transit to the Grants Pass campus and hiring and retaining good teachers, Levine said. RCC board member Don McLennan, of Grants Pass, praised Levine for his ability to manage two campuses 40 minutes apart. "It�s been quite an undertaking, doing what Levine has done (annexing Jackson County) and with as few people as possible," he said. "There�s a lot of growth coming and there�s going to be a lot of effort (in Jackson County). But Levine knows the community college system in Oregon. He has a lot of the right contacts with the right people who know how to get things done � in the legislature, schools and among community leaders." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA