Additional Information
Miles City Chamber
Recognizing the need to educate Eastern Montanans, Miles Community College was founded in 1939 as Custer County Junior College. For almost 20 years, the College operated out of a few rooms in the local public high school. In 1957 the College moved into the former Milwaukee Railroad Depot building.
In June 1967, a new building was constructed after passage of a bond issue by county voters. On April 4, 1970, voters of the district elected the first independent Board of Trustees. In December 1971, Miles Community College was granted accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
The campus footprint, infrastructure and offerings have grown and developed over the years since the 1967 move to MCC's current location. In 1969, a mere two-years after the move, MCC launched its highly regarded nursing program. This hallmark program has graduated just under 1,200 students in its 50-year history. From 1971 to 1972, a student center was constructed that houses the cafeteria and bookstore. In 1977, a grant of $1.5 million from the Montana Coal Board for the construction of a vocational building and a library/classroom building was awarded. Construction of a physical education facility, which is now the Centra, began in 1980 and was completed in 1981. Campus infrastructure was mostly unchanged through the remainder of the decade but the need for on-campus residency was on the horizon. In August 1997, three student residential buildings and a commons building were readied for occupancy. MCC completed a $2.3 million residence hall in October 2003. In 2007, the forty-year-old facilities were enhanced to improve academic success and efficiency. This endeavor included an extensive remodel of the cafeteria and bookstore as well as retrofitting of an existing classroom space into a science lab. Energy-efficient windows, heating and air conditioning were added to the administration/classroom building. Heating and air conditioning upgrades extended to the library and physical education facility as well.
In response to the needs of an evolving Eastern Montana workforce, MCC acquired the former armory building adjacent to campus in 2016. Through strategic use of grant funding MCC was able to retrofit the armory, creating a Workforce Readiness Center (WRC). The WRC provides a permanent home for vocational technology training; housing the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) training courses as well as simulation instruction and experiential training.
With the help of community leadership and committed contributors, MCC opened its first facility on the West End of Miles City in 2017. The Ag Advancement Center/Champion Arena is a 36,000 square foot facility, which houses three classrooms, a 100 x 200 foot arena, bathroom facilities, public event seating for 500 people plus a mezzanine, on-site apartment, faculty offices, a concession stand, and an open foyer and flexible space for conferences and events. The Ag Advancement Center is a state-of-the-art facility that enhances learning for Eastern Montana's most prevalent resource, agriculture and livestock. With the addition of the Ag Advancement Center, our Ag and Equine students now have dedicated classroom space for their classes. Equine students will no longer lose valuable instruction time due to inclement weather. As a strategic enhancement to the burgeoning AAC, the college installed a 20.5kw solar panel system to the structure. The initial cost of installation was substantially reduced by funds from Montana-Dakota Utility's Universal System Benefits fund administered by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This project is part of MCC's efforts to shift ten percent of its energy consumption to renewable sources and create training programs based on the growth of solar reliance for regional Ag producers.
In addition to the advances of the physical plant, MCC (1) has developed curricular programs that meet the needs of transfer students in a variety of disciplines; (2) has been responsive to place-bound students by expanding its distance delivery of courses; (3) has created and modified professional-technical programs that prepare students for immediate entry into the workforce; (4) has refined assessment and placement of students who need additional academic preparation and support before enrolling in college-level courses; and (5) has been active in identifying appropriate partnerships with industry and other educational institutions to enhance economies of scale.
Miles Community College (MCC) is located in Miles City, the epicenter of Eastern Montana's rural frontier. Miles City is home to approximately 9,000 people, all residing within Custer County. The community is located at the confluence of the Tongue and Yellowstone rivers. The community is Eastern Montana's hub, boasting diversified economic opportunities including agriculture, business, finance, healthcare and federal agencies. MCC is unique as it is one of only three designated community colleges by Montana statute, having its own locally elected Board of Trustees. The other community colleges in Montana reside in Glendive and Kalispell.
MCC is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and offers general transfer Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. MCC's Associate of Science in Nursing degree is also accredited by the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. Additionally, the college offers Associate of Applied Science degrees in a variety of professional technical fields, certificate programs, continuing education and workforce training, and adult basic education.
The college also sponsors intercollegiate athletic teams in volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, and rodeo. Miles Community College is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), Region XII, and the Mon-Dak Conference as well as the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), and Big Sky Region.
It is important to note that Montana is also home to two-year institutions embedded within the flagship four-year universities at The University of Montana and Montana State University, respectively. Along with the community colleges, the embedded two-year institutions serve the students of Montana by delivering upon a comprehensive two-year college mission, including career and technical education. The Montana University System (MUS), and more specifically the Deputy Commissioner for Two-Year and Community College Education, facilitates coordination and collaboration among the community colleges and embedded two-year institutions.
In addition, Montana proudly boasts seven tribal colleges that also deliver two-year postsecondary education across the state. The tribal colleges are not affiliated with the MUS but do work in concert with the system and its respective colleges to deliver first-class educational outcomes for all Montana students.
Mission Statement
Miles Community College prepares students for success and provides opportunities for lifelong learning through quality programs, community outreach, and partnerships
Core Themes
Strategic Initiatives / Vision 2020
The Governance structure of Miles Community College consists of seven locally elected Trustees who are responsible for the hiring, supervision, and evaluation of the President. The Trustees delegate authority to the President to lead and administer all College operations and personnel decisions. To ensure continuity, trustees are elected for staggered three-year terms and may run for unlimited terms.
Miles Community College maintains a permanent foundation governed by a Board of Directors consisting of up to nine community members. The Foundation is committed to establishing and maintaining a permanent endowment fund through the solicitation, investment, and management of donations for the purpose of providing scholarships and assisting in capital improvements and special needs of the College for the betterment of the students, faculty, staff, and community.
MCC employs a sufficient number of qualified administrators who provide effective leadership for the College. Senior leadership is primarily comprised of administrative professionals holding the titles of Vice President and Dean. These professionals typically hold master's degrees or higher in fields appropriate for their division. Deans and Vice Presidents lead the major support and operational functions of the campus and report to the President. In addition, fundraising staff, the Athletic Director and Budget Director report to the President. The sum of these direct reports currently comprise the Campus Executive Team. The President also has a traditional Cabinet comprised of a larger cross-section of campus constituents who work collaboratively in order to ensure the fulfillment of the College Mission, Core Themes, Budget and Strategic Initiatives.
Overall, Miles Community College employs qualified personnel who are willing to uphold the College's Mission, Core Themes, and Strategic Initiatives. The College employs forty-four full-time staff members, twenty-three full-time faculty members, ten part-time staff members, along with a varying number of adjunct and community outreach faculty.
Miles Community College is well positioned to continue its success as an anchor institution for the region. The success of the college, community and region are inextricably linked. To that end, Eastern Montana will continue to look toward MCC to help solve the educational and economic challenges of the region. Those challenges include growing the overall educational attainment level of our regions citizens to meet the demand for rural healthcare, agriculture and industry.
The successful president will recognize the inherent challenges of continuing to enhance financial performance with limited resources, continue to build upon current enrollment success, foster effective legislative relations and coalitions with other state higher education institutions to promote our mission and ensure adequate funding, and grow philanthropic support in a competitive environment. These challenges create opportunities for a savvy leader to implement change while effectively helping the campus and community understand the vision and direction needed for future success.
At present, the campus community is nearing the completion of its five-year vision plan. The permanent president will have the unique opportunity to bring the campus, community and region together to build a solid foundational plan as MCC approaches its centennial.
The president will provide leadership and strategic direction for Miles Community College; oversee its critical policy and advocacy efforts; and be responsible for creating vision for successful day-to-day operations, including operating policy, enrollment and development of external funding, and coordination of organizational activities, media, government and business relations. Reporting to, and working collaboratively with, members of the Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board, the president will ensure that Miles Community College continues to be fiscally sound and that its strategies and programs meet the diverse needs and interests of its students, faculty, staff, administrators and community as well as a leader in community colleges in Montana. It is critically important that the president speak enthusiastically and persuasively to internal and external audiences about matters of concern to adult learners; inform audiences of Miles Community College success in blended learning and hybrid course offerings, strengths of the engaged faculty, our robust platform for online delivery of curriculum; and promote the college's reputation locally, regionally and nationally.
The president will be a model of integrity that will advance academic quality and inspire perpetual collaboration, dedication and accountability for student success from the entire college community. The college's leader will be an ambassador and advocate for the Miles Community College mission, and its students throughout the Montana and the region. It is also important for the president to be passionate with potential donors and supporters, who will positively contribute to the college and its efforts. Lastly, the president will guide continued enrollment growth while balancing the resource needs for the array of programs on which the college prides itself.
Qualifications & Expectations
Responsibilities
The ideal candidate for MCC President will be an energetic, visionary person with demonstrated ability to lead, inspire, motivate to action and direct a community college campus. Because of the expansiveness of the service region, distance-learning programs are integral to the success of the institution, as are workforce-training programs that meet the needs of area's diversifying economy. The candidate should demonstrate effectiveness in developing and maintaining relationships with regional leaders and community members, educational and governmental organizations for the betterment of the College. In addition, the successful candidate will possess:
This is a confidential search process.
Candidates should submit:
Please submit all application materials to Kylene Phipps, Dean of Administrative Services and Human Resources, Miles Community College, 2715 Dickinson Street, Miles City MT 59301 or you may e-mail your application materials to
humanresources@milescc.edu.
The first review of applicants will begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. The posting will remain open and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. The interim president is not eligible for the permanent position and is serving solely in an interim capacity while this national search is being conducted.
Miles Community College is an equal opportunity employer.
