Prepared by: Stacy Maestas September 20, 2013

Laramie County Community College Cheyenne, Wyoming Established – 1968 Dr. Joe Schaffer, President Laramie County Community College is a full- service comprehensive community college, and is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association.

Dr. Joe Schaffer became the ninth president of Laramie County Community College in January Joe came to LCCC from Montana State University-Great Falls where he most recently served as the campus’ Dean and Chief Executive Officer.

Organizational learning was happening, but it was not purposeful Driven by a protection mentality used to cope Developed a culture to survive controversy Strong autocratic leadership affected the institution’s ability to learn as a organization Dependence on autocratic leader was paralyzing

Early 2000’s learning was focused on becoming established Lacked ability to easily adapt and very resistant to change Learning stopped due to executive decisions Silo mentality Lost our creativity and ability to learn and grow.

“We’re starting to come out of our shell.” The appeal is there to get the organization to start thinking and learning Starting to see a cultural shift which forces the organization to learn Identification or awareness of risk is acknowledged Awareness forces one to think differently

Creating a foundation to support learning through a formalized approach Challenge past practices and encourage open communication LCCC is ready to bring about learning and change Operate under the same policies and procedures to create a foundation for equity to maintain and continue to move forward

We need to operationalize our agenda We need to continue to rebuild our capacity to inquire, learn, adapt, and apply learning at all levels, not in silos We need to be continuously engaged in assessing our environment – self-reflect, analyze, implement – to learn from what we know

Look at things objectively, with one vision Use this as an impetus for learning and application at a holistic level – not in silos Start assessing, see more evidence, approach work more effectively and efficiently Accept that we have control and embrace the opportunity to learn When collaboration kicks in…“we’ll start to gain momentum as a learning organization…”

Shared governance needs a broad based voice Continuous improvement through AQIP accreditation Rollout of new Key Performance Indicators focused on student learning outcomes Assessment process to identify opportunities for growth Connect objectives to the strategic plan

Learning Organizations Laramie County Community College