The Chair Academy's 16th Annual International Conference: Navigating the Future of Authentic Leadership - March 7-10, 2007, Jacksonville, FL
2007 Paul A. Elsner International Leadership Award Winners



This award has been named after Dr. Paul A. Elsner, Chancellor Emeritus of the Maricopa County Community College District, where he held the chancellorship from 1977 until retiring in 1999. Elsner serves on numerous boards both in the public and private sector and has received numerous awards and recognitions. Elsner is recognized nationally and internationally as an exemplary leader in community and technical colleges and higher education.

In his retirement, he is founder and president of the Sedona Conferences and Conversations, Paul Elsner and Associates, and Los Vientos, Inc.—organizations dedicated to furthering higher education worldwide. In the past two years, his consultancies and speaking engagements have taken him to China, South Africa, the Netherlands, Ireland, Barcelona, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand. The Chair Academy is proud to present the Paul A. Elsner International Excellence in Leadership Award to two outstanding leadership recipients.



Dr. James Perkins

Dr. James Perkins

President
Blue Ridge Community College
Weyers Cave, VA

Dr. James Perkins began his career in community college education as an instructor of mathematics at Genesee Community College where in 1974 he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Teaching. In 1979, he moved to Piedmont Virginia Community College in Virginia to accept the position of Division Chair. He was later named the college’s Dean of Instruction.

Since July 1989, Dr. Perkins has served as president of Blue Ridge Community College. Located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, BRCC is one of twenty-three community colleges in the Virginia Community College System.

Dr. Perkins’ academic credentials include the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts Degrees in Mathematics from State University of New York, Albany. He completed his Ph.D. in Postsecondary Leadership at Florida State University.

For the past seventeen years he has watched BRCC grow to become a leader in the Virginia Community College System in workforce development programming, student retention and graduation, and student success in various measures of educational outcomes including critical thinking and oral communication. The college has been honored nationally and in Virginia as a technology leader. Its students enjoy guaranteed admission opportunities at more than 20 colleges and universities. Its Veterinary Technology Program attracts students from all parts of the Commonwealth as does its college transfer program.

Dr. Perkins’ leadership style has been influenced by the writings of Ernest Boyer, Margaret Wheatley, and Robert Greenleaf. It is his belief that to be truly effective as a leader you must embrace the principles of servant-leadership. He serves his community as a member of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Board, the WVPT Public Television Board, and Augusta Medical Center Advisory Board. Within the VCCS, he has led the development and planning for a state-of-the-art information technology environment, a system-wide distance learning plan, and a plan for revitalizing institutional research within the system. In 2006, he was honored to receive the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Most Supportive College President of the Year national award.

Gwen Stephenson

Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson

President
Hillsborough Community College
Tampa, FL

Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson serves as the President of Hillsborough Community College. She has served in this capacity since August 1997. As the chief academic and executive officer of HCC, Dr. Stephenson oversees an institution with four campuses: Brandon, Dale Mabry, Plant City, and Ybor City, that serves more than 42,000 credit and non-credit students annually. Hillsborough Community College employs more than 2,278 full and part-time employees and is supported by an annual budget (’06-’07) of $182.3 million.

Under Dr. Stephenson’s leadership, HCC has seen unprecedented enrollment growth. With a renewed commitment to enhanced Student Services, a concentration on creating student-centered, state-of-the-art learning environments, and a new understanding and focus in meeting the needs of Tampa Bay’s business community, the College has experienced a 41% increase in FTE. This enrollment growth has helped lead to the development of the College’s fifth campus in southern Hillsborough County, the new SouthShore Campus slated to open in 2007.

The College has demonstrated its commitment to hiring the best and brightest from across the country and to offering training opportunities to existing faculty, staff and administration to ensure that the College remains on the cutting edge.

Dr. Stephenson also reorganized the College to make more efficient use of its resources. Helping to ensure the wise use of precious taxpayer’s dollars, Dr. Stephenson has worked diligently to create unique partnerships and to collaborate with other public entities like the K-12 system, University of South Florida, other not-for-profits and the private sector to create synergy among systems while engaging in the thoughtful and productive exchange of ideas. Dr. Stephenson has also sought private funding to support the enhancement of College programs. Under her presidency, assets of the HCC Foundation have more than doubled along with a similar increase in contributions.

Prior to coming to HCC, Dr. Stephenson served in a similar role as the Chancellor of St. Louis Community College. St. Louis Community College served an enrollment of over 120,000 credit and non-credit students and had an annual budget of $108 million.

Dr. Stephenson earned her Doctorate in Education with a minor in Research Methodology from St. Louis University where she also received her Masters Degree in Counselor Education. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Education from Harris Teachers’ College and holds a Management Certificate from Harvard University.