Tom Weegar, based in Minnesota, is a senior administrator who has worked in the community college system in both Canada and the United States since 1991. He currently serves as the provost of a community college.
Under Tom’s leadership, his community college recently embarked on a team-based, shared leadership, quality principled approach to organizational improvement. In so doing, the college has developed a unique shared leadership/shared governance model of operation that centers around five cross-functional teams. The main objective of this approach is to create a true learner-centered college that increases access and improves learning opportunities for students and creates a model of participatory decision-making for all stakeholders. This innovative model, in an effort to make the college more competitive and lean (and also to address a budget deficit), involved "flattening" the organizational structure of the college; two dean positions were eliminated from the college.
The shared leadership/shared governance teams are organized around four critical or core processes of the college: learning, teaching, supporting, and operations. A fifth team, the Key Communicator team, is composed of representatives from each of the other four teams and the provost. Each of the teams is cross-functional and includes representation of students, community members, support staff, faculty, and administrators.
Due to his experiences with this unique model of college operations, Tom has a great deal of knowledge and experience with implementing shared leadership approaches to operating a college. Tom firmly believes that these approaches must always be based upon mutual respect and trust between administration, faculty, and support staff. As well, Tom has experience in change management and organizational change overall.
As an expert in his area, Tom presented on the topic of Shared Leadership/Shared Governance before an international conference at the Chair Academy's Annual Conference in Los Angeles in February 2003. He also co-wrote an article entitled, Shared Governance: Bringing Community Colleges to the People which will be published in a future edition of the Community College Enterprise.
Prior to moving to the United States, Tom worked as a senior administrator for Northern Lights College and Northwest Community College (both multi-campus colleges) in northern British Columbia, Canada. As well, Tom worked for a number of years with culturally relevant post-secondary education in First Nation (Native American) communities in British Columbia.
Tom is an enthusiastic, engaging person who believes strongly in shared leadership within the community college experience. He lives by the Shakespearean motto:
Nothing will come of nothing. Dare mighty things.
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