Community College Implements Decisive Changes to Restore Health

 

Metropolitan Community College
Image: blogs.mcckc.edu

As Chief of Staff to the Chancellor and Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resource at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, Kathy Walter-Mack serves as principal staff to the chancellor of the community college system. Among Attorney Kathy Walter-Mack’s accomplishments are developing and executing strategies that harmonized financial plans with available resources, helping to arrest worsening financial conditions.

In 2010, Metropolitan Community College installed a new chancellor, Mark James, who faced the prospect of having the institution’s financial reserves depleted in five years due to less state support, rising health benefits, rising utility bills, and lower enrollment. James quickly tapped Kathy Walter-Mack as his right hand person to develop strategies and implement decisive changes and actions to address the situation. This included termination of a popular early retirement plan, reconfiguration of the health benefit plan, IT audit and reconfiguration, physical structures assessment, refinancing of an existing bond, lobbying for more state support, and implementing zero-based budgeting.

These changes resulted in cost savings (freeing up cash) and additional funding which were used to improve and repair building facilities, acquire IT equipment which are now bulk purchased and fully compatible, among others. The college was also able restore the annual salary increases to its 900 employees as well as its professional development fund. With improved planning and resource utilization, the college is now on sound financial footing.

Kansas City’s Metropolitan Community College Hosts The Juncture

The Juncture
Image: mcckc.edu

Kathy Walter-Mack serves as the chief of staff to the chancellor and associate vice chancellor of human resources at Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Kansas City, Missouri. In that position, Kathy Walter-Mack has helped advance several of the college’s programs and initiatives. Recently, her office was the primary sponsor of The Juncture, an annual professional development symposium she helped launch in 2015.

Hosted by MCC’s Office of Inclusion and Engagement, The Juncture is an interactive event that focuses on helping women in higher education improve their professional practice and meet the needs of students. The symposium features panel discussions and small-group activities that explore professional ethics, mentoring, networking, and collaboration. The Juncture also highlights the different journeys and paths women take on their way to careers in higher education and features presentations from MCC faculty members and local business leaders.

The most recent Juncture symposium took place October 14, 2016, at Metropolitan Community College. Over 100 women participated in the event, which focused on changing student demographics, professional growth, and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The symposium program featured presentations from speakers such as Dr. Andrea Hendricks, the assistant vice president of human resources at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and Ellen Heffernan, a partner at The Spelman & Johnson Group.

A number of faculty and staff members from all five MCC campuses also participated in discussions at The Juncture in 2016. For more information about the event, visit www.blogs.mcckc.edu.