McHenry County Blog

If you had your choice, would you spend the winter in Crystal Lake or the Florida Keys?

The McHenry County College Board selected Larry Tyree to be its interim president after Walt Packard was handed his walking papers last spring, albeit with a golden parachute costing taxpayers something in the range of $200,000. He left after only about a month in Crystal Lake for family reasons.

Now Tryee, has landed a similar gig at Florida Keys Community College, according to a story in KeysNet.com.

The story says that Tryee could receive almost $200,000 for working a full year on the job.

Ironically, the woman he is replacing also has a golden parachute.  One question the Florida community college has that MCC did not is what office Tryee will occupy. The outgoing president in the Keys has not yet vacated the president’s office.

The headcount at the college is about 2,000.

Larry Tyree said he quit as McHenry County College’s interim president because of family reasons.

Now the Florida Keys Keynoter reports Tyree is one of four candidates for interim president at Florida Keys Community College.

Here’s how he is described:

“Larry Tyree of Sarasota. This would not be Tyree’s first stint as an interim community college president. He’s had that gig four times in the past three years at two colleges in Kansas, one in New York and one in Illinois.

“Tyree is also a former president of Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City. He has been working in higher education administration since 1967.”

And the situation at the sunny community college?

The current president is “out.”  And, as is McHenry County, she gets paid through the end of her 2010 contract.  She’ll be on “sabbatical.”

“Until her contract expires, (President Jill) Landesberg-Boyle will continue to get pay, benefits, use of a college-owned vehicle, and housing and cell phone stipends. She makes $159,000 annually, not including $37,000 in benefits and a $3,000 monthly housing allowance.”

Pretty much the exit strategy that was used with McHenry County College Board President Walt Packard.

I’m happy to publish press releases of a political nature and, sometimes, other subjects, but last night I received one from McHenry County College is a format which I could not copy and paste.

You can be almost certain that I am not going to re-type a press release.

So, I did something short about the revolving door presidency. This morning, still waiting for the press release, I found the resume of newly-appointed Interim President Kathleen Plinske and published it.

I’ve finally gotten the “official version” and am happy to share it with you.

McHENRY COUNTY COLLEGE PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
[Sep. 21, 2009.Crystal Lake, IL]

The Board of Trustees of McHenry County College has named Kathleen A. Plinske, Ed.D., as the Interim President at a Special Board meeting on September 21, 2009. Plinske is replacing Larry W. Tyree as the College’s Interim President. Tyree has notified the Board that he will step down as the Interim President effective October 17, 2009 due to personal and family matters which require him to return to Florida.

Plinske is currently serving as the College’s Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness. Plinske has held a number of positions with the College, beginning in 2001 when she served as Instructional Media Specialist. Plinske is a graduate of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and attended Indiana University – Bloomington as a Herman B. Wells scholar, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Physics with highest distinction.

While working at McHenry County College, Plinske completed a Masters Degree in Spanish from Roosevelt University and a Doctorate in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University with honors. In 2006 she was selected by the McHenry County Business Journal as one of McHenry County’s 10 under 40, and was recently named by Phi Delta Kappa as one of 24 emerging leaders in education worldwide. Plinske was born and raised in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Plinske has been directly involved in a number of current College initiatives including the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system as well as the College’s Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) continuous improvement efforts.

Plinske commented that she will strive to provide consistency and calm in a period of transition for the College and as the College searches for a permanent president. Plinske will serve as the Interim President of the College from October 17, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

That didn’t take long.

Interim President Larry Tyree replacing Interim President Brian Sager replacing the faster-you-get-out-the-door-the-better President Walt Packard has stepped down after a month in office as head of McHenry County College.

As the last one standing, Kathleen Plinske, inherits the unstable throne during the institution’s period of greatest growth as a result of the McHenry County College Promise’s great influx of recent high school graduates.

The word I got from McHenry County College officials is that the new interim president, Larry Tyree, and two trustees will meeting with Metra officials.

Executive Director Phil Pagano will be among those on the Metra side of the table.

Too bad the meeting will not be in public.

There are significant issues of process that need to be thoroughly ventilated.

It is beyond belief, well, at least understanding, that Metra did not contact the college between the time the favored Ridgefield site was selected on January 5, 2009, and last Friday when the Metra board approved the $1.5 million land purchase from a trust owned jointly by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler and his Flowerwood partner’s estate.

It’s good to have Interim President Tyree on board.

With former President Walt Packard’s expensive retirement, Interim President Brian Sager’s retirement and Ron Ally’s taking the Chief Financial Officer’s post at Elgin School District 46, MCC has resembled a headless horseman.

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The picture is of McHenry County College Interim President Larry Tyree.

Larry Tyree, the interim president to replace $200,000 a year not quite retiree Walt Packard, was introduced to college employees today.

Presumably, he will be at the concluding meeting of the MAP (probably short for something, but it hasn’t reached my consciousness) process designed to get a tax hike committee together.

The following press release was received from McHenry County College:

MCC WELCOMES NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT

[August 18, 2009.Crystal Lake, IL] McHenry County College welcomed interim President Lawrence (Larry) W. Tyree, Ed.D. to his first day on the job Monday. His term will run through the end of June 2010, at which time the college hopes to have completed its search for a permanent president.

Tyree was appointed as interim president at a special board meeting in June and comes to MCC with an extensive background in higher education and leadership. Prior to serving at MCC, he was interim president at three separate community colleges, including his most recent appointment at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York.

According to MCC Board of Trustees chairperson, George Lowe,

“Both the board and college employees are excited to bring Dr. Tyree on board. The college has been going through a good deal of change these past few months, so a new president will help support the college’s focus and keep us all on track.”

Tyree had an opportunity to meet many MCC staff members at an informal reception on Monday, and he’ll be addressing college employees Thursday in a more formal setting at MCC’s Faculty Development Day, a day of workshops and meetings designed to prepare faculty and staff for the start of a new semester. Fall classes at MCC start August 21.

“This is certainly an exciting time at MCC, as we are expecting record enrollment this fall,” Tyree said. “We’re working on final preparations for the semester to ensure that we provide outstanding learning opportunities for our students and community.”

Prior to filling presidential seats, Tyree was a full professor at the University of Florida and served there as the director of the Institute of Higher Education and the executive director of the National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges.

Tyree was also a community college CEO for 26 years at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida, the Dallas County Community College District in Dallas, Texas, and Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida.

He earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Indiana University, Bloomington and both his Master of Education (M.Ed.) and Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A.E.) from University of Florida, Gainesville.

Tyree said his passion for community colleges started through his own experience receiving an Associate in Arts (A.A.) from Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, FL.

In addition to overseeing the operations of MCC, Tyree will provide additional support and expertise on college programs, including the MCC Promise and the college’s AQIP continuous improvement efforts and Systems Portfolio.

In addition to the community college environment, Tyree’s other passion is his family.

He is married with three grown children and four grandchildren. A native of Pensacola, Florida, he enjoys boating, golfing, and alternating visits between the mountains of North Carolina and the southwest coast of Florida.