merits of the two candidates against the background of Government's policy of Bermudianisation.

The Royal Gazette recently obtained copies of statements of educational philosophy that the candidates, Dr. Donald Peters and Dr. Larita Alford, were asked to submit. Dr. Peters, who is from Dominica, is the current Vice President of the College. Dr. Alford, a Bermudian, is Dean of Instruction at Columbia State Community College in Columbia, Tennessee.

Vision and integrity Dr. Larita J. Alford In any given society, if it expects to thrive in a global environment, every citizen needs and deserves access to a quality education. The success of that community is dependent on the quality of the education that is provided to its citizens. The education system that is in place must provide training and education that would support all levels of skills and education in order to protect and/or improve the way of life of the citizens that depend on the resources in that community for survival.

Teachers, I believe, should be facilitators of learning and provide an environment that allows students to perform at their highest potential so that they will attain their educational goals. Facilitators of learning must themselves be learners, be knowledgeable about the various learning styles and be able to creatively adjust the learning environment so that the diverse needs of the students are met.

I believe that the individuals who are in leadership positions at educational institutions must possess a number of qualities and skills beyond the basic requirements needed for a particular position. These qualities and skills would ensure that those who are influenced by the learning environment would benefit from the interactions with the institution. These qualities and skills include the following: Vision Courage Flexibility Communication skills Compassion Integrity A leader of any type of organisation, particularly an educational institution, must develop a vision for the future of the organisation along with the organisation's constituents. These stakeholders of the Institution -- students, faculty, staff, businesses and the general public, should be influenced by an individual who inspires them to grab hold of the vision and to work as a team toward the accomplishment of the goals that are developed as a result of their shared vision. This is not an easy task! This type of work requires one who is strong and courageous, willing to work long hours with diverse populations in order to reach the educational objectives of the organisation. If those in leadership positions at an institution want it to be perceived as being at the forefront of progress in the society, the leaders have to be willing to assess the environment. To implement unpopular decisions and to take calculated risks that would guide the institution into the position where the leaders and the constituents believe it belongs.

Because we live in a society and an age where autonomy is impossible, it is important for individuals in a work environment to be flexible and open to ideas that may be different from their own. Almost everything that is being done in a society has an impact on individuals outside of the organisation and many times influence people outside of their immediate community. Being able to exhibit patience, excellent listening skills and other communication skills are essential for survival in the global arena in which we find ourselves today.

While the aforementioned qualities and skills are essential to the success of an organisation, no quality or specific knowledge is more important than the trust and integrity that an individual must have in order to be effective in the educational environment and in the community. Team partners must believe that they can trust the leader to keep promises, to be loyal to them as individuals and as a group and to respect them as intelligent people.

Only in an environment of complete trust will the organisation be in a position to be able to provide the various stakeholders with the skills that are needed to accomplish its goals and to be able to compete in the global market in the twenty-first Century.

`A national college' Dr. Donald C. Peters This summary statement describes my administrative vision, beliefs and philosophy. It also describes how I function in the role, and meet the responsibilities of, Vice-President of the Bermuda College.

Positioning Bermuda College to the Country's Future It is not often that one gets to apply for a position for which he or she is the incumbent. However, I consider it an honour and embrace the opportunity, in the spirit of the laws of Bermuda, to submit my application for the position of Vice-President, Academic and Student Affairs.

In the past two years I have taken the initiative to position the College at the centre of higher education in Bermuda. My fundamental philosophy rests on my belief in the potential and future of the College which I fondly refer to as the "National College''. Bermuda College holds the key to preparing Bermudians to participate fully in the country's economy as managers, accountants, technicians, and leaders of the future.

To achieve that goal, the College's top administration must be able to generate new funding, reallocate resources to priority areas, develop programmes that meet the country's manpower and economic needs, maintain high academic standards (while at the same time providing developmental programmes for students who don't quite meet the standards for entry into our academic programmes), internationalise the College by establishing exchange and articulation agreements with major international universities and colleges, and be competent to represent the College at international forums. I have accomplished all of these goals at other international universities and during the past two and a half years, have worked tirelessly to do the same at Bermuda College.

Commitment to the Comprehensive College I recognise that the role of the College in higher education is critical in preparing a Country's workforce to meet the future demands of industry and community. Fifty-one percent of all students in higher education are enrolled in community colleges in the United States. Bermuda College is a community college and during my tenure here, I have increased enrolment by 38 percent, established partnerships with the banking and international business community and developed new programmes to meet the manpower needs of the community. I have created a truly comprehensive college environment at Bermuda College.

While I remain a strong proponent of the four-year baccalaureate programme, I have given my commitment to making this 2-year institution truly successful.

Educational Leadership I have served in educational leadership positions at major national universities. In those positions, I developed innovative programmes to enhance student retention and increased academic resource and counselling programmes to assist students who need help in adjusting to college. At the Bermuda College, I implemented a programme called the College Discovery programme in which we admit students who need additional academic preparation in order to meet the College's Programme entry requirement. We immerse the students into a strong preparatory programme with tutors and counsellors to help them meet the challenges of college life. Our success rate in this programme currently stands at 69 percent. I have also been able to increase budgets to hire more faculty, enrich student life and enhance staff development. The Chronicle of Higher Education (September 23, 1993), in a feature article, highlighted some of my educational leadership skills.

Participatory and Collaborative Leadership I believe in participatory management. I have always been an advocate of empowerment of Deans, Directors, Chairs, faculty, staff and students. I encourage decision making at all levels in order to effectively meet the institution's stated mission. At all times, I involve the college community in the decision making process. For example, at the University of Minnesota, the decision to establish a universal health fee was initially met with strong opposition. By establishing teams of staff and students in the decision making process, we were able to get support from all the constituents. In Bermuda, I have established a College-wide committee to advise me on the merits of offering four-year degree programmes in specific disciplines. On the other hand, I understand that my responsibility is to make difficult decisions. I have never shied away from that responsibility.

Communication and Exchange of Ideas I am an excellent communicator. I have written successful grants and have presented my ideas both nationally and internationally. Some of my ideas are currently in place at some major universities in the United States. For example, at the University of Mississippi, a bastion of Greek life, I convinced the Alumni and the university community to restructure and re-schedule the rush programmes in a way not to alienate non-Greek Freshman students.

In the workplace, I know how to listen, and my directives are always very clear. I am an objective decision-maker. I am proficient at selling ideas to very diverse groups. Through my communicative skills, I have been very successful at achieving results. In January 1999, I convinced Bermuda's recently elected Government to fund a grant of $270,000 to support our proposal for enhancing K-12 education, a Prior Learning Assessment programme and teacher certification in Bermuda through the provision of special programmes.

Throughout my career, I have been able to secure students' trust and because of my ongoing communication with that group, have been able to avert major student unrests. I am driven by an open-door policy which enhances trust and encourages dialogue.

Promoting Partnerships and Coalitions In Mississippi, Ohio and here in Bermuda, I have been able to establish productive linkages with all of the stakeholders mentioned above. Since arriving in Bermuda, I have established articulation agreements with major US universities, including Cornell, University of Plymouth, Northeastern and the University of Massachusetts. By the beginning of the year 2000, it is my goal to have Bermuda College articulate with at least thirty more United States and Canadian universities. I am currently in the process of negotiating new agreements with fifteen other US and Canadian institutions. At the same time, I am preparing the College for membership and accreditation within the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

At the University of Mississippi, I established strong linkages with the community colleges and was successful in recruiting their high ability transfer students. In Bermuda, I have positioned the College as the centre for education for both the business community and the public school system.

Technology in Educational and Administrative Settings At the University of Mississippi, we were able to develop a sophisticated distance learning programme that was used to teach basic skills to rural parents interested in getting off the public assistance programmes. I believe that the community college system must be at the forefront of developing and utilising technology in education. I know how to achieve that goal. At Bermuda College, we have just established an Associate degree programme in Engineering Technology. I am now preparing a proposal for the Ministry of Telecommunication to allow the Bermuda College to operate the community cable station and to fund a grant to support our distance learning initiative.

Institutional Advocacy and the Political Environment I believe that one of my strongest leadership qualities in higher education is my ability to advocate for resources on behalf of my institution. At the University of Minnesota, I was the President's "point-person'' to convince the Board of Regents to support a comprehensive, mandatory student health fee.

At Mississippi, I was able to secure scholarship funds from the Legislature to successfully recruit high ability students. In every community in which I work, I am able to serve on boards and organisations which enhances the institutions' visibility within the political environment and provides a forum for articulating the needs of those institutions. In March, I was appointed to the Board of Health by the Minister of Health.

Community Economic Development and Workforce Training In Bermuda in particular, I have positioned the College in partnership with the National Training Board which gives the College responsibility, for instance, for training construction and other allied trades and apprentices to support the current economic building boom in Bermuda. I have had the Deans revise our curriculum to ensure that our Associate degree programmes are internationalised and relevant to the developing needs of industry. We recently developed a programme for the Hospitality industry to develop a training model for hotel and restaurant staff. A cornerstone of that programme is to provide this training in a modularised format that uses staff in a flexible manner, allowing both faculty and learner to use time efficiently.

Diversity Issues and Respects for Differences I believe strongly that a college's Vice-President must take a proactive position in leading the fight for inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity for all members of the community that seek to avail themselves of the opportunities in higher education.

In that respect, I have always been able to hire staff that are representative of all the people that the institution serves. At the University of Mississippi, for instance, I established a policy that all student groups funded by the University and representing the University had to reflect the racial composition of the student body. I am committed to the country's Bermudianisation objective and actively support the initiative. To that end and within the past two years, about 85 percent of all promotions and appointments made by me to fill senior management positions in Academic and Students Affairs have been Bermudians.

Management and Accountability I have served as a Senior Administrative Officer at several major universities. In all of those positions, I have been able to sell the institutions' strengths and importance to both the community and their political leadership. I have been successful in increasing enrolment, generating non-governmental revenue, astute in the art of cost containment and reallocation of resources. But above all, I have extensive experience in fiscal management, strategic planning, marketing and team building. In two years at Bermuda College, I have been instrumental in increasing our budget by approximately 10 percent.

Innovation at Bermuda College During my tenure at Bermuda College, I have: increased enrolment; established a comprehensive career and education counselling programme; established a functional and elected Student Government; opened Library and laboratories on weekends; sent student teams to participate in programmes overseas; recruited high credentialed faculty; presented papers in Europe and the United States and improved staff morale and staff participation in College activities.