Acting as Riverland’s &uot;eyes and ears&uot; to the community, an Albert Lea advisory board was recently formed to provide feedback to the community college.

Monday, September 27, 1999

Acting as Riverland’s &uot;eyes and ears&uot; to the community, an Albert Lea advisory board was recently formed to provide feedback to the community college.

The board, comprised of 19 members, includes business leaders from the community and half a dozen representatives from Riverland Community College.

Peter Carey of Streater, who serves as the committee’s chairman, said the other purpose of the advisory board is &uot;to change the image from a vo-tech to a community college.&uot;

Riverland President Gary Rhodes welcomes the advisory committee.

&uot;This is a great opportunity for the community to provide feedback to the community college,&uot; Rhodes said.

The diverse group will help provide well-rounded advice to college officials, Rhodes said.

&uot;Whether they have kids who go here, or if they are business persons who utilize the college as a resource,&uot; the college will value their input, Rhodes said, noting that the group was a &uot;good cross section of the community.&uot;

&uot;We made every effort to get different people from the community involved to get different angles and opinions,&uot; Carey added.

The board will also strive to get information from other members of the community.

&uot;We will listen to what people tell us,&uot; Carey said.

While the group will provide information to Riverland Community College officials, it will not set policy.

&uot;This is very definitely an advisory board,&uot; Carey said. &uot;We don’t have authority to make decisions for the college, but we are here to act as a sounding board.&uot;

The advisory board will meet quarterly; its first meeting was held last week.

Members of the board include: Pam Bishop, executive vice president of Greater Jobs, Inc.; Rachel Christenson, owner of Ole’s East Side Amoco; Dan Dorman, state representative and owner of Hanson Tire; Kent Erlandson, owner of Erlandson Implement; Jon Lindeman, president of Americana Bank; Dave Nolander, owner of Marketing Plus; Dave Prescott, superintendent of Albert Lea Area Schools; Dick Rocklin, president of Kleentec; Gerry Vogt, president and owner of Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen; Steve Waldhoff, CEA of Albert Lea Medical Clinic and Mayor Marv Wangen.

They are joined by seven Riverland Community College representatives: Pamela Tranby, vice president of academic affairs; Gary Schindler, vice president of student affairs; Jean Eaton, campus dean; Lora Low, instructor; Roger Panzer, instructor; and Sybil Broskoff, administrative assistant to the president.