How Did Dr. Jerry King Choose The President Of Trinity Valley Community College?

INTRODUCTION

For this project, I choose the president of Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC). Dr. Jerry King has been employed by TVCC since 1975. Dr. King started off as an adjunct instructor and worked his way up the ranks to instructor, professor, division chair and then to vice president of instruction before becoming president. During his tenure he has also performed other jobs, such as Mayor of Athens, Texas and at one time had aspirations to pursue politics and ran for a seat in the US Senate. Thankfully things have worked out the way they have because Dr. King has a love and commitment to TVCC that is contagious. After meeting and talking with him you will know that he bleeds cardinal red and will always be a part of the

King’s approach to leadership as the VPI was that of a transactional/management leader. Dr. King had applied for the president position back in 2008. He was not chosen for the position and I think that his approach to leadership in that position was shaped by that event. The chosen president was not very easy to work for. He was introverted, and seemed to have a leadership style that favored the bureaucratic approach. This did not sit well with the college as a whole, and over time became an issue. During the time he was VPI, Dr. King seemed like a very likeable, easy going type of supervisor. He didn’t seem to be a big fan of change, and really tried to protect his group from anything that would disrupt their world. He was fairly practical when it comes to solving problems, he would take all realistic constraints and opportunities into account. He was very happy working within the existing systems and constraints, and did a very good job at operating within the boundaries to achieve the goals of the college. He is not an out of the box type thinker, and was easily stumped when it came to situations or issues that required more of a creative

There were some issues with the current president and the board of trustees and although Dr. King felt the opportunity to become president had already passed, it really fell into his lap. After the resignation of Dr. Forgey, Dr. King was named president of TVCC. For someone who has worked for the college for 42 years, I will tell you, this was his dream come true. Since Dr. King has become president, he has changed the way he approaches leadership. A huge plus at TVCC is that we have had very supportive leaders who were able to recognize his ability to lead. He very quickly learned to follow those behaviors and adapt them to his own personality and