SO LONG, FAREWELL

QUINN DAVIS and MATT DURR

Editor and Managing Editor

As Washtenaw Community College’s President Larry Whitworth’s 13-year reign with the school comes to a close, his wife Barbara, herself a retired teacher, just has one request. “I told him the only thing I don’t want him to do anymore is skateboarding,” she said. Barbara, who says that Whitworth has always been “like a big kid,” has been with the president long enough to see a side of him that not everyone at WCC is privy to. It’s that very side, the one that told him to try out his granddaughter’s skateboard, which has gotten him both into trouble and gotten him ahead. After all, he did fall off the skateboard. But without taking that risk, he never would have known his limits. And that’s just the way Whitworth likes it. “I’d rather figure it out on my own by making mistakes and getting things right and wrong and see what works,” he said. “I’m much more of an experimental learner.” Before Whitworth became WCC’s third president, or president of any college, for that matter, he was an elementary school math and science teacher in inner-city Pittsburgh. During that time, he co-wrote “Core Mathematics,” an elementary math book, went to school at Duquesne University for his MBA and taught GED courses at night to support his young family. Even though he was getting his master’s in business, it was the GED teaching that led him into education administration. He discovered that a dean at a nearby community college was looking for someone to start a GED program at the school. Whitworth talked to him, got the job and has been working in community college administration ever since. “It was a wild and crazy time in the sense that there weren’t any rules,” said Whitworth. Not only was Whitworth part of a new school, the Community College of Allegheny County, but he was part of a new movement. Community colleges were a new idea in the late ’60s, and being a part of it was exciting. Of course, it was a lot of work too, especially since he went on to get his doctorate after his MBA and continued to teach. This was where his adventurous learning side played to his advantage. “I made up the rules. I made up all the processes. I created the registration system,” he said. “I was able to do whatever I wanted in terms of making it work.” Of course, it was only a matter of time before that working style made things difficult for him. After 24 years in Pittsburgh, the Whitworths’ son and daughter were grown. Whitworth saw this as an opportunity to set sail, and soon he found himself in his first presidency at Virginia’s Tidewater Community College. While there, he encountered a bit of a roadblock. “I think he’s just had a lot of support for whatever he’s thought was the right thing to do, and that hasn’t always been the case. In Virginia, it wasn’t the case,” said Barbara. “You had to get everything approved for by the chancellor that was in charge of all of the community colleges.” Here at WCC, however, both of the Whitworths say that he has enjoyed a lot of support. It only took seven years in Virginia before Whitworth set sails again, landing him in Michigan. He’s been here ever since. Movin’ on up Enrollment at WCC reached more than 10,000 in Jan. 2000, less than two years into Whitworth’s reign. As Whitworth leaves WCC this summer, enrollment is figured to be close to 20,000 at the various campuses. This staggering statistic that shows just how much the campus and the atmosphere around WCC has grown under Whitworth’s administration. “When I first got here, enrollment had been static for about 10 years,” said Whitworth. “One of the things that the board asked me right off the bat was, ‘How will we evaluate you?’ and I said, ‘Watch the enrollment numbers. “‘If I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, the enrollment will grow.’” Whitworth also focused on the number of graduates at WCC, increasing the number from 600 to 3,000. To do this, he had to make rather drastic changes to the curriculum. For a new president, this wasn’t so easy to do. What made it even harder was that this wasn’t the only big change Whitworth was pushing. “One of the first things he had to do was to propose that the board get out of a multi-million dollar contract that we had signed,” said State Rep. David Rutledge, a former trustee at WCC. “That sticks out in my mind because we had to spend a million dollars, but the second reason it sticks out in my mind is because it showed how this president was going to operate.” Barbara admits that the whole thing made her a bit nervous. She says that if she were the one who had to make the decision, she wouldn’t have done it. Now, she says it’s one of the things that she’s proudest of that he’s done. “We had talked about it, and I had said, ‘Well, it will take a while for people to get used to you. Just wait for them to get to know you,’” she said. “He said, ‘No, this isn’t right.’ Of course, he was right, but at the time, I thought they might not like that too much.” Whitworth has witnessed many physical changes to the campus during his 13-year run as president. In 1998, when he started as president, Whitworth oversaw the creation of the Gunder Myran building. It would be the first of many projects along the way that expanded the physical size of the campus. The Health and Fitness Center was a major focal point for Whitworth in recent years, as he felt the center would not only add to the health of the students and staff at WCC, but it would make the college a destination for potential students. Whitworth was initially against the much-debated parking structure, but he changed his opinion after the school exhausted every other option at their disposal. “I’ve been against the parking structure for 10 years. But everything we’ve tried has been only partially successful. Have we tried not building a parking structure? Yes,” said Whitworth in an interview with The Washtenaw Voice last year. Now, as the structure is nearing completion, it will stand as one of the last projects associated with Whitworth. Recently, he has also been pushing to remodel the Student Center, which hasn’t seen any updates in more than a decade. Thanks to his persistence, the WCC Board of Trustees approved the remodeling, and the school hopes to have the project finished by the start of the Fall 2012 semester. Not only has Whitworth been a part of the physical expansion, but he has also pushed hard for the college to spend money on remodeling some of the existing buildings. This summer will mark the completion of the Occupational Education Building remodel. In the past, Whitworth has been a major factor in the updates to the Technical and Industrial and Morris Lawrence buildings. “Since graduating from WCC in 1991 and returning here to work in 2008, I have been amazed at the many changes that have taken place,” said Eleanor Brundage, Case Manager at the Student Resource and Women’s Center. “Those changes are definitely a testament to the leadership of Dr. Whitworth. What can I say?” With enrollment reaching record numbers under his watch, Whitworth has been able to keep expanding the college’s academic appeal in a variety of ways. The distance learning program has allowed students who wish to attend college, but don’t always have the time to attend classes, to get a quality education while working at home. WCC has remained an accredited college and continues to grow its list of programs and courses for students. Many of these new courses are focused on fields that are rapidly changing and allow students at WCC to stay on top of the changes in their fields. Whitworth cites the support that he’s received from members of the WCC community as the reason for this success. He’s never had a mentor, per se, but WCC certainly provided plenty of good resources. He says that the late Trustee Richard Bailey, for whom the library is named after, was a “great asset” to the college. He also says that Griffith McDonald, chair of the Board of Trustees when he arrived, helped him along. Rutledge, he says, was also very helpful. Their times at WCC almost eclipsed each other, with Rutledge starting his position on the board a mere six months before Whitworth came, and leaving in January, eight months before Whitworth’s departure. Whitworth considers him a personal friend. However, the person who gave Whitworth the most guidance was the late Trustee Jerry Jernigan. “He was the individual I was closest to in so many ways,” he said. “As an adviser, as someone to really talk things through with and help in that whole decision-making process … He was going to be the board chair, and it was just a huge loss when he passed away. “All four of those individuals were extremely helpful to help me get my feet on the ground.” Life after WCC Most who know Whitworth well also know that this departure from the limelight won’t keep him from working. Without the hectic schedule of his presidency, he’s thought of teaching a graduate class or two at Eastern Michigan University or the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School. Of course, he’ll also have more time to devote to his other full-time job: Grandpa. Barbara says that Whitworth has always been good with kids, and would often stay late after teaching in Pittsburgh just to play basketball with some of his students. Instead of students, Whitworth has five grandchildren to play with — and teach. The Whitworths have four granddaughters and one grandson, with two living in Pittsburgh and three that will soon move to Utah from the much-closer Iowa City. Neither grandparent is excited for that move, especially since the three grandkids in that family lived with them when they were quite young. Their mother moved from West Virginia back in with her parents, which is something both Whitworth and Barbara say was a stressful time and yet very valuable. “That was really a great time, having our granddaughters there and watching them grow,” he said. “We’re still today very, very close because they were with us for about three years.” However, the distance will allow Whitworth to focus on another love of his life: golf. Besides, it suits him well to ride off into the sunset on a golf cart. But you never know: He could always jump on that skateboard again. Anna Fuqua-Smith contributed to this report.