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Highlands Today

SFCC Has Strong Lobbying Effort In Tallahassee

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By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: January 6, 2008

SEBRING — When the Florida Association of Community Colleges lobbies in Tallahassee, it has the support of South Florida Community College faculty.

SFCC has the second highest percentage of membership in the state in FACC, a group that lobbies for community college legislation in Tallahassee.

About 93 percent of SFCC's full-time employees are members of the professional organization that represents the state's 28 community colleges and has more than 8,000 members statewide.

Adam Martin, who served as president of SFCC's FACC during 2007, said the local chapter has challenged itself to add seven more members in 2008 and bring its total membership to 200. If the chapter adds 30 members, it will boost the membership to 100 percent.

"The college supports FACC, which, in turn, supports the college," Martin said.

SFCC President Norm Stephens said the college has historically had a strong membership in that organization.

"Our employees appreciate the value of the organization and want to belong," said Stephens, who also noted SFCC has a high number of lifetime members.

Michael Comins, chief executive officer of FACC, said the high percentage of members at SFCC speaks very highly for the college.

"It says a lot about the faculty's commitment to serving the community," Comins said. "These employees are volunteering their time and giving money to the system to help secure resources for SFCC. I think that shows the community the dedication of the employees."

Because about 80 percent of community college funding comes from the state level, the association lobbies in Tallahassee for legislation. Comins said having a strong association helps community colleges compete for funding with schools like University of Florida and Florida State University.

"Both those universities having such a strong alumni base, they are very powerful with the legislature, so to make it a fair fight, all the community colleges act as one unit and wrestle with the big boys for available funding," Comins said.

Stephens said FACC also provides opportunities for professional development, which allow all community colleges to cooperate and share information with one another.

"FACC provides a good opportunity for the faculty to interact with their colleagues from other colleges and share ideas," Stephens said.

During the annual FACC convention in Orlando recently, SFCC received a Membership Award, a Region IV Unsung Hero Award that went to Cheryl Arpasi, and the Region IV 2007 Chapter of the Year Runner Up Award. SFCC also won the Institutional Advancement Commission Award for Best Direct Mail Piece for the design of the 2006-07 cultural programs brochure.

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