August 25, 2003

To: All Regents, Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni,Community Patrons, and our Valued College Friends & Supporters

From: Dr. Michael Tatum, President

Subject: Update from the Presidents Office  No. 223

The Perfect Storm

In a letter I received not long ago, a friend of mine suggested that I see the movie The Perfect Storm. He also suggested that I might look for similarities between the movies plot and the formidable challenges facing post-secondary education and education in-general here in the FSM.

The movie The Perfect Storm is based on a true story of a small fishing boat and its crew of fishermen who get caught in a treacherous Atlantic storm of colossal magnitude, a perfect storm in the sense of having all of the powerful and necessary forces of the weather combined to ravage their destructiveness to the detriment and eventual death of the fishermen and to reap major destruction, in one of historys worst recorded storms, on large portions of the Atlantic Sea Coast.

Today, education in the FSM is in the midst of a Perfect Storm of its own. There are many forces of potential destructiveness which education faces. Post-secondary education in particular remains a major concern. The new Compact places emphasis on Education, Health, and Capacity Building. Yet, the sustained support for post-secondary education funding that is needed to meet the necessary needs and demands of maintaining an accredited college is still uncertain. Having and maintaining secured funding for post-secondary education cannot remain in limbo. Accreditation requires secured levels of funding that can be relied upon from year to year. Insecure funding places accreditation of our College at some degree jeopardy.

There are other uncertainties as well. There has been much talk in U.S. legislation for having No Child Left Behind. Yet, here in the FSM we well could be faced with attempting to try and answer the question of which children or how many children will be left behind? Another aspect of our own Perfect Storm remains with the questions about FSM eligibility for U.S. Federal grant assistance, and particularly continued eligibility for PELL Grants. Without such assistance we could well be faced with the catastrophic outcome of an entire nation being left behind. Such circumstances could well add to the other negative forces that could place post-secondary education into a devastating maelstrom of a Perfect Storm here in the FSM.

I have often wondered if the powers that be: Those in Washington, DC and our leaders in the FSM Government realize that there can be little, if any, Capacity Building within the FSM without post-secondary education. The examples given are just some of the factors that are contributing to the Perfect Storm that education in the FSM is currently facing. However, in my visits with FSM Senators and with representatives of the U.S. Department of the Interior  Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Ambassador Larry Dinger, U.S. Congressional representatives, and officials from other agencies, I have been left with the feeling that we have many ardent supporters. It is good to know that we have friends in both the FSM and U.S. Governments who can see the value and necessity of post-secondary education and particularly in continuing support of our College.

In the past, many of you have heard me compare our College to a large canoe or ship. In the movie The Perfect Storm the fishermen and their boat were cast about and brutalized before being forever lost at sea. The main difference between our canoe or ship (the College of Micronesia-FSM), and the boat depicted in the movie, is that we can see the storm coming and we are ready to keep the College on a true and straight course. The winds of the Perfect Storm we are facing are winds that we can reason with and winds that we can bring around to understanding the role of our College in the Big Picture. The facts are simple, if Capacity Building and Nation Building are to take place in the FSM, the College of Micronesia-FSM must play a key and leading role.

I believe in the future of the College of Micronesia-FSM. We have a strong and stout vessel. We have an experienced and dedicated crew. Unlike the fishermen in the movie who didnt realize they were sailing towards bad weather and their own demise, we know what potentially destructive forces are out there, and we will weather the storm.

Accreditation News: Clouds, Rainbows, Sunshine . . .

The accreditation process is moving forward. For a short while we were stalled, mainly because of summer vacations and the fact that many of our key people were off-island. However, everyone is back and the process is moving ahead at an accelerated speed.

As most of you by now know, Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) Glen Snider has left the College and the FSM for an administrative position as Director of Institutional Effectiveness with a community college in Arizona. He will be missed. However, before leaving, he left us with the necessary templates, plans, and materials necessary to keep us on-track. His service to the College of Micronesia-FSM has been invaluable in getting both our Accreditation and Performance Based Budget efforts off the ground and moving in the right direction. Thank you Glen. You will be greatly missed!

Our newly appointed Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) is Dana Leeling, who also serves as the Division Chair for Math and Science at the National Campus. Since assuming the job as ALO, Dana has been busy with one meeting after another pulling the various processes of our Self-Study together in order to meet the various deadlines that we have in front of us. The Standard Chairs have been meeting with their committees and the necessary data for the Self-Study is being gathered and organized as I write. However, there are still some loose ends, so dont be surprised if you get a phone call, Email, or personal visit from one of the Standard Chairs or a member of the ALO Steering Committee asking for your assistance. The date for submitting our Self-Study data to the WASC is mid-December. Between now and then we must all work together to weather the storm.

Performance Based Budget News

A song I remember from childhood has a verse that says Its not raining rain, its raining pennies from heaven . . . Our budgeting process has started for the next budget year. Performance Based Budgeting (PBB) is here to stay and with it we have had to adapt to the new demands it has raised. Under the PBB guidelines we now must show proof of performance to justify our budgets. Earlier in the year workshops were held at each of our campuses on how to develop Performance Based Budgets. Since that time subsequent training has been conducted with key people on each of our campuses. Still there is much to do, learn, and understand about Performance Based Budgets. We are hopeful that our efforts will result in $Dollars$ and not pennies to support our needed and essential programs. Everyone concerned must come to understand that post-secondary education in the FSM is the key to a successful future of all of our children and the future of this young nation. The College of Micronesia-FSM is the Capacity and Nation Builder for the FSM and this region of the Pacific.

Fall Enrollment Figures are In and the numbers are looking good. As of this writing the Unofficial numbers are as follows: National Campus 922; Pohnpei Campus 411; Yap Campus 140; Kosrae Campus 237 (not including 100 Kosrae Teach Students and 12 legal aid students); Chuuk Campus 830; FSM-FMI 37, plus 12 additional for short-term courses. (Note: These are not final numbers. A slight increase in the next few days is anticipated).

The Beach Party Scores A Big Hit!  The First Event of the 2003-2004 School Year was a beach party and dance held at Misko Beach. It was a huge success. The Kick-off was planned as a joint venture by recreation staff from both the National and Pohnpei State Campuses, the afternoon began with a series of fun relays and games. In the evening a light dinner was served, followed by dancing provided by local bands. The MC / DJ for the evening was none other than Patterson Shed. Patterson did a great job of keeping the evening lively and getting everyone involved. Planning for the event was under the direction of National Campus Recreation Director Kevin Donnelly. Kevin credits the success of this first event of the year to his assistant Castro Joab, and the recreation staff for doing such a great job, and to the assistance from Francisco Ankie Mendiola and his staff for helping to set things up.  Check the Event Calendar to see what fun-filled, drug and alcohol free activities that have been planned for students, faculty, and staff this year. True Stellar Events for Everyone!

Open Season for FSM Health Insurance Enrollment

Dont get caught in a storm of health problems without some kind of safety net is the word coming from our Personnel Office. It is now OPEN SEASON for enrollment in the FSM Health Insurance Plan. The Deadline is August 31, 2003.  Any government employee who is not currently enrolled in the Plan may sign up now. Employees who are currently enrolled in the Plan may cancel or change from one Plan to another or add a new dependent up to the deadline.  Even if you are healthy, you never know when a good health plan may come in handy. Consider enrolling before the deadline.

On another Health Note, National Campus Assistant Cafeteria Supervisor Jim Alexander announces that he has been Tobacco / Cigarette Free for over a month. He says that he feels stronger and healthier and that he can now keep up with his kids and his wife. Congratulations to Jim for making a healthy lifestyle choice!

In the World University Games, the latest news from South Korea puts COM-FSM students Gina Tobin and Danny Fredrick in good standing, with First Round finishes as follows: Gina placing 4^th in the Breaststroke and Danny placing 4^th in the 100 Meter Dash. We wish them well in the next round. We are proud to have them representing both the FSM and the College. For more information check www.universiade/daegu.org

The MICRONESIAN RED CROSS to the Rescue . . .

The Micronesian Red Cross Society (MRCS) recently delivered five Giant sized boxes of Band-Aid bandages for the Colleges Health Center for use in dealing with minor accidents and mishaps. We thank Suzie Yoma, MRCS Executive Director for her thoughtfulness.

The United States Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs recently announced that our Chuuk Campus has been awarded an Operations and Maintenance Improvement Program (OMIP) grant to help support our vocational program there. Deputy Assistant Secretary David B. Cohen and his staff continue to support our efforts to improve vocational programs through such grants. We are grateful for this support. Steve Richmond, Chuuk Campus Vocational Instructor advises that this grant will help to greatly improve the vocational program in Chuuk and will serve as a real capacity builder for Chuuk State and our Chuuk students.

HESA Congressional Committee Hearings

In early July the HESA Committee, chaired by FSM Senator Resio Moses, held public hearings in Chuuk at the Chuuk State Governors Conference Room. The central focus of the hearings was the COM-FSM Chuuk Campus. Upon arrival, attendees were greeted by a large contingent of students waiving banners and placards that pleaded for FSM support for a permanent College campus site in Chuuk. The College was represented by Board of Regent Chairman Mr. Podis Pedrus, Regent and First Lady of Chuuk Mrs. Gardenia Walter, Director of Maintenance Francisco Mendiola, Chuuk Campus Director Joakim Peter, Chuuk Campus Director of Vocational Education Steve Richmond, and myself. The HESA Committee also toured the current facilities being utilized by the Chuuk Campus, seeing for themselves the conditions under which post-secondary education has had to operate with in Chuuk. Ms. Carolyn Laws, Attorney and HESA Legal Counsel, interviewed key personnel and took photos during the tour on behalf of the FSM Congress. - All attending the hearings left with a commitment to find a swift and permanent solution. Special thanks goes out to Senator Resio Moses and his committee for making the time and taking the effort to share our concerns and to also be willing to work with the College on this particular issue.

Faculty and Staff News

Over the summer many of our faculty and staff have stayed professionally busy and active. We all seek renewal in a variety of ways. Some of our faculty and staff focused on travel and fun. Here are a few examples of what our faculty and staff have been up to:

Ray and Yen-ti Verg-in of our Division of Math and Science represented the College at the 27^th annual meeting of the International Group for the study of Psychology of Mathematics, which was held in Honolulu and hosted by PREL.

Patricia Pedrus worked on her Masters Degree at the School of International Training in Vermont. Congratulations goes out to Wilson Kalio who was also at the International Training School finishing up his MA Degree studies! Word also has it that both Joe Saimon, MITC Director, and Benson Moses from the Education Division were taking classes for nearing the finish their MA Degrees too.

Lourdes Roboman represented the Yap Campus at a workshop held in Palau on Satellite Communications and bridging the digital divide. She relates that the information garnered was excellent.

A course in Web Design kept Catherine Good busy. Anyone who wants to learn about Dream Weaver should contact Catherine who is now one of our resident experts in the area of web design.

Dr. Mike Dema taught summer school, after which he went to Bali to receive an up-grade on his Divers rating. Meanwhile, his mother, Dr. Anca Dema traveled the world, making stops in Canada, Europe, and Yucatan, Mexico.

Representing both the FSM National Government and the College at the international PARBICA Archives Conference in New Zealand was Bruce Robert from the LRC, National Campus. Roberts participation was funded by the Canada Fund.

At the 20th Annual Educational Conference (PEC), the College was well-represented at this week-long event by Iris Falcam, Julie Nimea, Jenny Hainrick, Atarino Heliesar, Anastastia Lynch, Esther Nedlic, Paula Haglelgam, and others.

Travel news from beyond the reef had Jonathan Gourlay and his family sighted in and around the Chicago area sightseeing and visiting family and friends, while Dr. Kevin Fun Donnelly was attending the wedding of one daughter and meeting for the first time a new grandson from his other daughter.

Kosrae proved to be a great place to spend the summer for Dana Leeling, Chair for the Division of Math and Science. Kosrae Upward Bound was the recipient of Danas time and efforts. Reports are that both students and Dana learned a lot and had a good time. Plus, Dana got a really great tan!

Norleen Oliver has just returned from a JICA financed training program in Japan where she received extensive training in computer systems engineering. It is good to have Norleen back! Special thanks to Gordon Segal for seeing to it that his people are well-trained and keeping on the cutting edge. And of course, a Big Thank You goes to our friends at the Japanese Embassy and JICA!

Sue Moses traveled to Eugene, Oregon, to attend the 29^th Annual National Direct Instruction Conference and Institutes. While at the five day conference, Sue was able to attend a variety of extremely worthwhile conference sessions that were filled with ideas for implementation in our education curriculum.

If you know of any news about faculty or staff, please submit such information to the following Email address: presoffice@comfsm.fm Thank you.

The Endowment Fund . . . And a Challenge to You

Our Endowment Fund is on the upswing again as the various investment markets begin their recoveries. Now, there needs to be a concerted effort to build on this recovery and focus on ways to help our Endowment grow bigger and more rapidly. Responding to this need, our Bookstore Manager Martin Mingii and Business Officer Manager Pelma Palik have issued a challenge to all employees to signup for biweekly payroll deductions. Both Martin and Pelma are generously contributing $5.00 per pay period! In a recent Memorandum to all faculty and staff, Vice-President for Student Support Services Ringlen Ringlen also issued a challenge to all employees to consider making payroll deducted contributions of at least $1.00 biweekly to the Endowment Fund. The Challenge is on!

The 20^th Annual Pacific Educational Conference convened in July 21-24 in Pohnpei. This years theme was Protecting the Environment Through Culture, Literacy, and Technology. The opening ceremonies were held and hosted in the Colleges FSM-China Friendship Sports Center to a near capacity crowd. During the days that followed a number of the conference venues were held at the National Campus. Members of both our faculty and staff made major contributions to the success of this conference. Special thanks goes out to Jean Thoulag for her very professional Information Resources for Educators presentation, and to Robert Churney for his timely and professional workshop session on The Principals Training Module, a management based program which corresponds to the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant training that the College is participating in with the National Department of Education. Additional thanks goes out to Gordon Segal and his crew for setting up the computer workshops, and to Kevin Donnelly and his staff for handling the arrangements for the opening ceremonies.

Information Technology News from IT Director Gordon Segal indicates a lot of work and progress in both upgrading and servicing our main network server, especially in the area of Antiviral and Spam monitoring capabilities. To the credit of Gordon and his staff, their dedication has resulted in approximately 100-200 incoming Viruses found and blocked per month. Additionally, IT staffers like Peter Pedrus and Mark Deorio have worked long hours in setting up new systems across campuses, including a Wireless network bridge connection for the gym. PC and Trouble Shooting remain constant efforts, and progress on the Database Project continues. Our improved connectivity between our campuses will help us to weather approaching storms by improving our communications. Thanks to Gordon and his entire staff!

The Australian Embassy has announced that one of our former students, Gloreen Malakai, is on her way to the Fiji School of Nursing where she will study for the next three years in a program that will lead to a Diploma in Nursing. Gloreen earned this award from the Australian Regional Development Scholarship (ARDS) after graduating and receiving her AA Degree here at the National Campus. We are proud of Gloreen and her accomplishments. We thank the Australian Embassy and government for their on-going assistance in helping our students further their education.  

News from the FSM Fisheries and Maritime Institute (FSM-FMI)

Captain Mattias Ewarmai, Director of FSM-FMI, reports a great deal of activity at FSM-FMI. Of major importance is the delivery of a 35-foot FRP boat which will be the replacement boat for the vessel that was lost in last years typhoon. The boat will be used to supplement and amplify students learning in long-line fishing, ship maneuvering, and other boating and fishing activities. The Japanese Government and JICA continue to play a major role in developing the curriculum at the FSM-FMI, along with helping train and develop the teaching skills of the FSM-FMI staff. Over the summer many of our JICA friends returned to Japan after completing their assignments. Special thanks goes to Project Coordinator Akihiro Kawada the project coordinator and his team of JICA Experts: Taro Kawamoto, Teruo Mita, and Tsutae Sato. We are now looking forward to greeting a new team of JICA Experts who will be arriving as part of a second phase of FSM-FMI development.  Other FSM-FMI News: Regina Faimau, secretary to Captain Ewarmai, recently gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Both mother and baby are doing fine. Congratulations to Regina and family!

State Campus News from Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap is good. After productive summer programs, each of the State Campuses are back in action for the new school year with enrollments Up over what they were this time last year. Still, there have been some challenges in terms of filling vacant teaching slots, but so far our Campus Directors have been able to find the needed personnel to get the job done. Our TRIO Programs have remained busy over the summer, with many of the students participating in the Pacific Educational Conference, the Summer Bridge Program, and a wide variety of educational workshops aimed at helping the students to hone their academic and social skills. Our TRIO directors and personnel have done stellar jobs in keeping their programs focused and productive.

And that concludes this Weather Report for the College of Micronesia-FSM. As you can see, there are storms that are ever circling our campuses, but as you can also readily see, there is much to celebrate. Good things are happening. This is because we have excellent faculty and staff who are dedicated to doing their best for our students and the citizens of the FSM. At times the sky looks dark and the waters are rough, but unlike the fishermen in the Perfect Storm, we are prepared. We know what is ahead of us. We know that there will be Rainbows and lots of Sunny Days and that the storms will pass.

May God Bless each of You through these trying times.

Sincerely,

Mike

Dr. Michael Tatum, President

College of Micronesia-FSM