Any day now, Dr. Lyvier Leffler will be able to pause to catch her breath.
She arrived as Allen Community College’s president in mid-January, with the spring semester classes already underway, and the college just days away from starting construction of a $10 million career and technical education building, as well as several gaps in Allen’s administrative team.
Hit the ground running? It was more akin to hitting the ground at a Usain Bolt-like sprint.
Leffler quickly acclimated to her fellow Red Devil brethren, immersing herself in meetings, planning sessions and other college events.
She had to, with several seismic decisions in the offing.
Within a few weeks of her arrival, Leffler recommended Allen’s board of trustees hold off on the CTE building, which would have carried a $14 million price tag. Trustees agreed, citing uncertainty with state funding levels and a college CTE program in a state of transition.
Seven months later, Leffler has crossed off several items on her initial “to-do” list.
In recent weeks, the college has added a new vice president of student affairs, a vice president of finance and operations and a new communications director.
Two other newly formed positions have yet to be filled, a grant writer/legislative liaison and a “dean of the northern tier” to serve Allen’s service area encompassing Osage County and suburban Topeka.
Trustees also approved a new salary schedule for faculty and staff.
“There were so many changes in a short time,” Leffler said, “but we’ve been moving forward in the right direction. It’s an exciting time to be here.”
With classes beginning Monday, “It’s exciting to see the energy, Leffler said.
FIRST THE bad news.
Allen saw several cuts in several state funding avenues, including tiered education state aid, and career and technical education dollars.
Leffler is uncertain if more cuts are ahead, but agrees that higher education seems to have a target on its back in legislative circles.
She pointed to a poison pill tied to one state funding source that ACC trustees rejected this spring, one that would have required Allen to spend $24 million from its reserves in order to receive about $500,000 in business and industry and apprenticeship funds.
