Starting CLARA

I'm excited to have been chosen to be a member of CLARA (Consortium Leadership and Renewal Academy) this year. A lot of people try to dodge being chosen for things like this but I have just the right personality defects to enjoy it. Basically, once a month for a year, I'll meet with CLARA members from other higher education institutions and listen to experts in our field, network, and complete an individual project.

So yesterday was my first CLARA day and it was held in Ft. Worth at what is currently the Radio Shack corporate office complex. The cool thing is that by this time next year, it won't be Radio Shack any more. Tarrant County Community College has purchased the campus and it will be called TCCC Trinity River Campus. We were given a tour of the facilities by the President. It's a five building complex (1 million sq. ft), costing TCCC 238 million dollars, and another 80 million to remodel. It includes a cafeteria, a parking garage, all of the furniture and modern art that Radio Shack purchased for the building, and a very plush workout facility. It is a beautiful facility now and I can't wait to see it once it's converted to a college campus.

I also got to meet new people from various disciplines, departments and colleges and look forward to getting to know them better over the next year. Next month, our meeting takes place in Plano at Colin County Community College and I'm already excited about it, thus confirming my nerdiness.

I'll be leaving this Sunday for my annual TACRAO (Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers) Conference, this year in Corpus. I'll be helping TSTC West Texas present a session about Second Life and also facilitating a session. We'll be flying from Dallas to Corpus so keep me in your prayers.