Ccs Candidate Cites Need For Passionate Commitment Charles Bohlen One Of Two Finalists For District 17’S Chief Executive

Charles Bohlen traces his thirst for knowledge to 1956 when, as an eighth-grader, he first heard a hand-held transistor radio.

Technology, the central Idaho farm boy knew, had abruptly changed the world of bulky cathode tubes, so he began a lifelong journey to change with it.

Four decades later, Bohlen is eyeing the Community Colleges of Spokane with the same awe, wondering what it could become if he were in charge.

On Monday, Bohlen interviewed in Spokane for the job as chief executive officer of CCS District 17, with its 21,000 students. He currently is president of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo., which serves 11,000 students.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe we need to be passionate about our future,” Bohlen told faculty and staff at Spokane Falls Community College. “We need to resolve to do it together.”

Bohlen is one of two finalists for the top job at the district, which is composed of Spokane Community College, the Institute for Extended Learning and Spokane Falls.

Jim Williams, president of SCC, is the other candidate and will be interviewed on the district campuses today.

The candidates are seeking to replace Terrance Brown, who resigned effective July 1. Brown earns $112,000 per year.

Bohlen, a white-haired biologist who turns 55 on Wednesday, said he’s a consensus builder. During his first years in Cheyenne, he said, he repaired the damage done by the college board after it fired all the employees during a financial emergency.

Bohlen believes community colleges rank as high as churches for helping people, though he disagrees with schools that have begun to give students power to dictate programs and tell teachers how they should be educated.

“Some colleges are yielding to consumerism and we have to be careful of that,” he said.

However, he believes community colleges must become flexible enough to give up antiquated schedules such as taking summers off, or abandoning students to large lecture halls with little or no personal interaction.

“We have to keep that passionate commitment to open education and access,” Bohlen said.

Since 1976, Bohlen has been an administrator at community and technical colleges in Missouri, New York, Ohio and Wyoming. He holds a doctoral degree in biology from Kansas State University.

The former high school teacher professed a preference for wearing the uniform of a field biologist - blue jeans and a magnifying glass - and said he doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Wyoming cowboy.

“I don’t ride a horse very well,” he said while examining custom saddles created by the Spokane Falls leather works class.

Bohlen’s toughest ride came during questioning by Rex Hollowell. The Spokane Falls philosophy teacher asked Bohlen to distinguish between standards and standardization, managers and administrators, education and learning.

Hollowell said he wants to know how well the candidates can differentiate ideas and, therefore, clearly express the value of education to the public.

“If he was one of my students,” Hollowell said of Bohlen, “I would give him a C minus. Of course, you always have to ask compared with what? We’ll know tomorrow.”

That’s when Hollowell said he’ll ask Williams the same question.