Quintin Bullock is ready to make the move from a Chevrolet to a Cadillac.
Bullock said he means no disrespect to Schenectady County Community College in New York, where he is now president, but Frederick Community College is “a rising star” and the ideal next step for him.
“This allows me to transition from the Chevrolet to a Cadillac because you are recognized for that cutting-edge institution,” he told members of the FCC community Tuesday.
Bullock, one of three FCC presidential finalists, was the second to participate in two public forums on campus.
The forums wrap up today with F.J. Talley, vice president and dean of the Leonardtown Campus at the College of Southern Maryland. FCC’s board of trustees is expected to choose the college’s eighth president in March.
If he is named to the job, Bullock said students would be the top priority in his first year as president.
“Without students, Frederick Community College might as well close its doors because we need our students and we are here for the students,” he said.
Bullock said FCC would be more than just the next step for him.
He became president of Schenectady in December 2008.
As long as he is achieving the goals identified by the board of trustees and the faculty considers him a valuable leader, he said he would hope to have a fruitful tenure at FCC.
“I do not want to continue working in an environment just for the sake of saying I have the presidency,” he said. “I want to be able to say I’m making a difference. As long as I’m making a difference, then that becomes a place of permanency that I would like to continue to be involved in.”
Bullock said he believes he has demonstrated his worth as a community college president in his three years at Schenectady.
His achievements at the community college include developing a five-year strategic plan, starting construction on a 12,000-square-foot music building and the college’s first student housing project, opening its first satellite location and securing an $11.2 million grant to launch health care programs, he said.
While visiting FCC and its staff this week, Bullock said the administration, faculty and staff’s commitment and devotion to the college’s success had impressed him.
“Based on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, you have a great institution,” he said.
