Happy New Dacade.

It’s 2010 and the beginning of a new decade. What will happen in the next 10 years? That’s a question that sparks excitement and all sorts of creative thinking. Looking ahead, setting goals, and asking what will we look like in 2019 is clearly an exercise we will undertake at the College. Some things won’t change. I pledge to all members of our community: TCL will remain responsive and focused on providing innovative workforce solutions now and long into the future. Conversely, some things will change. How we respond to challenge will be different.

Arnold Toynbee, the famous British historian and prolific writer, once described the rise and fall of nations in terms of challenge and response. A young nation, he said, is confronted with a challenge for which it finds a successful response. It then grows and prospers. But as time passes, the nature of the challenge changes, and if a nation continues to make the same, once-successful response to the new challenge, it inevitably suffers a decline and eventual failure.

Herein lies my New Year’s resolution: to innovatively and creatively face opportunities with a mindset to respond differently for the hope of long term prosperity. Clearly, that is what gives me hope.

I’m approaching the New Year and New Decade with expanded optimism as now is the time to step up and provide creative and innovative opportunities to changing the economic and social landscape for our region.

We are TCL. It’s our job to lead change. Let’s get started.