Public speaking is terrifying, even for someone with 25 years of teaching communication and speech, Dr. Todd Brand told a room filled with Allen Community College faculty, staff and students.
Brand introduced himself Tuesday morning as a candidate for Allen’s next president. He is the second of four finalists interviewed this week.
Public speaking is a big part of the job, Brand said as he outlined his goals. When asked about the president’s primary role, Brand said it’s to be the face of the college.
“When someone wants an interview, when a big decision has to be made, the president has to do that. So you have to have somebody who’s willing to step into that limelight,” he said.
He also said a president should be the college’s biggest cheerleader, fundraiser and mentor for young leaders.
Brand is a native of Mississippi, where he taught college speech and was an assistant basketball coach for more than two decades.
“But I discovered another love in my life, and that is theater,” he said, and talked about being cast as the Cowardly Lion in a production of “The Wizard of Oz” at Meridian Community College when he was pursuing his doctorate degree.
“Fast forward 15 years later, I’m directing and producing plays, and through that time I directed about 50 Broadway-style musicals,” he said.
In 2019, he took a position as chief academic advisor at a community college in northeastern Kentucky. The COVID-19 pandemic began about one year into the job.
“Talk about cutting your teeth in administration the hard way,” he joked.
He currently serves as interim president at Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg, Ky. The college has seen 10 different presidents over eight years. Brand said his first mission in the new role was to develop a strategic plan. In the process, he realized what the college really needed was to redefine its culture. He talked about that process, and how that would inform his approach should he be hired as Allen’s president.
“I think good culture makes for a great organization,” he said.
He said he was drawn to the position at Big Sandy because the college emphasizes technical education and workforce training.
“I think the biggest role a community college can play in 2024 is in facilitating economic development. I think that we can be the catalyst that truly changes our region. And that’s not something I take lightly, especially in rural areas. In so many places, rural areas are being left behind,” he said.
“We’ve got to prove that we can produce a skilled workforce and we’ve got to be able to do it to scale. Looking at the employers here, your biggest sectors are healthcare, manufacturing and then retail. I think you capitalize on that. You take the things you’re good at and you become better at them.”
