History

Getting Started

Several organizational meeting were held prior to the actual founding of PIN. The original impetus for discussions to found a multi–country organization was to bring together two–year colleges in Canada and the United States.

1977 – Abe Konrad, University of Alberta and Don Morgan, University of Minnesota discussed the need to create a structure to develop professional relationships with two–year colleges in Canada and the United States. A proposal emerged from these discussions that exploratory meetings be organized in each country at the respective universities involved. The purpose of these meetings would be to see if two–year college administrators––in particular, the CEOs of these institutions––would be interested in creating and supporting a college organization which would bridge the 49th parallel.

Konrad was enthusiastic. Support was gained from the respective deans within their universities at both the University of Minnesota and the University of Alberta.

1978 – A reality check was launched immediately to see if this idea would "fly" with on–the–firing–line two–year college administrators. A "steering committee" was convoked in Minneapolis as a further sounding board. Stanley Sahlstrom, Provost – University of Minnesota – Crookston, Minnesota chaired the meeting. Those attending were:

• Don Morgan, University of Minnesota – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Stan Sahlstrom, University of Minnesota – Crookston, Minnesota
• Sister Anne Joachim Moore, President, St. Mary's Junior College – Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then on the AACC Board of Directors
• John Helling, President, North Hennepin Community College, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
• Bill Knaak, Superintendent of the postsecondary 916 Area Vocational Technical Institute – since renamed Northeast Metro Technical College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota

The Steering Committee was enthusiastic, but cautious. They accurately reflected the general feeling that the main concerns of two–year colleges are close to home.

August 1, 1978 – The Steering Committee in Minnesota was convoked again at North Hennepin Community College. The decision was made to formally investigate support of other institutions located in the center of the U.S. and western Canada. The proposal would be to attempt to form what was then called a Consortium of North American Postsecondary Institutions for Programmed Interactions (CNAPI) – a burdensome title, later dropped in favor of PIN.

September 17–18, 1978 – The first meeting to explore the concept and benefits of an association was held at the University of Minnesota. Don Morgan, University of Minnesota and Abe Konrad, University of Alberta, hosted the meeting. The meeting was attended by:

• Stan Sahlstrom, University of Minnesota – Crookston, Minnesota
• Sister Anne Joachim Moore, President, St. Mary's Junior College – Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then on the AACC Board of Directors
• John Helling, President, North Hennepin Community College, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
• Bill Knaak, Superintendent of the postsecondary 916 Area Vocational Technical Institute – since renamed Northeast Metro Technical College, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• James Kraby, President, Westark Community College, Ft. Smith, Arkansas
• Dale Gibson, President, Southeast Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma
• Ervin Glick, President, Hesston College, Hesston, Kansas
• Rod Steigner, Academic Dean, Nicolet College and Technical Institute, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
• John Gazda, Vice Chancellor, Kansas City Community College District, Missouri
• Claire Blikre, President, North Dakota State School of Science, Wahpeton, North Dakota
• Bert Curtis, President, Confederation College, Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Ted Ramsey, Program Director, Red River Community College, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The meeting produced several important thrusts. First, those present whole heartedly and unanimously supported the notion of creating an alliance of Canadian and U.S. institutions. Second, they supported the plans to hold a counterpart meeting in Edmonton to determine the level of support in Canadian provinces not represented at this time. Third, if Canadian support was evident at Edmonton, they would schedule a joint U.S./Canadian meeting. Ted Ramsey of Red River College, Winnipeg, volunteered to host the joint meeting.

October 25–26, 1978 – Abe Konrad scheduled the meeting in Edmonton to determine the level of support in Canadian provinces. Present were: Stan Sahlstrom, University of Minnesota – Crookston, Minnesota Don Morgan, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota Les Morgan, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta Ken Gunn, Kelsey Institute of Technology, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S.R. Gilbert, Capilano College, North Vancouver, British Columbia Since Manitoba and Ontario had been represented at the Minneapolis meeting, the western Canadian provinces had all been included.

Notes from the Minneapolis meeting were presented to the group convened in Edmonton. All seemed enthusiastic about developments except for the proposed name of the network – Consortium of North American Postsecondary Institutions for Programmed Interactions (CNAPI). Konrad suggested a substitute of Postsecondary International Network (PIN). After discussion, it was unanimously recommended that this name be proposed at the meeting set for January 1979 in Winnipeg.

January 1979 – As Don Morgan said so often regarding this meeting: “you've got to be damned serious about something to schedule a meeting in Winnipeg in January. The winters there are lengthy, even for Canadians, and the hardy folks from North Dakota and Minnesota think twice before going there unnecessarily.”

Undaunted by the locale––and it was cold outside––the pioneers of PIN met at Red River Community College met in Winnipeg to see what could be sorted out from previous correspondence and dialogue. The task was to seek agreement on purposes, goals, organization, and procedure; and to test if interest was solid enough to start to flesh out what had so far been just an interesting proposal.

The first order of business was to identify a chair and a recorder. Stan Sahlstrom agreed to chair the proceedings, and Abe Konrad agreed to take notes.

It was decided immediately that membership should be by institution rather than individual. It was hoped, but not required, that the CEO of member institutions would represent that membership at PIN functions. The name Postsecondary International Network, which had been suggested by Konrad earlier, was well received and formally adopted.

It was also agreed that there was need for a membership forum which should meet at least annually, and that there should be an Executive Committee to serve as a steering committee. It was agreed that membership should be represented equally by each country, and that each country should elect three members. An election was conducted.

Members of the first Executive Committee were the following:

Canada:

• Kenneth Gunn, Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• Les Morgan, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta
• Ted Ramsey, Red River Community College, Winnipeg, Manitoba

United States:

• John Gazda, Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City, Missouri
• James Kraby, Westark Community College Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Stanley Sahlstrom, University of Minnesota Technical College, Crookston, Minnesota

Stanley Sahlstrom accepted the position of president of the Executive Committee. Terms were not set at this point.

It had been decided during the discussions that each country should have a single coordinating office maintained by a secretary. Sahlstrom made the motion that these two offices be filled by Abe Konrad of the University of Alberta and Don Morgan of the University of Minnesota. He noted that these two individuals had been key people in getting things rolling, both offered stability in that they were tenured professors and not likely to move, and they were willing. His motion carried.

The meeting adjourned on two notes: (1) Konrad accepted the responsibility of drafting a Document of Understanding for the proposed network, and (2) this would be presented at a meeting of those who could attend the April 1979 American Association of Junior Colleges Annual Convention in Chicago.

PIN FOUNDED

April 29, 1979 – This meeting was hosted by Salvador Rotella, Chancellor of the Chicago City Colleges, and it was held in the central offices on Michigan Avenue. Stan Sahlstrom chaired the meeting, and first recognized an advisor from AACJC, Cy Fersch, who headed the national organization's international and intercultural efforts. The meeting was attended by:

Canada:

• Bert Curtis, Confederation College, Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Ted Ramsey, Red River Community College, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Abe Konrad, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

United States:

• Chet Gausman, Central Nebraska Technical College, Hastings, Nebraska
• James Kraby, Westark Community College, Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Don Morgan, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota
• John Gazda, Metropolitan Community Colleges, Kansas City, Missouri
• Rod Steigner, Nicolet College and Technical Institute, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
• Sr. Ann Joachim Moore, St. Mary’s Junior College, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Morgan gave a brief account of the events and meeting leading up to the present. Konrad presented a draft of the Document of Understanding for PIN which he had been instructed to prepare at the Winnipeg meeting in January. Included was a report on the election of a president, three members from each country to serve on the Executive Committee, and two country secretaries. The Document of Understanding and slate of officers were presented for ratification.

Chet Gausman, United States, moved that the document and officers be approved and then added a wry, "Let's get on with it." Bert Curtis, Canada, seconded the motion which carried unanimously.

PIN had been formally launched. The first order of business was to decide when and where to meet next. Following the principle of rotating meetings between the two countries, it was decided between Ramsey and Konrad to ask Red River Community College to again be host for what would be the first annual business meeting of PIN. Ramsey was directed to pick the best dates in September 1979 for Red River. It was also settled that Minneapolis would be the site of the second annual business meeting, and was scheduled for September 1980.

Additional agreements:

1. An initial conference was strongly urged and was set for Winnipeg in the early fall. Tentative dates are September 29 to October 2 1979. The conference will be co–hosted by the neighboring institutions of Red River Community College of Winnipeg and the University of Minnesota Technical College – Crookston. North Dakota State School of Science at Wahpeton will also be involved. These three schools share a common geographic area, the Agassiz Valley, which drains the Red River of the north. The theme will be: Postsecondary Response to a Common United States–Canadian Community.

The purpose of this conference was to involve program administrators or leaders from the member institutions. Now that the network exists, the idea is to put it to work. It is necessary to discover each other in a neighborly way and to critically examine what all of us might have to share with each other in the way of programs and personnel.

2. It was also settled that Minneapolis would be the site of the second annual business meeting, and was scheduled for September 1980.

3. The Executive Committee was to have equal representation from Canada and the United States. The United States representatives were Stan Sahlstrom (Minnesota), John Gazda (vice chancellor of the Kansas City Metropolitan Community College District), and James Kraby (president of Westark Community College, Ft. Smith, Arkansas). Abe Konrad (University of Alberta) agreed to coordinate with Ted Ramsey and Bryan Angood of Manitoba to secure the three Canadian members.

PIN dues were established at $75 annually.

PIN EVOLVES

1988 – United Kingdom members added. Geoffrey Melling was named UK Secretary. Geoffrey joined Don Morgan and Abe Konrad as secretaries. The duties of the secretaries were to assist with conference planning, recruit new members in their designated countries, and act as the communication link to members.

1993 – New Zealand members added.

1993 – With the addition of New Zealand and the prospect of adding Australia, it was decided that the roles of the country secretaries would be consolidated into the position of Executive Director. The duties of the Executive Director include: Financial (manage funds, issues checks, collect dues, prepare financial statements), Membership (maintain membership directory & assist recruitment of new members), Newsletter, Meetings (coordinate agenda, prepare and distribute minutes, assist conference host to plan the annual conference), and Coordinate exchanges and visits. The Executive Director is a non–paid position. Bill Warner was appointed to the position of Executive Director.

1994 – Australia members added.

July 10, 1998 – PIN dues were raised to $500US from $250US.

1998 – Netherlands member added. Dropped membership in 2007

June 28, 1999 – Document of Understanding Revised at the Annual Business Meeting at Barnsley College. Mike Schafer chaired a subcommittee (Gary Polonsky, John Skitt, and Joe Preusser) reported that the following changes were recommended:

• Opening statement: The Netherlands was added to the member countries.
• Article I: Purpose: Add a statement at the end of the section indicating that all meetings and programs will be conducted in English.
• Article II: Membership #1: A statement will be added to indicate that membership is limited to 90 institutions, with no designation of a maximum number per country.

1999 – 2002 – Global Leadership Conference for Students was sponsored by PIN and hosted at Colorado Mountain College, in Glenwood Springs Colorado. This was an international conference for students interested in leadership development, intercultural relations, teamwork development and conflict transformation skills. The curriculum and activities throughout the Conference focused on the themes of leadership development, team building, service learning and personal relationship building, combined with experiential outdoor activities. The fundamentals of leadership theory and skills were presented and studied to reach course objectives. The wilderness/experiential activities included: river rafting, rock climbing, challenge course session, field visits to local, world–class resorts (Aspen or Vail). Colorado Mountain College had a change in leadership in 2003 and dropped their PIN membership. PIN members from Canberra Institute of Technology and Box Hill Institute conducted a review of the program to determine if it should be continued in Australia. It was recommended that the program be dropped and reviewed at a later date. The reason for dropping the program was the difficulty in attracting student participants and the cost of the program.

2000 – PIN goes online with a website – www.pinnet.org. Mohawk Valley Community College develops and hosts the PIN website.

2003 – East Timor member added. Dili Institute of Technology was a member for two years. Due to political unrest and funding issues Dili IT dropped their membership in 2006.

CURRENT PIN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

Australia

• John Maddock, Box Hill College (PIN President)

Canada

• Irene Lewis, SAIT
• MaryLynn West–Moynes, Mohawk College (PIN President–Elect)

New Zealand

• Phil Ker, Otago Polytechnic

United Kingdom

• Craig Thomson, Adam Smith College

United States

• LaVern Franzen, Central Community College
• Mike Schafer, Mohawk Valley Community College (PIN Past–President)
• Joe Sertich, Northeast Minnesota Higher Education District

CONFERENCE VENUE HISTORY

This history of PIN was compiled by Bill Warner from the notes and writings of Don Morgan, Abe Konrad, PIN files, and discussions with PIN members.