President Goodnow explains why we stayed open

Delta Collegiate: What is the current snow day policy?

President Jean Goodnow: We have a team of people that look at what is going on in the three counties that we primarily serve – Midland, Saginaw and Bay. We find out if the highways are cleared off, if they're able to be traveled in a safe way and then we have a conference call to discuss that various information. Then we make the decision. We usually try to make it by 6 a.m. The big thing is, we don't want anybody to endanger their life, so we leave that decision up to students to make for themselves. Our instructors here at the college, I think, are very accommodating and very understanding. If students call and say “I'm not going to be able to make it,” I think they understand and will accommodate them.

DC: Does Delta take into consideration students who are bussed here?

JG: We are concerned about that and we did build some of the bus enclosures out here for the inclement weather and certainly we have worked with all three of the bus stations (in Midland, Saginaw and Bay) to work out routes for our students. We are different from other universities, like our sister institution Saginaw Valley, in that Saginaw Valley does not have enclosed buildings like we have. We're very unique in that students do not have to go outside once they come into our campus. And we have built our campus so that we have parking lots all around all of our buildings. We're preparing students for the real world out there, not like high school where you get a snow day and you can go to the mall.

DC: Do you think that the current snow day policy should be expanded to address temperature?

JG: I'm not sure why it should be. The day that we closed; we've had colder days since that day that we did not close on. Temperature is something that varies considerably.

DC: Who's in mind when you make the decision?

JG: From my perspective as president of this institution, I think about all 10,000 students that we have, 10,000 students that differ in many respects. I really feel for the students that drive older cars. I also feel for those single parents and parents that have children when their schools close and they don't have other arrangements made for their children. I do know that some people have brought their children here, and we've never said anything against that. I try to think about all of those different factors, as well as the students that say, “I paid for this education and I want to get what I'm paying for.” You hope that people who have been raised in Michigan understand that this is part of Michigan. This is where we live. We're teaching some basic life skills, some basic survival skills to be successful.

DC: What would you say to the students who are upset that we didn't close? What would you say to the students who say “Delta doesn't care about me?”

JG: I would say that's not true. We do care. We care tremendously. And part of the reason why we're staying open is because we care. And sometimes when you care for people, you've got to keep doing the right thing. And I believe we're doing the right thing. And they may not see that now, but I think maybe they'll see that later. I believe that. And I think that when people say we don't care, they've got to look at what else we're doing around here that demonstrates that we're caring. Can you really tell me that that's true, we don't care about you? We do. We don't want anybody to get hurt. We don't want anybody to go out on the roads when they don't feel like it's safe for them. That's the decision that they need to make. And we give that decision back to them to make for themselves. But we're going to be here for them.

DC: What kind of feedback did you get from students and faculty?

JG: Mixed. Of course I had some people that were upset with me and I had some people that were very proud, some people that were very encouraging.

DC: Will the mixed feedback affect your decisions going forward if we should have some more extremely cold weather?

JG: I always like to get feedback and I always think that I can learn from feedback and I never want that feedback to stop, whether it's positive or negative. I think that we are an institution that really believes in continuous quality improvement. I know that I've made mistakes before and I probably will make mistakes in the future. I feel like I made the right decision this time. And I just hope that I can make the decisions in the future. And I also know that there's no way that I'm ever going to please 100 percent of the people all of the time. And I accept that.