IRSC at 60
LEADERSHIP
FORT PIERCE REGIONAL CAMPUS
PARTNERSHIP A Winning
49
While the IRCC board of trustees voted unanimously to
select Massey, some, including the editorial editor of the local
newspaper, thought he was tied too closely to the former
president. New blood was needed, the editor wrote. But after
some time, most on the Treasure Coast, including that editor,
warmed to Massey and his way of running the college.
While the last year of Massey’s presidency appears to be
sailing along smoothly, his first was tumultuous.
“The day after I got the job, I had to fly to Tallahassee and
tell them what I was going to do to improve the college,”
Massey said. That was, in part, because a 1986 state audit had
identified improprieties with respect to enrollment numbers
and grading.
In the first audit of the Massey administration, the state
saw IRCC had tightened its procedures. At the time, Massey
called the audit “probably the best we’ve had in 10 years.”
By the fiscal year ending in mid-1993, IRCC had achieved the
first perfect audit in state history, meaning no negative findings,
which the college repeated twice more in the decade.
“In the beginning, you had to really be pretty hard-nosed
to get the rules, get the regulations, get the infrastructure, to
get it back in place and functioning properly,” Massey said.
FRESH OUTLOOK
In the early days of his administration, Massey held staff
and faculty meetings in which rank was stripped symbolically
and everyone spoke freely. It was like a breath of fresh
air for many of them.
“People would say things and then add, ‘Thank you so
much for that. I’ve waited 10 years to say that,’ ” Massey said.
By just about any measure, the college has been a rousing >>
IN THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING
TO LAND YOUR BUSINESS
FOR SUCCESS
Thank you Dr. Massey for 47 years with IRSC
Proud of Our Roots with an Eye on the Future
• Centrally Located in Florida
• Rail Services
• Regional Airport
• Competitive Labor Rates
• Two Opportunity Zones
• Access to Four International
Airports, 2 hours or less
• Access to I-95, Florida Turnpike
& US 27, under 1 hour
• 2019 Aspen Award Winning
State College
863.357.2334 • OCEDCORP.COM
A longtime runner, Massey was an Olympic torch bearer in 1996.
e Florida State University College of
Medicine’s Fort Pierce Regional Campus
congratulates Indian River State College on its
60th anniversary – and thanks President
Edwin R. Massey for his outstanding leadership. Together we are working to address
community health-care needs by educating
our future providers.
med.fsu.edu/fortpierce
/www.ocedcorp.com
/fortpierce
/OCEDCORP.COM
/fortpierce