Alvarez & Marsal

Alvarez & Marsal to Perform Efficiency Review of Maricopa Community Colleges

July 14, 2009

Tempe, Arizona (July 14, 2009) - Alvarez & Marsal is pleased to announce it has been selected to perform an efficiency review of Maricopa Community Colleges.

Colleen Clark, Governing Board President of Maricopa Community Colleges, issued the following announcement to stakeholders:

Dear Maricopa -

It is with great pleasure and anticipation that I share with you the selection of Alvarez & Marsal to conduct the effectiveness and efficiency review of the Maricopa Community Colleges.

Following presentations from the three finalists before the RFP committee at a public meeting yesterday, Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) emerged as the top firm. Mr. Sajan George, the team leader, described A&M as "a breakthrough performance improvement firm." He told the selection committee and those gathered to hear the presentations, that student success would be the fundamental driver behind the work of the firm, if chosen, because, "that is what must occur if everything else is to be successful."

A&M is not a typical consulting firm, Mr. George told the group. "If Maricopa wants marginal change, then we are not the firm for you." He pledged that every time a process is examined, it will be weighed against desired outcomes. A&M, with offices in Phoenix and around the world, is currently helping Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual Bank restructure their organizations in the midst of the nation's ongoing banking troubles. The City of New Orleans called on A&M to rebuild its entire public school system following Katrina while New York City and Washington, D.C. officials, facing unique challenges of their own, put their trust in A&M to transform public education.

Other members of the A&M team include Carl Kiefer, Nancy Zielke and Tony Pilegge, each with significant experience and accomplishments in organizational review and redesign. The team supported their overarching philosophy that student success and student satisfaction are at the core of the proposed project and underscored how their work would include extensive feedback from students, as well as from faculty, the community, business leaders and four-year institutions.

Mr. Kiefer said that it will be important to have buy-in from all the stakeholders to get the work done. "People need to own it. This is not something we do to you," he explained. "There are going to be some tough calls. Some folks are not going to be doing the same things they were doing yesterday."

While A&M's bid price was the lowest of the three finalists, I requested that Mr. George explain and justify the return on and benefit of an investment of this size. He stressed that his firm would not have engaged in the bid if they didn't see a meaningful opportunity for student impact, improved efficiencies and bottom-line savings for taxpayers.

The RFP committee is now submitting the proposed $1.143 million dollar project to the Governing Board. Upon Board approval, A&M will initiate the first phase of the review and as more information becomes available I will share it with you.

I would like to, again, thank the members of the RFP committee who provided selfless public service in agreeing to participate on this selection committee with me. Dr. Roy Herberger, Ms. Nancy Jordan, Mr. Charlie Vierhout, Mr. John Laredo, and Ms. Diana Yazzie-Devine, thank you for your conscientious review, your time, and your efforts in helping the Maricopa Community Colleges be the best we can be for our students and our communities.

Sincerely,
Colleen Clark
Governing Board President 

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