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Patricia Lands resume is stocked with short stints in a variety of positions.

A year here, two years there.

But her newest appointment acting district president of Edison State College will be her shortest, estimated to last just six to eight weeks. And campuses will be closed two weeks of her tenure for winter break.

Yet in Lands first press conference Friday, she sounded like a woman with long-term plans. Land spoke about the need to restore integrity to academic programs, prove to Southwest Florida that Edisons mission still is intact and maintain accountability, transparency and an open administration.

Im very demanding, said Land, who will maintain her position as Charlotte campus president during the transition. Im not flexible in terms of what our core mission is, and that is to provide outstanding academic programming that meets the highest standards and to provide our communities with the employees they need for the future.

On Tuesday, Edison States board of trustees suspended longtime District President Kenneth Walker as it builds a termination case against him. Land will serve as acting CEO until the board chooses an interim district president, likely in late January, who will serve about six months as the college searches nationally for Walkers successor. The interim president will be from outside Edison State.

Walker is out of town due to a death in the family, but on Thursday and Friday, employees from human resources, general counsel and public safety departments were taking inventory of Walkers personal belongings and placing some items in secure storage. The locks on his office door have been changed and his computer files have been saved. Edison spokeswoman Teresa Morgenstern said this follows college protocol for every employee who is suspended or fired.

We will make arrangements to return his personal belongings, she said.

Land said Walker left her a message wishing her well in the position.

Walker had a falling out with professors, as evidenced by a vote of no confidence and a faculty senate resolution calling for his removal, but Land is highly regarded by faculty. Philosophy professor Russell Swanson, one of Walkers chief critics, believes Land can help patch the relationship between faculty and administration.

Dr. Land will only be here a short while, but its important we maintain a high level of integrity, Swanson said. She has a genuine openness and willingness to have dialogue.

Priority No. 1, Land said, will be to simply keep the operation running. The second goal is setting a timeline to respond to an accreditation committees list of 14 findings of non-compliance. The college must issue a written response by April.

Land also will help the college prepare to be inspected by a nursing accrediting agency in March. Edisons baccalaureate nursing program is not nationally certified, but Land said the college always has taken great pride in its medical programs.

We are pretty careful about our graduates and how we get them through those programs, Land said. We dont want to wake up in the ER and not see someone who has not gone through a rigorous training program.

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