Overview:
A letter to the editor questions Palau Community College’s decision to extend President Patrick U. Tellei’s tenure through April 2029, arguing that three decades of leadership should prompt a broader discussion about accountability, faculty morale, student opportunities and the future direction of higher education in Palau.
Dear Editor,
Palau Community College announced that Patrick U. Tellei will remain president for another two years, extending his tenure through April 2029. The Board of Trustees praised his “steadfast leadership” and said the extension would provide stability and continuity for Palau’s only institution of higher education.
But stability is not the same as progress. President Tellei has already served nearly 30 years as PCC president. That raises serious questions: how does a college keep the same president for three decades? Were other qualified candidates recruited, or did the board simply wait until the status quo felt easier than change?
Leadership is not just about holding a PhD. A president’s role is to manage, inspire, and ensure that faculty and students thrive. Yet PCC’s faculty have long complained about stagnant wages, with many hardworking staff underpaid and morale at an all-time low. Students, meanwhile, take classes that do not transfer to nearby universities, such as STEM courses that fail to align with the University of Guam. Pell grants are consumed at PCC, leaving students unable to use them for fouryear degrees. That is not opportunity; it is limitation.-
So why keep the same president? Perhaps because PCC is being run like a business, echoing the broader philosophy of Palau’s leadership. But education is not a business. It is public trust. Thirty years in the same seat risks producing a stagnant school, not innovation for students.
Where are the new ideas? Why not explore educational tourism, or build a tourism training school that connects directly to Palau’s number one industry? Why not reimagine PCC as a hub for regional cooperation, instead of maintaining the same model year after year?
Faculty are pushed down, students are boxed in, and the institution maintains the status quo while Palauans suffer. This is not just about one man’s tenure. It is about a system that rewards continuity over creativity, and stability over accountability.
Leadership means knowing when to step aside so others can rise. PCC deserves fresh vision, new energy, and leaders who will put students and faculty first. Thirty years is too long. Two more years only prolongs the problem.
Everything for Everyone and Nothing for Ourselves. That is the principle we must demand from our institutions, not endless tenure, not status quo, but education that truly serves the people of Palau.
Your Humble Servant
Dudalm Kelulau
The Silent Majority
alkahalic6801@gmail.com