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What’s happening NOW – June 10 – June 15, 2013

by pccfa

Mark your calendar:

Thursday, June 13 at 10-11:30AM – College Council Meeting (in the Circadian)  Please note: this is a Brown Act meeting, which means there is public comment at the beginning of the meeting and public comment on each agenda item.

 Agenda:

  • Academic Calendar Options, 2013-2014
  • PCC Task Force Recommendations
    • These recommendations include: ” training for all faculty and staff, new locks and notification systems in classrooms, increased police patrols and bag checks in such buildings as the library and other high traffic areas and a system of mobile phone alerts. This task force will continue its work and our intention is to present these actions to the Board for approval on July 17.”
  • Institutional Effectiveness Committee (IEC) Broader Recommendations

Last week:

June  5, 2013- Last week’s board meeting was quiet – perhaps the quiet before the storm.  Winter 2013-2014 was not put on the agenda, even though both the Calendar Committee and the Academic Senate voted that the 2013-2014 calendar include a Winter.

Ryan Ahari, a former student trustee of Rancho Santiago Community College and now member of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) delivered a resolution in solidarity with our own Associated Students asking the PCC Trustees to reverse their decision on the “Student Calendar.” Read the Resolution  and see video of Mr. Ahari’s speech (Minute 14:00).

More Letters to the Press from PCC Faculty

Students and Faculty Have Spoken. What Did the Board Do?

Throughout 2012-2013, numerous faculty and students implored the Board with letters, speeches, talks,  not to cut winter because it would severely derail students’ educational plans and be a problem for transfer.

What did the Board do?  Cut winter.

Two surveys were delivered to the Board – one by the FA President and the other by the Academic Senate president. Both surveys showed faculty’s extreme disapproval of the administration.

What did the Board do? The Board renewed the PCC President’s contract until 2016.

In February of this year, the Associated Students voted No Confidence for President Rocha and called for his removal. (Read the press release and vote of no confidence documents.)

What did the Board do? Threaten to re-visit the Student Activity Fee. 

In March 2013, the full-time faculty also voted No Confidence (92%) for President Rocha, and in April the Academic Senate unanimously voted No Confidence in the president.

What did the Board do?  They claimed it was just a small group of disgruntled faculty, ignored the Senate’s resolution of no confidence (about shared governance; see pages 6-7), put out a statement of support for the president and insisted the campus needs to do more communicating with the president. Perhaps they should read this:

AAUP Urges Direct Talks Between Colleges’ Boards and Faculties http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/139529/

“Citing several instances of what it regards as breakdowns in shared governance, the American Association of University Professors is calling for colleges’ governing boards to take steps to hear directly from faculty members, without letting administrators filter such talks.”

In recent weeks,  a number  FA leaders,  Senate leaders, and other independent faculty have performed their due diligence.  They met with  Bill Thomson, Tony Fellow, Berlinda Brown, John Martin, and Linda Wah. From all reports, it seems that we have  board that is either overtly hostile to faculty voices/input  (two board members refused to meet),  indifferent to our concerns, or  uninformed on substantive issues.