Mission College Academic Senate

Ext. 5413

Unapproved  Minutes

Thursday,  April 17, 2003 

 

I.       Call to Order/Roll Call

            The meeting was called to order by President Jane Patton at 2:05  p.m. 

Senators

   A

   P

Senators

   A

   P

Braun    (Ext. 5355)  Technology

 

    X

Martin      (Ext. 5356)  Tech.

    X

   

Brennan    (Ext. 5313)  Comm

     

    X

Musat       (Ext. 5331) Math

    X

   

Charland  (Ext. 5046)  Stud. Dev.

 

    X

Oliver       (Ext. 5427)  AAS

 

   X

Dooley    (Ext. 5379)  AAS

 

    X

Patton    (Ext. 5296) Comm Stud

 

   X

Estrada     (Ext.5164)  CommSvc

 

    X

Rivas       (Ext. 5282)  CATA

    

   X

Johnson   (Ext.5277) CATA

 

    X

Rosner     (Ext. 5317) ESL

    

   X

Lavallo    (Ext. 5399)  Math

 

    X

Sippel      (Ext. 5118) Comm

 

   X

Light       (Ext. 5717) AF/CIT

     

    X

Toppel     (Ext. 5089) Stud Dev

   X

   

Lynne      (Ext. 5248) CommSvc

 

    X

VanTassel (Ext. 5334) Tech

 

   X

Mancini    (Ext. 5855) AF/HM

 

    X

Xu           (Ext. 5273) SocSci

 

   X

Other: ASB Rep. J.Weston

   

    X

Other:  B.Grayson (Staff Dev)

      

   X

Guests:D.Bailey, R. Dewis, L. R. Smybe, S.Pancella, 

 

    X

    X

Harris, M. Grayson, L.Jiang,

J.VanTassel

 

   X

   X

                   

 II.    Approval of the Minutes

            The minutes for the meeting of March 27, 2003, were accepted and approved as submitted (M/S/U – Toppel/Oliver).

 

            The Senators agreed to defer the approval of the District Academic Senate meeting minutes to the next District Academic Senate meeting on April 29, 2003.

             

III.    Order of the Agenda

            There were no changes to today’s order of the agenda.

             

 IV.    Oral Communication from the Public

            ASB representative Josh Weston advised the Senate that ASB President Jiang will read the following statement to the Board of Trustees at tonight’s Board meeting:

 

            “The Associate Student Body of Mission College stands in support of the Academic Senate’s position that there should be no layoffs of full-time instructors, faculty, and classified staff.  The ASB believes that the consequences of taking these actions will lead to a severe loss in student enrollment at our college.  In addition, we, as an institution of higher learning, will no longer be able to adequately support students in their educational needs and career endeavors.”

 

            Senator Estrada sent the following letter to the Board and Chancellor.  The Senators requested that the letter be entered into the record:

 

“The events of these last months have left this District damaged.  We try to go about our daily lives, try to teach our classes, try to serve our students in those thousands of ways that we always do to help them succeed.  And yet, everything has changed.

 

It goes far beyond a budget crisis, which does undeniably exist.  Our colleagues throughout the state are dealing with that crisis, too.  But ours is now, instead, a crisis of faith.  When my colleagues and I chose Mission and West Valley Colleges, we believed we could create positive change, make this District better than it ever was.  And we have!  Look around at our success!  New programs, new buildings, innovations, awards, having campuses that are accessible to all…the list goes on.  We’ve done our jobs well…more than well.  We have been exceptional. 

 

And we had faith in you.  Faith that you would foster an environment of trust—a nurturing, professional environment that would allow us to soar.  Faith that you would respect and value our ideas and opinions, especially when the going got rough.  But all that changed when the layoff notices were sent.  You took the most extreme path possible to solve the budget crisis.  And our faith was shattered.  Now, some layoff notices have been rescinded.  We are happy for those faculty whose names are on that list. 

 

But now you need to have faith in us.  To allow us to use all of our creativity and intelligence to steer this District through this crisis.  You need to show your faith in us by immediately rescinding the rest of the layoff notices.  It would be a bold move.  A true leap of faith.  But it is an action that would help restore the faith we once had in you.

 

You must do this.  As Henry David Thoreau once said, “If we cannot sing of faith and triumph, we will sing our despair.”[1]

 

Thank you.

 

Erlinda Estrada

Collection Development

Technical Services Librarian

Mission College Library

           

[1] The Columbia World of Quotations.  1996.

  Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), U.S. philosopher, author, naturalist. Letter,

  December 22, 1853, to Harrison Blake

 

V.      Information & Announcements

            1.   The ballots for the Mission College Academic Senate President have been distributed.  The deadline for voting is 5:00 p.m., April 28, 2003.  Jane noted that the candidates’ statements are on the reverse side of the ballot. 

            2.   Mission College hosted the Area B meeting of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC).  Jane explained that the ASCCC divides the colleges into four areas and Area B constitutes the Bay Area community colleges.  Senate Presidents and/or representatives from the senates attended, along with Hoke Simpson, the current President of the ASCCC, Linda Collins, a Past President, Ian Walton and Mark Lieu of the Executive Council and others.  Jane publicly acknowledged Senator Phil Mancini , for coming in on spring break to prepare and serve a most delicious lunch to all.  

            3.   Linda King, President of the WVC Academic Senate has sent an e-mail to faculty summarizing information gleaned at the Area B meeting, including information as to how each college is handling the budget crunch   Jane reported that most of the colleges present were not laying off faculty.  Solano is cutting 10 FTE out of associate faculty, Peralta sent termination notices to the administrators, and Ohlone sent out 11 notices.  Overall, no other district has undertaking anything that remotely resembles what is occurring at our district. Hoke reminded everyone that the greatest number of violations in the shared decision-making process occurs during times of economic downturns.  He reiterated his opinion that it is reckless to make decisions based on the worst case scenario.  If too many faculty and programs are cut, student access and enrollment will suffer.

            4.   Ian Walton is running for the Vice President position of the ASCCC, which automatically moves into the President’s position.  Ian is highly respected by the ASCCC and the CCLC.

            5.   The next District Academic Senate meeting will be held in the WVC Board Room on Tuesday, April 29, 2003, from 2:05 p.m. until 4:05 p.m.

 

VI.         Administrative Business/Actions/Appointments

A.  Curriculum Committee  -  Alex Braun reported that approximately 70 curriculum items are on the Board’s consent agenda for tonight’s meeting.  He anticipates that all will be passed.

B.  Staff Recognition -  No resolutions were presented at today’s meeting.

C.  Committee Appointments

1.  Select DAS Delegate to ASCCC Spring Plenary  - Jane explained that a delegate from the WVCAS was not available. Therefore, the MCAS can appoint a Senator to represent the District Academic Senate and vote on resolutions presented on Saturday.  Senators Braun, Charland, and Estrada volunteered to attend the conference, and it was agreed that Senator Braun will serve as the delegate for the District Academic Senate.

              2.  Select Three Senators to Serve on Selection Committee for Faculty Recognition Program Awards – Senator Dooley, Senator Johnson, and Senator Rosner agreed to serve on this committee and were appointed (M/S/U – Charland/Oliver) by the Senate.

         D. Oral Reports

              1.  Staff Development  -  No Report

              2.  District Information Technology Steering Committee

              3.  Instructional Technology Committee   - No Report

              4.  Program Review Committee -  Jane reported that Jody Hacker will be presenting program review documents and process for the Senator’s consideration sometime in May.  The Senate will ask that any documents to be considered for approval be forwarded to the Senators prior to the meeting.

              5.   Other:   No other reports were made at today’s meeting.

 

 VII.  Old Business

 

   A.   Discuss & Clarify Implementation Timeline of Graduation Requirements

            President Patton placed this item on the agenda because the Office of Instruction was considering the implementation of a two-year catalog and therefore, could affect timeline for implementing the new requirements.  This idea has been discarded and alternatives for reducing printing costs will be implemented. In addition, the catalog will be on line for easy access.

 

Senator Brennan reported that the Communication Studies and ESL faculty representatives have met and developed a check list for entry criteria and developed the proposal to offer    Communication Studies 1 and 15 for AA students and Communication Studies 1, 4 and 15 for AS students.  The committee also explored and discussed additional resources available for students to use in order to succeed.  It is recommended that Communication Studies and ESL representatives continue to meet and identify areas where support can be provided to ensure that students will succeed.  The group has discussed the challenge process and noted there is a process currently in place for challenging Comm 1, but not for challenging the proficiency requirement. 

 

Discussion ensued, a call for the question passed (M/S/U – Charland/Brennan), and the Senators passed the following motion (M/S/P Brennan/Charland):   

 

“that the Mission College Academic Senate accepts the recommendations of the subcommittee” as they pertain to the Oral Communication proficiency requirement. 

 

It was agreed that further discussion is needed to determine how to implement the requirement and demonstrate proficiency. Further discussion on this item will take place at next week’s meeting.

 

   B.   Continue Discussion of Budget Crisis and Issues Under Academic Senate’s Area of Responsibilities

President Patton reported on the meeting that took place on Thursday, April 10, 2003, as directed by the District Academic Senate.  She and President King met with Chancellor Arterberry and Board of Trustee members President Constantin and Vice President Lucas.  A bill of particulars was presented with supportive and pertinent documents and a response was requested within 72 hours as directed by the Academic Senate.  The Chancellor and the Board members argued that 72 hours was not ample time and they were given an extension to a “timely” response.  On Tuesday, April 15th, the WVC Academic Senate directed President King to request, with President Patton’s permission, that the “timely” response from the Chancellor and Board be delivered by Thursday, April 17, 2003 at 12:00 p.m.  The Chancellor replied, indicating that he could not meet the deadline and would respond by Monday April 21st. 

 

Discussion ensued and it was stated that if the administration had made the cuts in faculty and programs based on a plan, certainly a written plan would be available and no extension in response time should be required. A simple photocopy of the plan would suffice. This delay suggests that the plan is being written after the fact, and that is not acceptable. It was also stated that failure to comply with the deadline is egregious and unconscionable and another item to add to the bill of particulars. The evasive or non-responsive tactics by the Chancellor and the Board continue to erode the confidence of faculty in both of them.

 

            Senator Estrada reported on events that have taken place at GAP.  The committee went through a laborious process exploring options for reductions to help the proposed deficit next year.  The committee made its recommendations to the President for ways to reduce services and cut costs. The President came back with an overall reduction plan for 2003/04 that was based on assumptions not agreed to by GAP members, and balanced the budget with the layoff of 17 full-time and associate faculty members.  The recommendations from GAP did not include faculty layoffs, and great concern and consternation was expressed that the document will be presented to the Chancellor on Friday as a GAP document.  The Chancellor will probably advise the Board of Trustees that the college President developed the plan according to shared governance when that is not the case.  GAP agreed that the document should be revised to clearly differentiate between GAP’s proposals and those made by the President alone.

 

            As discussion continued, several options for action by the District Academic Senate were discussed and considered. A great deal of frustration was expressed, particularly in light of the fact that District policy states that the Board of Trustees will rely primarily on the advice of the Senate and if it does not, a rationale and justification will be “promptly” made to the Senate in writing. The following resolution was presented, discussed, and passed unanimously (M/S/U – Brennan/Toppel):

 

         “Whereas,  The Mission College Academic Senate has previously voted unanimously on multiple resolutions to rescind all faculty termination notices, and

 

Whereas, It has become increasingly clear that any decision to proceed with faculty termination would be fiscally reckless and would lead to a significant deterioration in our primary mission, educating students, to long-term financial problems for the district, and to a further erosion of trust between faculty and the Chancellor and the Board,

 

Therefore, Let It Be Resolved, That the Mission College Academic Senate advise the Chancellor and the Board to act to demonstrate leadership by resolving the current crisis at tonight’s Board meeting under an emergency agenda item as permitted by the Brown Act, and respond to the needs and concerns of this district by rescinding all faculty termination notices, and

Let It Be Further Resolved, That the Mission College Academic Senate will regard the failure to take this action immediately as a decision that will further erode the confidence of the faculty in the decisions and actions of the Chancellor and the Trustees.”

 

President Patton was directed to present this resolution to the Board at this evening’s meeting. It was agreed that if a satisfactory response is not received from the Chancellor and the Board members by Monday, the Senate will regard this action as non-responsive and consider the appropriate action at the District Academic Senate meeting on April 29, 2003.

 

VIII.  New Business

 

   A.   Elect MCAS Vice-President to Complete the Term

            The Senators unanimously appointed Jonathan Brennan to serve as the Vice-President of the Mission College Academic Senate for the remainder of this semester.

 

The remaining business items on the agenda were postponed to the next meeting.

 

  IX.  Correspondence, Publications, & Announcements

         Correspondence

            1.   E-mail dated April 14, 2003, from Linda King, President of the WVCAS with information gleaned at the Area B meeting of the ASCCC. 

1.    E-mail dated April 2, 2003, from State Chancellor Nussbaum regarding 2003/04 budget hearings, marches, events, media coverage, and legislative hearings. 

2.    Letter dated March 25, 2003, from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges re: resolutions that pertain to the changing of English and Mathematics Requirements for AA/AS Degrees. 

3.    E-mail dated March 26, 2003, from Robert Turnage with a report on actions taken at a Senate hearing from the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review subcommittee on Education Finance.

         Publication/Minutes

1.    The agenda and pertinent documents for the DBAC meeting scheduled for April 16, 2003.

2.    HR items that will appear on the May 1 Board agenda to be reviewed at the April 23, 2003, District Council meeting.  The agenda for the April 9, 2003, meeting of the District Council.

3.    The agenda for the April 17, 2003, meeting of the Mission-West Valley Land Corporation.

4.    The Appendices for use with Resolutions for Discussion at the 2003 Spring Session of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to be held May 1-3, 2003 in San Francisco.

5.    Volume V 2002 “The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal.”

6.    The Budget Reduction Criteria developed by a DBAC Subcommittee.

7.    The agenda for the April 17, 2003, meeting of the Board of Trustees.

8.    The agenda for the April 14, 2003, meeting of the MC Curriculum Review Committee, and a summary of the March 24, 2003, meeting.

9.    The March 28, 2003, issue of the DVC FORUM  from the Diablo Valley College Faculty Senate.

         Announcements/Conferences

1.    A march and rally in support of community colleges will take place in San Francisco on May 9th from 11:00 a.m.  Marchers will gather at 4th and Mission Streets.  For additional informa-tion, see web site www.KeepTheDoorsOpen.org.

2.    The NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence will be held in Austin, Texas, May 25-28, 2003.

3.    The Fifteenth Annual Hawaii National Great Teachers Seminar will be held August 10-15, 2003, in Hawaii. 

4.    The Annual Great Teachers Seminar will be held in Santa Barbara, August 3-7, 2003. 

5.    The recognition reception for retirees and long-term employees will be held at Lou’s Village on May 7, 2003, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 

   X.  Future Agenda Items

            No new items were introduced at today's meeting.

 

  XI.  Adjournment

            The meeting was adjourned at 4:15  p.m. (M/S/U - Brennan/Sippel). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.