Dateline Pasadena — 1. “Tensions at PCC threaten school's reputation” LA Times article – July 20, 2014. Hate to break it to you, reporter Jason Song. Our reputation is already in the toilet. President Mark Rocha said it himself. Perhaps if faculty, students and staff laid down and let the Board of Trustees and administration do whatever it wanted, no one would be the wiser. But when it comes to our education, our students and respect for the campus community, mute acquiescence is not an option. Even though the Board of Trustees and administration refused to participate in or attend the town halls last year, the Faculty Senate officers still wait for any Trustee members to take them up on their offer to meet collegially.
2. Now that Dr. Rocha has wreaked havoc on the school, he is trying to fly the coop. No takers so far. Read more here.
3. A year in review: How come we don't have winter – again.
4. Campus Climate Review — what it means for accreditation: The Board paid ($100,000?) for Modern Think “Great Colleges to Work for” to conduct a survey, without requesting or accepting input from faculty, staff or students (only from administrators). Now the Board wants to hire another consulting firm. For what? Perhaps just going through the motions of doing something is good enough to pass accreditation. The campus community still awaits publication of the complete results of the survey. It will be no surprise if the results reflect those from the Spring 2014 Campus Climate/Town Hall survey, which revealed the school is plagued by an administration that tramples on transparency, trust, collegial consultation and existing school policies. Read professors and staff suggested solutions for the campus climate woes that have appeared since the Board hired and promoted President Rocha.
5. Discussions begin about a Vote of No Confidence on the Board of Trustees.
If that is not enough summer reading to catch up on: Lots of news lately about teacher tenure, which affects our teachers' job security and ability to disagree with the administration without fear of reprisals. What many don't know is that all part-time and all full-time professors, with tenure or without, regularly are reviewed for job performance. “Tenure” does not mean teachers have a job for life. So what's a world without tenure? It's a world without shared governance.
See the PCC Coalition of Students & Faculty for Student Achievement website at http://takebackpcc.wordpress.com/about_us/
