Tonight’s meeting is streamed at this link:
http://www.cod.edu/multimedia_services/botmedia.aspx

To view the agenda and download the meeting packet, go to this link:
http://www.cod.edu/about/board_of_trustees/ 

Blogging will continue until the end of tonight’s meeting OR until 10pm, whichever comes first. Please note that a closed session is scheduled early in the agenda, after the public comments.

Roll call: Birt, Wozniak, and McGuire absent.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Jan Shaw. Hoping for short meeting. Congratulations on hiring new president. Has question about contract, wants to know exact number of sick days and vacation days. Meant to address the trustees who are not here, hopefully they are watching. They didn’t participate, then complained about not having a voice. These members need to do their duty or resign.

Glenn Hansen, COD Faculty Association President. It is finally time to move forward and stop wallowing in the past. I’m not saying forget about the past and move on, I’m saying stop living in the past, fix the problems that led us here, and don’t allow the mistakes to be repeated. Tonight you will approve the contract with Dr. Rondeau to lead the College for the next 3 years. On behalf of the faculty, I would like to welcome her to COD. We are eager to work with all constituencies to restore COD’s reputation and are excited about the days ahead.

It is significant that Dr. Rondeau is hired on the same evening that there is a closed session meeting with Dr. Johnson representing the Higher Learning Commission.  Timing is everything.

It is important to the faculty that it be made clear that the actions and lack of actions that led to probation were the result of a sequence of events, many of which were shared many times. Therefore Dr. Rondeau’s view of “Accountability as an opportunity not a threat” resounds well with us. Accountability and Responsibility should be our brand moving forward. Let us demonstrate our Shared Institutional values of Integrity, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility.

Welome Dr. Rondeau.

Richard Jarman, COD Faculty Association Vice-President.

On Monday, there were three. Tonight we are down to one. As you could tell from the raucous ejaculations from a certain segment of the audience when Trustee Olsen announced the name on the resolution, you made the correct choice. Tonight is hopefully the simple matter of confirming the contract.

I think I can speak for all faculty that we look forward to working with Dr. Rondeau in the coming years. While the academic reputation of the good ship COD is resolute; and its financial position is very secure compared to many Illinois public colleges in the current financial debacle; it has been blown off course by the storm of scandals, and lies in mortal danger of foundering upon the reef of probation.

As you can see, I am shamelessly using corny nautical metaphors to welcome our new president as we take the optimistic view that her hand upon the tiller will steer the vessel into the calmer waters of restored accreditation. We have learned that the task is onerous, and the required documentation formidable. A new era of improved collaboration and cooperation is required. We are up for the challenge and look forward to the voyage.

Keith Yearman, Professor of Geography.

In my right hand I hold the list of College of DuPage administrators for the years 2001-2002. There are 40 individuals on this list, including four vice-presidents, an associate vice president and one assistant vice president.

I look at the list of COD administrators for this year. The administration has grown from 40 to 44. The number of vice presidents has grown from four to seven. While we still only have one associate vice president, we have added a second assistant vice president.

Back in 2001, full vice presidents accounted for 10% of the administration. Today, they are 16%.

The percentage of any rank of vice president has grown from 15% in 2001 to nearly 23% now.

I’d like to compare this to the ranks of your full time faculty, but I’m not sure what the true numbers are. The numbers I’m using are what the college has used in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, on the chart “Operating Information: Employee Headcount and Classification Last Ten Years.” In this, the college reported 275 full-time faculty in 2001, down to 259 this past year.

Why has the administration grown 10%? Why have the full vice presidents grown by 75%? Yet your reported ranks of full-time faculty have decreased by nearly 6% over the same period. Something is wrong with this, and I encourage this board to put the priority back on the classroom and instruction, not administration.

Roger Kempa. Troubled by college’s selection and process of external auditor. Has prepared a lengthy report for the trustees. Discusses qualifications of audit firms. We hired one that performed audits for Dixon, IL, largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Why was an ill-qualified firm chosen? Why did interim CFO recuse herself from selection process?

Wozniak arrived late, during the comments.

Closed session is planned to last about an hour.