We did not have a blogger present at this meeting. There was no quorum since Trustees Birt, McGuire, and Wozniak once again did not attend.
Video will be posted here:
http://www.cod.edu/multimedia_services/botmedia.aspx
Comments by Richard Jarman, Vice President, COD Faculty Association:
I was planning to say, “And then there were six.” But actually there aren’t. There are just three. Again. Of course over the past few months there have been several occasions when there were six, even a five a time or two I recall.
Not knowing which agenda would be followed, either, both or none, I was not sure what to prepare. Would I being speaking near the beginning, as has been the right and proper thing since last April, or buried somewhere around item 18?
I need to remind the absent three of the HLC letter action letter of December 16? I quote:
‘The College is out of compliance with Criterion Five, Core Component 5.B, “the institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission…”’
I pointed out in December, though three were not here to hear it, that boycotting meetings en masse is counter to what is required in effective leadership. You all have until February 2017 to get it sorted, or the consequences will be dire, and upon your heads will they be. Though of course the real victims will be the countless thousands of students who could be left with ruined accomplishments, not to mention all the employees of this fine college. Think on this as you perpetuate your squabbles.
Superficially, 3 = 3. But at a deeper level is there really equivalence? By what moral authority do you serve? For the Slate Three it is clear based on the last election and almost everything that has been written and spoken since. But what of the Boycott Three, or the Breuder Three, or the Herald Three? I would ask the question, who do you represent? Who are you speaking for? Where is your mandate? Do you claim to represent the best interests of the college, the students and the taxpayers? Or are you clinging to the ruined legacy of the past? Unless you are tone-deaf, you must know that time is passed.
Comments by Jackie McGrath, Professor of English:
My name is Jackie McGrath. I’m an English professor at COD, and I love this school. I’m committed to setting it back on the right path, in the wake of the HLC probation findings last month. We have four semesters to set things right, and maintain our accreditation. It is a task we should all take very seriously. But what I am concerned about is that it’s been three weeks since that report, and the acting interim president has yet to describe a plan or take any formal actions to address the issues listed in the Dec. 16th HLC report. In his Dec. 16th email to the college, Interim Acting President Joe Collins stated, “I will do everything in my power to move swiftly to address all of the HLC’s concerns.” I implore him, and I implore you, this board, to follow through on that statement.
I am here to ask this board to direct the interim president to articulate and share a plan and a timeline for how to address each item listed in the HLC report. I also ask you to direct him to modify his annual goals to account for how he will act to address the issues for which we are on probation.
It is too urgent, and the future of our college is deeply concerning to so many. I know at least three members of this board take the probation seriously, and I ask you to hold the current leader of this college accountable for writing a serious action plan—and documenting all outcomes—so that we are all ready, in 2018, to show that we took this seriously and remedied the issues, for the sake of our students and our school.