Comments to the Board of Trustees (February-April)

Our apologies for posting these comments so late.

From April 25, 2017

Presented by Julie Kissel on David Fitzpatrick’s behalf

1. Survey Results

David presented a one question survey to the full-time and adjunct faculty (over 250 faculty) starting the week of April 9, following Scott Hilden’s presentation to the faculty on April 6 concerning the police force.

Question:  Do you support the College’s Plan for campus policing as you understand it?

Total Respondents = 145

Yes: 59 (40.7%)
No:  86 (59.3%)

Certainly, impressions regarding the establishment of a WCC police force are complex and in flux on this campus.

2. On Doug Kruzel’s Retirement…from David Fitzpatrick

I apologize that I could not attend tonight due to illness.  I especially am sorry that I could not make it because I wanted to say personally what follows:

For the last 14 years, first as the chief negotiator for the WCCEA and then as its president, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Doug Kruzel.  We’ve crossed swords more than once, and quite often we have agreed to disagree with one another.  Through it all we worked together to improve in important ways the relationship between the faculty and the College.  More importantly, I always knew that I’d get a straight answer from him, no matter the question or subject.

Doug, you will be missed.  Good luck to you in retirement.

3. As David has mentioned in previous meetings, any Trustees interested in visiting a class, please feel free to contact the WCCEA leadership for more information.

 

From March 28, 2017

• David thanked Trustee Milliken for visiting his classroom and invited any of the trustees to visit a class. Faculty are eager to extend invitations.
• David urged the BOT and College to  make an effort to seek out feedback from staff and faculty regarding a campus police force. The public sessions in April and May are for the public, but there should be a way for employees to note their concerns, questions, or support. (Per the Board, the April 25 and May 23 meetings will begin at 5pm to accommodate two public hearings to gather input for the establishment of a WCC police force.)
• Since a marketing director is in place, David urged him to engage with faculty from across the College to highlight the variety of courses and programs available.

 

From February 28, 2017

David covered two points at the meeting:

1. Welcome to Kim Hurns the new VPI. David is proud that another faculty member has taken on this role and is looking forward to working with her. In fact, discussions with VP Hurns started the day after the announcement to the position. The contract implementation (CI) meeting on Monday was very productive, and there is hope this will continue.
2. Also at CI, Linda Blakey and Scott Hilden (Campus Security) presented the options that the BOT will consider regarding policing on campus. The department chairs were briefed before break as well. At CI, we discussed the need for a way that faculty and staff can provide feedback about this important issue. The administration committed to finding a way to do this.