Volume 17, Issue 6 May/June 2009 CHAPARRALdent of Lone Star College district’s CyFair campus in Texas. Due to numerous issues over the past several years involving President Levy

On May 4, Board President Vahe Peroomian emailed the campus to announce the resignation of Dr. Audre Levy as of June 30, 2009. Dr. Levy is leaving Glendale to become Presi-dent of Lone Star College district’s CyFair campus in Texas. Due to numerous issues over the past several years involving President Levy and the faculty, the announcement that Dr. Levy would be leaving Glendale for a new position in Texas was greeted with a general sense of relief by many employees. In an email to the campus, Dr. Levy noted that her new position would allow her to be closer to her family and thanked those who have been supportive during her three years at GCC. The First Huge Surprise

Several weeks after the announcement of her new position,

a previously undisclosed piece of information came out regarding the Board’s March decision (in private session) to “buy out” Dr. Levy’s last year by providing the equivalent of a year of salary and retirement funding. Apparently the Board voted in their closed session to ask for her resignation and to pay her what in the private sector might be called a severance package, including some funds for an annuity (somewhat like the one that recent retirees now enjoy).

Guild leaders and other employees were astonished to find that such a decision could have been made without consultation with employees, and public com-ments at the May Board meeting reflected those concerns. The Board had originally asked for comments on the process for hiring an interim president, but this task was overshadowed by the expressed outrage of those who did not understand why the Board

(Continued on page 15)

By and for the Employees of Glendale College - Primary Funding by the Glendale College Guild AFT 2276

CHAPARRAL

Volume 17, Issue 6 May/June 2009

Gabbing and Grousing with Gordy by Gordon Alexandre

2

Speaking of the Senate by John Queen 3

CSEA Connection by Saodat Aziskhanova 4

CLASSIFIED COUNCIL CORNER by Henan Joof 5

GCC in the Capitol(s): How our College Pushes for its Fair Share by Mona Field

6

Adjunct Junction by Phyllis Eckler 8

ACCREDITATION UPDATE: Where Are We Now? by Jill Lewis

10

Inaugural trip to GCC’s new Baja California field station by Maria Kretzmann

12

TWELVE for TENure! by Phil Kazanjian 14

MILESTONES 16

Inside this issue Departure of President Levy Brings New Challenges to GCC by Mona Field, Political Science Department (retired)

2 www.glendale.edu/chaparral Chaparral/May/June 2009

Chaparral Printed 3 or 4 times per semester, the Chaparral is published by and for the en-tire staff of GCC. Primary funding is by the Glendale College Guild, AFT 2276. The newsletter is dedicated to providing timely information on the campus commu-nity about any issues that affect our col-lege, higher education, and/our profes-sional lives. Prose, poetry, art work and opinion as well as expository reporting are welcome. The pages of Chaparral are open to all faculty, staff, students and ad-ministrators. Submissions for publication should be word processed in IBM-compatible Word Perfect, MS Word or ASCII file format. No anonymous submis-sions will be published. Please e-mail arti-cles to Mona Field (mfield). If you have

announcements you wish printed or any questions, contact Mona Field at x5473 or e-mail mfield. The Chaparral Editorial Board is com-posed of volunteers and is open to any college staff members. The current board includes Mona Field (editor-in-chief), Susan Cisco (managing editor), Patricia Chamroonrat (production manager), Piper Rooney, Andra Verstraete and Phillip Kazanjian. Columnists are Guild President Gordon Alexandre (Gabbing and Grousing with Gordy), Academic Senate President John Queen (Speaking of the Senate), CSEA President Saodat Aziskhanova (CSEA Connection), Classified Council President Henan Joof (Classified Council Corner), Guild 2nd Vice President Phyllis Eckler (Adjunct Junction), and Alex Leon (Foundation).

Disclaimer The editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and/or relevance; to publish editorial commentaries; to omit materials which in their good-faith judgment is be-lieved to be libelous, obscene and/or offen-sive, or an invasion of privacy. Questions regarding this editorial policy may be di-rected to the editor-in-chief. The views expressed in the articles of the Chaparral are solely those of the con-tributing authors. They do not represent the views of Glendale College or the Guild

Gabbing and Grousing with Gordy

A s my term as Guild presi-dent winds down, it's time to do some reflection about

the Guild and the college. Let me say first off, the last couple of years have been difficult for both. The Guild has experienced a very rocky relationship with the super-intendent/president and the Board of Trustees. A lack of trust, accu-sations of the Board's micro-managing the college, a

breakdown in negotiations, a disconnected superintendent/president, to name just a few, have made life difficult for all of us. But through it all, the Guild has been stronger than ever, and we have accomplished a great deal. We have witnessed the emer-gence of new Guild leadership—on the Executive Committee, on the Negotiations Team, on PQE, and on the Chaparral. The process of incorporating new leadership has been smooth and seamless. The meet-and-greets last year were successful, and out of them came new Guild members ready to serve. The Guild's Executive Committee has two new members and a couple of others changing positions. The Negotiations Team has one new member and two that have served only a year. Five out of the ten members of this year's

PQE hadn't served in leadership positions before, and the Chapar-ral editor is brand new. As long as there is a good mix between new leadership and more "seasoned" leadership, the Guild's future is bright. The Guild, I believe, has pro-vided timely and quality service to its membership. I and other mem-bers of the Executive Committee have been quite accessible in as-sisting members with a myriad of challenges, ranging from person-nel and pay issues to leaves and evaluations. I have been impressed with the quality of service pro-vided by Chief Negotiator Isabelle Saber, Grievance Officer Caryl St. Ama, Treasurer Peter Stathis, 1st Vice-President Richard Kamei, 2nd Vice-President Phyllis Eckler, PIO Ramona-Barrio-Sotillo,


by Gordon Alexandre, Guild President

The State of the Union and the College

Chaparral/May/June 2009 www.glendale.edu/chaparral 3

GOVERNANCE

C onsiderable energy of the Senate went into address-ing the technical assis-

tance visit in January and the sub-sequent report. After the report came out in early March, the Sen-ate held an electorate meeting to discuss the report and its recom-mendations. The results of that meeting were transmitted to the Senate, which in turn passed a mo-tion in which the Senate “affirms its desire to promote a campus climate of mutual respect and trust and calls on the district to invite this semester an external facilita-tor.” Since then, Dr. Levy and I have consulted and agreed on a team of facilitators (one with background in academic senate matters and the other in adminis-trative matters) and will take the proposal to Campus Executive. The precise format and timing of the facilitation will have to be worked out, but the initial estimate is that the process can begin shortly and will involve multiple meetings between the various constituency organizations.

Another recommendation of the technical assistance report was that the college should adopt a policy that specifies the roles of the Board of Trustees and the vari-ous constituency organizations with respect to policymaking. Such a policy was in fact in the works in Campus Executive, but ironically was delayed until we could consult with the technical assistance team about some of the technicalities of the law that gov-erns this area. The good news is that the Senate incorporated the advice of the team and sent a rec-ommendation to Campus Execu-tive for this policy. As we all know now, Dr. Levy will be leaving the college for a new job in Texas next year. The Senate addressed the succession process by a motion that called for collegial consultation with the Board of Trustees on the choice and the process of the selection of an interim president, chosen from candidates experienced with Glendale College, for the term of at least one academic year. On another front, it became apparent that there are some

ambiguities in Administrative Regulation 2125 that, among other things, governs the election and confirmation of division chairs. In particular, the confirmation section of the regulation is vague about who has the right to vote and what constitutes a majority. The Senate revision takes the language from the election section on those issues and applies it to the confirmation.

CURRICULUM ISSUES

In response to a request from the Aviation and Technology divi-sion, the Senate approved the creation of the Environmental Technologies discipline so that courses for solar power techni-cians may be offered. This is the third discipline added this year, along with Engineering and Interdisciplinary Studies. The Senate also approved a change in the graduation require-ment in Physical Education. Previously, students who were 21


SPEAKING OF THE SENATE... by John Queen, Academic Senate President

The semester is winding down, and I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the most significant actions taken by the Senate.


T his is the final issue of Chaparral for the 2008-09 academic year, and it is a

good time to revisit the past year. I am sure you all agree that it was a year of challenges. We welcomed our Superintendent/President Dr. Audre Levy three years ago, and now it is time to bid her farewell. The CSEA Executive Board is looking forward to working with

the Interim Superintendent/President appointed by the Board of Trustees effective July 1, 2009. The Board of Trustees election was successful; our endorsed in-cumbents Dr. Armine Hacopian and Anita Gabrielian were re-elected, and Ann Ransford was elected to the Board. Mr. King had chosen not to run for reelection after 12 years of service. We are all concerned about the state budget and the uncertainty of our economy. As you all know, there are two major types of state funding: general purpose and cate-gorical. Well, categorical aid is earmarked for specific programs and is the one that will be cut drastically.

In this troubling time we need all to come together and support each other. As I mentioned, this is the final issue of the newsletter for this aca-demic year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgo-ing Guild President, Gordon Alex-andre, for the collegial and collabo-rative relationship between our two unions during his presidency. I would also like to congratulate Ramona Barrio-Sotillo, the incoming leader of the Guild. In Unity, Saodat Aziskhanova

C S E A C O N N E C T I O N by Saodat Aziskhanova, CSEA President

Visit us on the web at: www.glendale.edu/csea

CSEA Recap of the Year

Contact the editor for more information!


G reetings Glendale Family, as the school year winds down I hope

that you all have many accom-plishments to look back on and are eager to make the best of the sum-mer. Classified Employee Week 2009 was a great success with CSEA and the Classified Council combining forces to organize this event, and it was certainly one to remember. Not only was the food exceptionally good, but so was the company and camaraderie. High-

lights of the week included the administrators at the grill during the BBQ, a very exciting BINGO session and Faculty vs Classified basketball game. This year, Classified Council gave three scholarships totaling $1,100. Wendy Grove and her scholarship committee had a very difficult task selecting the winners from the talented and deserving pool of applicants. Congratula-tions winners! It has been an amazing two years already, and yes, my term as President of Classified Council has come to an end. I would like to thank all of those who have served with me and congratulate those who will be taking office in June. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to send our best wishes to Dr. Levy, who will be leaving us at the end of this school year. On behalf of the Clas-sified Council board, it has been a pleasure collaborating with you in

providing the very best educa-tional environment for students here at GCC.

by Henan Joof, Classified Council President Classified Council Corner

2009 Student Worker

Scholarship recipients

First Prize

Eugenia Hsieh (International Students

Services)

Second Prize Sarine Mnatsakanyan

(Admissions and Records)

Third prize

Sally Morgan (Outreach)


GCC in the Capitol(s): How our College Pushes for its Fair Share

I n the current political and fiscal reality, “no college is an island.” Like virtually every public education

institution in the state, GCC makes sure that professional political advocates (lobbyists in common parlance) are actively working on behalf of the college in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. For the past six years, our Sacramento voice has been Patrick McCallum, former Executive Director of FACCC. Patrick is known as one of the most knowl-edgeable community college advo-cates in the state, and represents a number of districts and at least one faculty union. While we concentrate on serv-ing students, Patrick makes sure that legislators, the governor and the Department of Finance (a key player in the state budget process) are aware of the needs of our college. At times, the Guild collaborates by sending faculty to Sacramento or to local legislators’ offices to support Patrick’s message. This year, of course, the mes-sage is at the survival level, given the near-bankruptcy of the state. Thanks to Patrick and others in his profession, our students have not (yet) been subject to the large fee increases being imposed annually in the UC and CSU systems. In addition to his focus on budget items, Patrick also supports

the college when it’s time to get state construction funds for our buildings. The spectacular Bhu-pesh Parikh Health Sciences and Technology building required lo-cal bond money (Measure G), state funds and of course was en-hanced enormously by the gener-ous donation of the Parikh family. Much of the health care equipment in the building is the result of Patrick’s strong activism in Sacramento.

And inside the Beltway…. In order to get certain kinds of federal funds, it is essential to have a consistent message and voice in our nation’s Capitol. Cur-rently, GCC is served in Washing-ton by Anchor Consulting, a firm that has guided GCC faculty in the arcane details of writing proposals for federal funds. Since February of this year, approximately ten projects have been developed and proposed for funding.

• Accelerated Culinary Arts Program

• Multimodal Transportation Facility

• Study Abroad Student Sup-port and Financial Assistance

• Campus Security • Infrastructure: Water and

Power Academy • Sustainability Certificate

Program • Campus Shuttle Service

Faculty and administrators involved in writing these propos-als include Darren Leaver, Ron Harlan, Karen Holden-Ferkich, Kristin Bruno, Jan Swinton and many more. Some of the propos-als (such as the shuttle between Garfield and the main campus) require the support of the city, so the city manager was also consulted. These proposals must be lob-bied with Congressman Adam Schiff as well as the two U.S. Senators, Barbara Boxer and Di-anne Feinstein. At different points during the process, campus leaders may be asked to send letters of support reinforcing the college requests. Each member of our Board of Trustees has been given one or more assignments to contact the federal legislators and plead our case, and the Anchor consultants are giving instructions about how to approach the busy lawmakers on behalf of GCC. If you want to know more, or to participate in contacting our state and/or federal elected officials on behalf of the college, please contact the President’s Office.

by Mona Field, Political Science Department (retired)


Secretary Zo Kaye, Garfield Cam-pus Steward Marcia Sibony, and Guild Budget Representative Sarkis Ghazarian. Much of what they do goes unnoticed, but all of what they do contributes to the success of your union. One of the commitments I made at the beginning of my ten-ure was to better serve our mem-bers at the Garfield campus, and I think I've (we've) begun to do this. There are now regular Guild infor-mational meetings at the Garfield campus once a semester. We have also created a new position on the Guild Executive Committee called Garfield Campus Steward, in order to give members down at Garfield a stronger voice in Guild affairs. The GCS is an elected, paid posi-tion, and with that comes a vote on the Guild's Executive Committee. More needs to be done, but we are certainly heading in the right di-rection. The Guild has also stood strong and united in these tough times. We have been heard and we are respected. Most importantly, we have been politically active. Each time the Guild's leadership has asked the membership for its sup-port, the membership has stepped up. Neither the leadership nor the membership has been too far be-hind or ahead of what it was nec-essary to do. We have had four public demonstrations at Board meetings over the last two years, and each time the turnout was great and message sent loud and clear. When we accused the super-intendent/president of circumvent-ing the collecting bargaining proc-ess, the membership effectively demonstrated. Last year, when we accused the Board of not making the faculty and students a

"priority," the membership suc-cessfully protested, and twice this year, the membership showed up en masse to express our displeas-ure with Board actions. A union is only as strong as its membership, and we have a very strong union. The membership has clearly stood with the leadership of the union in demanding respect for the collective bargaining process, ad-herence to shared governance pro-cedures, and a more collaborative style of administrative manage-ment. We have not backed down when these things have not been forthcoming. We have stood tall and we have fought back, while one Board member decided not to run for re-election and the superin-tendent/president resigned effec-tive June 30. Unwittingly, former Board member Victor King, in a Glendale News Press article dated May 5, 2009, explained why he and the superintendent/president are, in effect, no longer connected with the college. After slamming an "open-door" policy toward shared governance, King stated, "apparently, the faculty did not want to pull together and work under this president. I hope the faculty will do so under the next." (The emphasis is mine.) This hierarchical and elitist ap-proach to shared governance is at odds with our culture, the law, and "best practices." No wonder this former Board member and re-signed president have had such difficulty with the faculty. Let me digress for a moment and catch you up to speed on the latest happenings with Dr. Audre Levy. On May 5, the Board ac-cepted Dr. Levy's resignation and on May 7 she was offered and ac-cepted a job in the Lone Star Col-lege District at the CyFair campus. On the afternoon of the 7th during

negotiations, the Guild was in-formed that Dr. Levy was bought out of the fourth year (next year) of her employment at GCC. With-out going into detail, some of which you already know, the buy-out cost the District over $300,000. There is evidently no contingency language in the buy-out that changes its nature if she finds another job. No one in the Guild knew anything about this until it was asked at the bargaining table on May 7. Buy-out negotia-tions had been going since Febru-ary and finalized in March, before April's Board election. I think the Board was trying to do the right thing here, but in the wrong way. I think the way they did it poten-tially raises some very serious ethical, legal, and fiscal misman-agement issues. By messing up the process, the Board allowed a now-resigned superintendent/president to draw three incomes next year (the buy-out from GCC, her salary from her Lone Star job, and her retirement from STRS), as well as not obtaining the necessary buy-in from the faculty. And all this is being done at a time of tremen-dous fiscal uncertainty in the state. The Guild has also been in-volved in political campaigns at the statewide level. Few CFT lo-cals contributed as much as we did last year to the Prop. 92 campaign. This year we have pushed for members to support the Employee Free Choice Act and encouraged members to write, e-mail, or call Senator Dianne Feinstein to get her to support it as well. In addi-tion, we have encouraged mem-bers to vote NO on all the May 19 propositions, except 1B. The propositions are confusing, the product of slimy political deals, and, most importantly, don't solve California's structural budget

(Continued from page 2) Gabbing and Grousing with Gordy



by Phyllis Eckler, 2nd Vice President, GCC Guild

W ith a state budget teeter-ing on the brink of dis-aster and major cut-

backs expected for community colleges in the next few months, districts are preparing plans to cut sections and courses in the upcom-ing semesters. While there is a limit to the number of sections that can be cut before the college be-gins to hurt its own funding for-mula (which is based on the num-ber of students it serves), this purging of courses falls heavily on the backs of adjunct faculty. Part-time faculty are the buffer that saves full-time tenure track posi-tions from being cut. Full-time or contract employees are basically guaranteed a full load, so cuts to programs are done by eliminating adjunct faculty. One worry is that students who are turned away because there are not enough classes for them will not return in the future. This could greatly affect the growth of a col-lege and the expansion of pro-grams for which plans and build-ings have been created over the

course of years. Cannibalizing one’s college budget in order to stay alive to see another day can backfire by sending students to other districts or even to private training schools where students feel they can get through a pro-gram more quickly. However, another unseen casu-alty of these course reduction plans is the adjunct faculty mem-ber. A part-time teacher who has begun a path toward a career in community college teaching may become disillusioned about any prospect of making a living in the field. When an employee is let go with only a week’s notice or is cut back to earning less than what un-employment benefits are offering, he/she may think twice about pur-suing a career in community col-lege teaching. The result of this short-sighted thinking about class cuts is that these excellent teachers will also go elsewhere. In the fu-ture, when replacement or new faculty members are needed, whether for full-time or adjunct positions, the number of experi-enced and eager employees for these programs will be limited.

Minimizing the Pain

What can districts do prevent this kind of attrition? Be honest with adjunct faculty. Don’t set up a schedule of classes for an em-ployee only to pull the rug out from under him/her a week or two

before the semester starts. Give long-term excellent teachers 67% loads so that if one class gets can-celled, they can still afford to keep their college teaching job as their mainstay and will still be eligible for district health benefits (which require a 40% teaching load). Cir-culate information about grants that may bring money into a de-partment to help pay an adjunct’s salary and provide help in grant writing for individual part-timers who want to apply for these funds. This kind of district commitment to contingent faculty will reap re-wards in the form of loyalty, en-couragement of nascent faculty to learn new skills (such as online teaching) and promote the reputa-tion of the Glendale District as a good place to work among current "road scholars."

Unemployment Benefits

If you will not be working (or working at a much reduced level) during the summer intersession you have a right to apply for un-employment insurance benefits. The state budget crisis may result in colleges cutting class sections, even at the last minute, for this summer and fall. Part-time faculty who lose some or all of their as-signments may be eligible to col-lect unemployment benefits. You can apply online at www.edd.ca.gov or by phone at (800) 300-5616.


ADJUNCT JUNCTION

Where Have All the Teachers Gone?


crisis. The way to do that is not by permanently under-funding public services, or artificially capping state spending, or fund-ing education based on gam-bling, but by supporting a pro-gressive tax policy. Still, there are areas where the Guild could and should do bet-ter. I think we need to do a better job of seeking out and

encouraging former faculty members and others to run for the Board of Trustees. I also think we need to develop better relations with local politicians on the City Council and elsewhere. We need to continue to nurture our relationship with the Glen-dale Teachers Association. But, most importantly, despite differ-ences of opinion and some mis-communication, we need to be-gin to repair our relationship with the Board. The relationship

has been damaged over the last several years, but with changes on the Board and a new superin-tendent/president, I think we can move in a much more productive and positive direction. This place can get back on track if we start to replace distrust and suspicion with mutual respect and good will. It may take several years to get there, but we should begin the process now.

(Continued from page 7) Gabbing and Grousing with Gordy

Adjuncts are considered "temporary" employees who work without contracts and are not guaranteed continued employment. If you are not offered an as-signment or if your workload is reduced, you can file for unemployment benefits. The EDD will determine whether you qualify. Claims may be filed with the EDD on or right after the last day of the semester (for spring 2009 that is Wednesday, June 10). This is also the last day of the week that you are considered by the district to have "worked." Yes, you may have a paycheck coming from Glendale College afterwards, but when you turn grades in you are unemployed! In the past we have suggested using your last final exam day but this is no longer safe. Human Resources, which reports your last work date, cannot know every part-timer’s last final exam date so they always report your last work day as the last day of the semester. You, therefore, must also use that date. Since the district must report to the EDD, they use this date for clarity’s sake, so your application must corroborate the above date. You will be asked for the amount you were paid for your last week of work. The amount you were paid for your last week of work can be de-termined by dividing your usual monthly pay by four (weeks). You also need to keep in mind that there is a week layover in receiving that first unemployment check. When you call, have ready your social security num-ber, and the name, address, and phone number of the college. Be aware that some of the questions that are asked are meant to trick you into saying that you will

be back again teaching in the fall or they will ask if this is a break period. You have to let the EDD know that you have been laid off because your contract ended and just keep repeating the phrase "I have no reasonable assurance of work with this employer in the future." Sometimes EDD personnel are not aware that, unlike K-12 teachers, community college teachers, who have little or no other employment, are entitled to unemployment at the end of a semester. Even if one’s name is in the schedule to teach in a future se-mester, possible class cancellations mean that adjunct faculty have "no reasonable assurance" of future em-ployment. There will be a question on the form ask-ing if you are a teacher; when responding, be sure to cite the Cervisi decision which applies directly to "at will" adjunct faculty (help can be found at http://www.faccc.org/part_time/unemployment/edd_cervisi.HTM) You will also be asked if you are a union member. This is for unions that pay their members during times of hiatus or help them get jobs. This does not apply to community college part-timers, so you should answer that questions with a "no," since in fact you are not technically a member of the Guild when you are not working at GCC.

(Continued from page 8) ADJUNCT JUNCTION

10 www.glendale.edu/chaparral Chaparral/May/June

Standard I: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness (all together)

I A. Mission I B. Improving Institutional Effectiveness Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services (in three parts)

II A. Instructional Programs II B. Student Support Services II C. Library and Learning Support Services Standard III: Resources (in four parts)

III A. Human Resources III B. Physical Resources III C. Technology Resources III D. Financial Resources Standard IV: Leadership and Governance (all together)

IV A. Decision Making Roles and Processes IV B. Board and Administrative Organization

What happens next?

Under John’s leadership, we are all committed to a transparent process with input by all constitu-encies. The current timeline does not include enough time before the end of the semester to schedule “town hall meetings” as originally planned to solicit and discuss input from the campus community. The current plan is to notify the cam-pus community by email and make the “document” available for re-view on the accreditation website and solicit feedback online in June and through the summer months. The self-study document will be organized and formatted in late summer and be submitted to the Board for approval. Our publica-tion deadline is the end of Novem-ber. Preparations will intensify for the evaluation team’s site visit in March 2010. Recent ACCJC actions…what does it mean?

Every year, approximately 26-30 institutions are scheduled for accreditation site visits to

determine their accreditation status. The visits occur in March and October of each year. The re-ports submitted to the ACCJC by the numerous evaluation teams are reviewed by the ACCJC. Official “action” letters are then forwarded by the ACCJC to these institutions informing them of their accredita-tion “status,” outlining any recom-mendations and any applicable timelines for special reports or visits prior to the mandatory Mid-term Report in three years. In January, four of the thirteen institutions that had been recently evaluated received reaffirmation of their accreditation status. All four of these colleges received “recommendations,” one was given a six-month period to cor-rect a deficiency, and two were given one year to clear up issues. The rest received “sanctions” such as warning or probation, and one was put on “show cause” (the most serious sanction). During the period that colleges are “on sanc-tion” their accreditation status is retained. Typically, the “Two Year Rule” is implemented, requiring


A C C R E D I TAT I O N U P D AT E Where are we now? by Jill Lewis, Accreditation Manager

T he accreditation reorganization effort is in full swing. Academic Senate President John Queen is press-ing forth with an aggressive schedule. Nine faculty and administrative writers took the lead on the vari-ous standards, with the support of an assistant writer and/or resource member(s). Review teams were

set up consisting of 4 members: an administrator, faculty, classified and student. The Accreditation Steering Committee was formed to act as a decision-making team and “sounding board” for the self-study document. This committee consists of 8 administrators, 8 faculty, 3 classified employees and 2 students. The first draft documents were completed in April, and the second drafts are due during May. As the second draft documents are submitted, they are scheduled for discussion and examined by the Ac-creditation Steering Committee, individual review teams and the writers. As the latest changes are completed, the drafts will then be presented to the standing committees, campus community and the Board of Trustees. It is the intent of the committee to distribute the drafts to be reviewed by standard (in nine parts as listed below) as they are completed and not as an entire document at this time.


and older were exempt, but the Chancellor’s Office has ruled that this amounts to age discrimination. The Senate therefore voted to extend the requirement to all ages. (Other exemptions for nursing students and those with medical excuses are still in effect.) At two Board of Trustees meet-ings this year, Ed Karpp presented data generated by the Accountabil-ity Reporting for the Community Colleges project that showed that the college has relatively low success with students who com-plete basic skills courses going on to complete degree-applicable courses (in the same subject.) The Senate accordingly asked the Foundational Skills committee to send it a report on the college’s plan to improve the student rate of success in this area. The commit-tee has indicated that they will be forwarding a plan to the Senate next fall.

Task Forces A number of task forces have been created as well. The Senate established a joint task force with the Los Angeles City College Aca-demic Senate to devise an instruc-tional services agreement vis-à-vis LACC’s new VanDeKamp cam-pus. The task force attended a public presentation at LACC about the new campus at the end of April. At the presentation, LACC indicated that they are not pres-ently financially able to begin pro-grams there and that the L.A. Community College district will administer programs for a five-year period. Those programs will include career advancement, tech-nology preparation, and workforce readiness. They also announced that a charter high school would

be phased in there over the next four years. We are in the process of coordinating the first joint meeting between the two Senate representatives. In response to a request from the Graduation Requirements committee, the Senate created a task force on graduation require-ments. The task force will look at our GCC graduation requirements and rates and how we compare with other colleges in these areas. The task force is also likely to review the philosophy of awarding degrees, as expressed in our current requirements. The Senate also voted to revise the tenure-track hiring process. The motion provides that hiring committees may send forward one or more candidates to the final interview, that the chair of the hir-ing committee will be included in the final interviews of the recom-mended candidate(s), and that in the event that the final hiring committee does not choose the forwarded candidates, it will consult with the hiring committee to ascertain whether the committee desires to send forward any addi-tional candidates. Campus Executive adopted this proposal with some minor modifications.

Student Equity The Senate voted to approve the Student Equity committee mis-sion statement. According to the statement the committee has four primary goals:

• Develop curriculum that reflects the true diversity of intellectual pursuits and/or reflects the interests of our constituent populations;

• Recruit, mentor, and provide ongoing support to

diverse faculty and staff who excel in their fields of expertise;

• Recruit, mentor and pro-vide ongoing support to students from the diverse constituents of the college (and document access and success of these popula-tions).

• Assess and guarantee access to physical and technology resources given the needs of the college’s diverse constituents.

(The complete mission statement can be found on the Senate web site: http://www.glendale.edu/senate/)

Next Year’s Senate and Senate Executive The Senate elected three sena-tors-at-large in April: Tina Ander-sen-Wahlberg, Greg Perkins, and myself. We instituted an online election that resulted in increased turnout of full-time faculty but a decline in part-time faculty turn-out. Be assured that the Senate is very concerned about this decline and will endeavor next year to better alert part-time faculty of the election process.

The Senate will elect all new officers in May, except the presi-dent (I have one more year left on my term.) This means that a presi-dent-elect will be chosen and after one year will serve as president from 2010 to 2012. This provides a year of observation and prepara-tion for the president-elect, instead of being thrust into the job a month after the election.

(Continued from page 3) SPEAKING OF THE SENATE



by Maria Kretzmann, Biology Division

T his past winter session, my Biology 146 class had the privilege of making the in-

augural trip to GCC’s new field station in Baja California. I was fortunate to have Greg Meyer of CSU Monterey Bay, with over 20 years of teaching experience in Baja, along to help out with the course. We had a diverse and in-teresting group of students this year, including one of my GCC biology faculty colleagues and our biology lab technician, a highly motivated high school student, a retired couple with extensive travel experience, and a

photography student who had never been out of the US before. Four members of the group were enthusiastic returning GCC Baja Program veterans, having already made at least one trip with another class. One student from northern California found our program on the web and managed to join us within two days at GCC for the start of the class. Other students brought unique talents to the group, from singers and musicians to artists and skilled birders. Every member of the group fully embraced the group living and learning experience. The beautiful new GCC field station is located about a mile and a half north of the small fishing village of Bahía de los Angeles on

the shores of the Sea of Cortès, just opposite the Midriff Islands. This region is known as the Gala-pagos of México because of the amazing diversity of life in the area. In my five years of teaching a Marine Mammal Biology class at Long Island University in New York, I could only dream of pro-viding my students the kind of field experience we got every day in Bahía. Just off the beach at our new facility are rocky tide pools filled with an incredible variety of invertebrate life. Each day that we were out in boats on the bay, we encountered huge groups of common dolphins engaged in feeding frenzies, visible from a distance due to the large numbers

Inaugural trip to GCC’s new Baja California field station


of diving pelicans, cormorants, blue-footed boobies and other birds taking advantage of the con-centrated prey provided by dol-phin hunting activity. We were fortunate enough one day to find a pair of enormous fin whales and observe them diving and surfacing synchronously for over an hour. Another day, those students who were not deterred by the cold wa-ter temperatures had the chance to snorkel with a colony of California sea lions. The town of Bahía de los An-geles has played host to Glendale College students for over 35 years, under the Baja California Field Studies Program that until this year has utilized a rental property in town. The program has been wisely shepherded by Dr. José Mercadé until his retirement from the college this year. Fortunately, José remains as station manager and was there to welcome us and ensure the smooth operation of all activities at the field station. In addition, our wonderful long-time cook Alejandrina continues to pro-vide delicious meals three times a day at the station, although she recently opened her own popular restaurant in town. The new sta-tion has several advantages over

the old rental property. Being slightly removed from town, there are fewer distractions from the academic work that remains the hallmark of our program. The setting is pristine, with spectacular sunrises, sunsets and starry night skies, in a unique desert habitat with many endemic species (found nowhere else in the world). The new facility is much larger, and could potentially accommodate two classes simultaneously. It is composed of several buildings (all wheelchair accessible), including a large garage to house station boats and vehicles, a bathroom block with showers and toilets, a kitchen and living area building, an aca-demic classroom building, staff quarters with offices for faculty and the station manager, and a large student dormitory building with shelves for storage of per-sonal belongings. The comfort-able sleeping cots are usually taken out onto the beach for sleep-ing under the stars, weather per-mitting (even in winter, many stu-dents chose this option). I hope that more of my GCC colleagues will consider designing courses to be taught at this beauti-ful new field station, and that more of our students will consider

participating in one of these unforgettable academic adven-tures. Starting this summer, the station will have 24-hour electric-ity (which only became available in town last year) and satellite Internet service. Dr. Javier Gago is offering his popular Marine Bi-ology courses during the first sum-mer session (June 22-July 16), and Guy Van Cleave of Columbia Col-lege will teach field courses that include both marine and desert ecosystems (July 27-August 12). In addition, we will be soliciting proposals from faculty at other institutions who would like to of-fer courses at this wonderful satel-lite campus of Glendale College. To view more photos from the winter class, please visit pi-casaweb.google.com/ gccmarine-mammals, or check out our tempo-rary website at seco.glendale.edu/~baja. For more information, con-tact the Baja office at [email protected] (x3159) or Javier Gago or Maria Kretzmann (co-directors of the Program) at [email protected] (x5369) or mkretzma@ glendale.edu (x5363). Photos: Keith Conover


The following twelve instructors, listed below, have been approved for Tenure by the GCC Board of Trustees.

David Attyah, Art History Steven Bie, Social Sciences Jayne Campbell, Music Nancy Getty, Librarian Ira Heffler, Speech Communication Phillip Kazanjian, Business Administration Dana Marterella, English Brian McDonald, ESL Deborah Robiglio, ESL, Continuing Education Charlotte Schulten, Mathematics Mohammed Taghdis, Counselor, Continuing Education Fabiola Torres, Ethnic Studies These instructors prior to obtaining their full-time positions at GCC served a combined 58 years working part-time as instructors.

A well-educated group, they hold a combined 14 advanced degrees, including doctorates.

In addition they can now apply, if they possess required credentials, for advance in academic rank from Instructor to Assistant Professor.

We congratulate them on their accomplishments.

TWELVE for TENure!

by Phil Kazanjian, Business Division

about tenure... Tenure is a system in which newly hired full-time college faculty undergo a four-year probationary period during which their work is continually evaluated. During this time they are subject to non-renewal of their employment contract with-out recourse. At the end of the four-year period, if faculty peers and college management agree, the member is awarded tenure.

Tenure is not a lifetime job guar-antee; rather it is a right to due process. Tenure gives faculty the Independence to speak out about contentious matters and to challenge the administration without putting their jobs on the line.

Tenure in higher education has a long history in the United States going back to the 1800s.

What’s Next? Some thirteen motions are pending before the Senate at the end of the year. Revisions or deletions to policies or regula-tions regarding adjunct hiring, controversial issues, and the role

of the Senate are proposed. Other topics of action include changed procedures for adminis-trative withdrawals, new faculty orientation, the disciplines’ list, the adjunct web site, student learning outcomes, academic rank, a new academic home for the child development discipline, and distance education. You can

check out the Senate web site for more information via the agendas and minutes. As you can see, it’s been a busy and productive semester, and we will no doubt hit the ground running in September. Have a great and restful summer from the Senate!

(Continued from page 11) SPEAKING OF THE SENATE


would allocate approximately $300,000 to hasten an employee’s departure. More heated comments conveyed the belief that the pack-age should have had a contingency clause so that if Dr. Levy obtained comparable employment, all or part of the package could be canceled. More Surprises from the Board

After the unusually intense dia-logue between faculty and trustees, the Board went into closed session

for several hours. Ignoring campus requests for some type of inclusive process for the interim position, the Board then announced their deci-sion to appoint Vice President of Instructional Services Dawn Lind-say as interim president starting July 1. The appointment is for a one-year period during which the Board will convene a hiring com-mittee for a permanent president. What is the Proper Role of the Board?

Ultimately, such matters as selecting presidents (including

acting, interim or permanent status) and terminating a president’s contract early (often with some form of buy-out provision) are in-deed within the Board’s purview. However, the decision-making process in this case has led to many serious questions about the Board’s communication with employee or-ganizations. Time will tell if the Board will bridge the gap to im-prove relations between employee organizations and the members of the Board of Trustees.

(Continued from page 1) DEPARTURE OF DR. LEVY

institutions to resolve their outstanding deficiencies in a spe-cific timeframe not to exceed two years. If compliance does not oc-cur, the accreditation status is in jeopardy. Common areas of deficiency…

The most common problems (recommendations) for institutions include: the linkage of institutional planning, program review, budget and decision-making processes concerning the allocation of re-sources; SLOAC plans and time-lines to meet the 2012 proficiency level outlined in the ACCJC Ru-bric; financial responsibility; staff-ing and ethics policies; safe keep-ing of student records; multi-campus decision making policies and processes; and Board issues. How does GCC measure up?

In 2004, GCC received ten recommendations from our regularly scheduled accreditation visit.

Many of these were completed over the subsequent years and ad-dressed in our 2007 Midterm Re-port, and others were accomplished during the next year. The signifi-cant issue remaining for us is “linkage” of our planning, program review and budget allocation proc-esses. We have made significant strides in this area but will need to show evidence that our budget de-cisions are based on this linkage and that we use ongoing evaluation and planning processes for institu-tional improvement and to improve student leaning. The commission will almost certainly not ignore the fact that this issue has been an ongoing recommendation since 1987. We still have the op-portunity to implement changes and evaluate our processes for im-provement in order to provide evi-dence of our progress and compli-ance prior to our March 2010 site visit. What can we do to help?

Everyone can be involved and assist with the process by partici-pating in the campus-wide review of the document. This will start

with the standing committees, and John Queen will forward email messages in the coming months to share the draft documents online. All you will need is online access, your internal links password and a little time. Accreditation is the re-sponsibility of the entire campus community. When the evaluation team visits, they may request to meet with constituency groups, committees or individuals to under-stand more fully how the college operates. You can help by being informed, active and involved. I hope to share more informa-tion in the coming months and in-vite you to visit the accreditation website for more information. http://www.glendale.edu/accreditation/.

(Continued from page 10) ACCREDITATION


Megan Ernst (Noncredit ESL) gave birth to a healthy baby girl on November 23, 2008. Since Megan com-pleted cancer treatment just three years ago, she and her family are especially over-joyed to welcome this new "bundle of Joy." Megan has been on family leave this semester, but will return to GCC in June. Craig Kupka, who directs the GCC Jazz Band and the Saturday Jazz program at the college, has received a "Diamond Award" from the city of Glendale for lifetime achievement in the arts. He received the award at a ceremony on May 14. Steve Marsden and Sandy Lee are very proud of their three daughters: eldest daugh-ter Lani is nearing the end of her two years of working in China as an English teacher at Hohai University in Nan-jing and coordinating the Volunteers in Asia program. She was accepted by numerous graduate schools and chose to attend Johns Hopkins School of Interna-tional Studies in Washington, D.C. to be where the action is—and President Obama! Second daughter Amber will graduate from UC Berkeley this June, double majoring in sociology and ethnic studies.

She will most likely be re-turning to Los Angeles and job hunting—any referrals? Third daughter Jada has started as a freshman at Santa Clara University. Russian teacher Dr. Oleg Minin recently authored an article on the writings of Pavel Filonov, a key Russian avant-garde artist. Denis Pra, Adjunct Instructor of French, and a PhD candidate in French at UCLA, gave a conference in French this year at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on Luis Bunuel's cinema, titled "Unsatisfied desire in the surrealist films of Luis Bunuel." Armenian teacher Nick Garnik Sahakyan is helping the community by proofread-ing the translations of Jacque-line Thrash's medical book Armenian Phrases for Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy. Frankie Strong, Governance Office Coordinator, recently completed the Leadership Glendale program. The program involves individuals who are committed to using their leadership skills for the benefit of the commu-nity. Based on her

involvement, she has been recruited to serve on the Board of Directors for the Glendale Association for the Retarded. Congratulations, Frankie! Shihoko Tatsugawa, Instructor of Japanese and head of our Japanese program, was a key organizer of GCC's Japan Fair. The fair was held to honor the three Rotary Clubs which generously pledged $5,000-$11,000 to our Japanese program after Rotary President Makiko Nakasone initiated this donation. Her son had been a student in Professor Tatsugawa's class. Andra Verstraete's daughter, Becca, will be graduating with honors from Cleveland High School of Reseda, Humanities Magnet. She has been recruited to play soccer at Occidental College in the fall, and will be major-ing in Critical Theory and Social Justice. In addition, she has been named the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation)/FARMERS Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the Los Angeles City Section. The award/scholarship is based on excellence in athletics, academics and character.

Documents

Volume 17, Issue 6 May/June 2009 CHAPARRALdent of Lone Star College district’s CyFair campus in Texas. Due to numerous issues over the past several years involving President Levy