I sent an e-mail to the Senate Presidents from Compton College and Lassen College in an attempt to get some insights into their experiences. As I'm sure you all know, Compton is now a part of El Camino College and Lassen just got off probation and is now on warning. I received a response from Saul Panski from Compton College and thought I'd share it with you. I had specifically asked him what it was like working with Mr. Henry as a Special Trustee and what they would or wouldn't do differently to get off of ACCJC sanctions.

Here is my question then his response.

Dear Sirs,
I have been trying to reach you both to get your guidance and input. I am Senate President at Solano College and we are facing "Show Cause" and have Tom Henry as our Special Trustee. I wanted to find out from both of you what it was/is like to work with Mr. Henry, how you've handled continuing to fight for faculty voice in the process of recovery, and what you've done that has worked or didn't work to move from your accreditation status.
Thanks,
Jeff Lamb

And now, Saul's response... (I edited out his personal contact information)

Have you actually been placed on "show cause?" I know you were waiting to hear from the Commission. This is extremely distressing to me, as the Commission means business. We went from "show cause" to loss of accreditation within four months.

Here is what I would say. Follow Mr. Henry's recommendations to the letter and show the Commission that all segments at Solano are working with him. He has the ear of the Executive Director of the ACCJC and as long as the College seems to be following his plan and guidance, I do not believe the Commission will pull the plug. He is your number one asset. He also brought Lassen back from the brink.

At Compton we found Tom to be professional and willing to work with faculty leadership. He respects faculty but has no real knowledge of post-secondary academic affairs (maybe that has changed with his experience at Compton and now Lassen) We worked with him to pass the partnership bill that allowed us to partner but he was just as ready to close us down if that bill had not passed. I have to tell you that he also never made us a promise that he didn't keep.

Here's the deal--neither the Legislature, the Chancellor, or the State Senate carry any weight whatsoever with the Commission. What the faculty needs to do is "admit" to the severity of the problems, work with Tom, and make sure that your Board and administration work together and in a conciliatory way with the Commission.

I want to tell you that I am confident that with the right strategy you will be able to pull Solano back from "show cause" to "probation" or "warning" and eventually back to fully, non-sanctioned accredited status.

The College also needs to reassure students that the institution is fully accredited and will remain so, to stop a possible drain of worried students (and moreso their parents)

If you think it helpful, you can also let Tom know we have talked. I think he has a pretty good opinion of me. In fact, the faculty at Compton was pretty darned grateful for his role in helping us survive the loss of accreditation, so grateful, in fact, that the Union and Senate Presidents went to Sacramento for his retirement dinner. Little did we know that he would be working even harder after he supposedly retired.

Hang in there!

Saul

Saul J, Panski
President, Compton Community College District Academic Senate
Chairperson, El Camino Compton Center Faculty Council
Vice President, El Camino College Academic Senate
Professor of History, Compton Education Center
spanski@elcamino.edu
panski_s@compton.edu
saulp@aol.com
310 900-1600 ext. 2560