President’s Report to the Senate

Meetings:

I met twice with Dr. Laguerre. The first time was to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Academic Senate. He was interested in when we met, how we are organized, the standing committees of the Senate, etc… He also mentioned that he would be interested in having a 5-10 minute permanent slot on the Senate agenda… What do you think?

Then last week he has asked that Leslie Rota and I co-chair his "transition team" over the summer. We met to discuss what this team would do. In essence he is looking for us to organize an internal and an external team that can inform him of the good work being done at the college and further define the community's needs. I think this is a great opportunity to highlight our successes and to begin to discuss our challenges. Senators, if there is a program/ person/ service/ or area that you know is an unsung hero on campus, let Leslie or I know. We want to put our best foot forward. Also, if there is that area where you know we can improve… pass it on.

At Shared Governance Council we discussed quite a bit, extending well beyond our typical meeting time:

1. Review of budget reduction process    
   
   1. Constituent groups presented philosophy statements
      
   2. FABPAC prioritized
      
   3. Delta points have been set for July, September and January for funding
      
2. Reorganization
   
   1. As you've all seen, the reorganization is upon us.
      
   2. Dr. Laguerre has participated in these discussions.
      
   3. Members of Executive Council presented their plans for reorganization
      
      1. Academic Affairs
         
      2. Student Services
         
      3. Technology and Learning Resources
         
      4. Human Resources
         
      5. Administrative and Business Services
         
   4. These changes are not presented as a "done deal" and Dr. Jensen has assured the committee (and by extension the campus community) that he is willing to meet "everyday, all day" to discuss viable alternatives.
      
   5. Of note are the six classified/manager positions that are slated for lay-offs in July unless the numbers change.
      
   6. One item that Dr. Laguerre mentioned was the future possibility of putting the library and distance education under Academic Affairs.
      
3. Of note, as well, is that Shared Governance and FABPAC will be meeting over the summer. While no "substantive" decisions will be made… Dr. Jensen has made it clear that the "train doesn't stop" over summer.
   
4. Dr. Rich Christiansen also announced his retirement effective July 1.
   
5. Bob Johnson has accepted a job at another college.
   
6. Senators, SGC has asked that over the summer, all constituent groups have a clear alternate. Is there anyone who will be teaching over the summer and would be available to go to a few SGC meetings?
   

At the Board of Trustees Meeting:

1. Dr. Jensen communicated to the Board the FABPAC's request to consider changing our current law firm.
   
2. We heard from our National Debate Team Champions,
   
3. Got a bond update
   
4. The Board gave special recognition to Student Trustee Brannen
   
5. They accepted Laverne Beverly's and Frances Mason's retirements
   
6. We heard a sabbatical report from Dale Crandall-Bear and Annette D'ambrosia.
   
7. There was also an informative budget report on the 311 Q.
   

Other points of interest:

With the budget reductions, there are not only people, but programs that are on the "watch list". From what Dr. Jensen has said, these are programs that are not doing well (FTES) and they have been told that there is a problem. While no March 15 letters were sent this year, it is possible that there will be some reorganization or discontinuances next year. We need to be very watchful as these actions unfold. While I was not here in 2003/4, I've been told that the way programs were discontinued was not fair. Our 3 year long discussion on our current Program Discontinuance Policy is a direct result of it.

There will be hiring district-wide committees in the near future: The VP of Administrative and Business Services and the Director of Human Resources. I want to assure you that as Academic Senate President I will ensure that there is faculty representation on these hiring committees.

I have given the letter to be sent to ACCJC Chairperson Gaines to Dr. Jensen to be forwarded. (All communication between the college and ACCJC must come through his office.) Here is the letter I sent. As you can see, I took out the parenthetical sections and I also read through Jeannette's comments. I've made some stylistic changes to create a tighter letter. (On GoogleDocs the formatting didn't come through.) Senators, do you think it necessary to draft a letter to SCFA or not?