Listen to Raghu blame our problems on faculty leadership

Item 26 of last night’s meeting of the board of trustees was a discussion of the recommendations offered not long ago by the Accreditation agency (ACCJC).

At one point, Chancellor Mathur focused on those recommendations that pertain to District operations. They are:

IVC (#6): The board should immediately cease micromanaging.
Saddleback (#5): The board should immediately cease micromanaging.

IVC (#7): all groups should regularly define and evaluate leadership roles and scopes of authority. (A paraphrase.)

Saddleback (#4): Essentially: The board should abandon its objectionable and unprofessional hiring procedure (for college and district executives) and begin giving constituency groups a meaningful say (in the process).

IVC (#8): deal with the hostility, cynicism, despair and fear that plague the college.
Saddleback (#6): deal with the hostility, cyncism, despair and fear that plague the college.

The accreditors' most severe criticisms were directed at our Board and distict leadership (i.e., the Chancellor, the chief cause of fear, distrust, etc.).

Last night, upon having outlined what the colleges and trustees are doing to respond to these recommendations, Chancellor Mathur decided to offer some "thoughts."

I present them in their entirety. They are in two clips, each about 4 minutes long:

PART 1:

1. Negative press coverage is caused chiefly by faculty leaders.
2. Only 1 or 2 trustees have micromanaged (in the past), and only occasionally; yet “the whole board” gets a bad name.
3. The board is trying not to micromanage now. Everyone should appreciate that.
4. Faculty leadership should work more with leadership and the board. They should do so respectfully and reasonably.
5. Faculty concerns about loss of accreditation owing to trustee micromanagement are erroneous and unhelpful.
6. Hostility and fear are spread by this talk by faculty leaders.

PART 2:

1. Some issues, e.g., institutional memberships, should be dealt with at the staff level.
2. The trust problem is perhaps a carryover from previous boards. (I.e., Dorothy Fortune did it, not these guys.)
3. This board has spent money to recruit students and to repair buildings. The board has been generous with salaries.
4. Yet there’s no balance and fair play on the part of faculty and staff, who never come to thank the board.
5. Let’s not use inflammatory language in discussing issues.
6. It is everyone’s responsibility, not just the board’s, to improve our reputation.
7. Just now, some faculty leaders left. See? We listen to them, but they don’t listen to us.
8. Faculty, staff, trustees: talk to me first about problematic agenda items. Don’t “grandstand.”
9. We need to commend each other more.
10. Faculty should cease “inviting” board micromanagement by going directly to the board with issues.
11. The board must be treated with utmost respect.
12. “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”