(From The Dissenter’s Dictionary, 1999)
Both Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges were slated for Accreditation review for the 1998 cycle. Early on, however, problems arose at IVC. In May or June of ’97, IVC’s new interim president, Raghu P. Mathur, ignoring academic senate confirmation, appointed his crony Glenn Roquemore chair of the IVC Accreditation Self-Study after R. Welch resigned from that position, owing to her distrust of Mathur. But Roquemore's appointment, a few months later, as acting VP of Instruction forced him to abandon the Self-Study chairship. Ultimately, two names were presented to the IVC Academic Senate for possible recommendation of a replacement: Connie Spar, and Ray Chandos, a member of the Old Guard. In a 15-4 vote, the senate chose Spar. Mathur ignored the recommendation and appointed his crony Chandos. Faculty were appalled.
A few months later, Chandos was in the news. According to an April '98 Register article, "Harsh criticisms directed at the embattled South Orange County Community College trustees were removed from a draft report prepared for the Irvine Valley College's accreditation review...." The Self-Study committee’s original report had included various criticisms and embarrassing facts. Chandos, as committee chair, had simply removed or softened them; further, he included positive elements: "Committee members said some statements that were never in their evaluation were added to the draft report written by Ray Chandos...Omitted criticisms include passages referring to an Orange County Superior Court judge's finding that the board violated the Brown Act last school year and that additional lawsuits are pending that accuse the trustees of violating open meeting laws. The committee's original report also attacked the board for 'micromanaging' the district and routinely ignoring the advice of top administrators and experts." (4/21/98)
Said the Times: "The accreditation commission is aware of the district's problems--fiscal woes, a drain of top administration, infighting over institutional governance and a trustee recall campaign--and will not be deceived 'for three nanoseconds' by an inaccurate self-study report, [the commission's Judith] Watkins said." (4/22/98)
In July (of ’98), a "supplemental report" for standard 10 (on governance) was submitted to the commission. It said: "Under the current president, decisions are made unilaterally by the president, and at his direction are kept at the administrative level only, or reflect board directive[s] irrespective of the college-wide governance organizations...Outside observers note that the Board continues to make sweeping changes with 'very little depth and understanding of consequences' of those actions..., without 'linking changes to evidence'..., and without consulting the administrators most affected...."
At the close of the Accrediting Team’s visit to IVC in October of '98, Team chair Steven Epler, referring to the division and discord at the college, said, "We were, frankly, stunned" (Times, 10/30/98). Pamila Fisher, chair of the Saddleback College Team, stated that "We have deep concerns about the divisiveness and the disharmony on this campus" (Times, 10/30/98).
In January of ’99, each college was placed on "warning" status. In his letter to president Mathur, David B. Wolff, Executive Director of the Accrediting Commission (ACCJC), wrote that the "Commission is compelled to issue a warning and to ask that IVC correct the deficiencies noted...At the time of the visit by the Evaluating Team, IVC was experiencing the effects of disharmony that have existed at the district and college level for an extended period of time. These effects evidenced themselves most significantly in the area of governance...The district and its colleges should immediately and persistently take steps to insure that the governing board limit itself to appropriate policy-setting roles..[and] assess the leadership issues at IVC and take appropriate measures...." (1/19/99)
Unsurprisingly, the Commission's "Evaluation Report" for IVC noted the inadequacy of the college's self-study. Further, it found that "A high-profile, often controversial group of trustees felt obligated to involve itself actively in the day-to-day operations of the district and of the two colleges far beyond the traditional roles for trustees...A significant portion of the IVC presidential selection controversy results from a revised board policy in executive hiring. This policy, adopted in March 1998 in another 4 to 3 vote, allows the board to involve itself inappropriately in the selection process including the conducting of interviews three levels deep in the organization...This policy brings the board totally out of compliance with Standard 10.A.4...."
In February ('99), the IVC Academic Senate unanimously passed a resolution, included in that body's response to the Accrediting Commission's report, calling "upon the Trustees to immediately reassign Raghu Mathur elsewhere within the South Orange County Community College District...."
In early April (‘99), the California Citizens Commission on Higher Education issued a report, recommending the elimination of locally elected community college boards. According to the Register, "Too often, the commission argues, college boards micromanage their campuses, undermining trained administrators and creating disharmony. Commissioners cited the three years of turmoil at South Orange County Community College District as an example of what could go wrong with locally elected trustees...." (4/6/99)
In June (’99), the two colleges were informed that they continued to be on "warning" status. In mid-November, the Accrediting Teams’ chairs visited the two colleges yet again (Fisher, who was unavailable, was replaced). In Late October (’99), then board president Dorothy Fortune and chancellor Cedric Sampson took the extraordinary step of sending a letter to the Dept. of Education (in late October), alleging that the Accrediting Commission had been biased against the board and in favor of "dissident" faculty. (See DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LETTER.)
The Commission's latest decision will be released in late January, 2000.
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