You say termination - I say resignation! Let's call the whole thing off! (Rebel Girl)

Rebel Girl regrets bumping Red Emma's lead story but the Mission Viejo Dispatch continues its coverage of Mathur's departure with a look at the numbers and a consideration of the word choices used by the various parties.

highlights:

"It is costing the South OC College District a quarter million dollars for the early termination of Chancellor Raghu Mahur, so why is Board President Don Wagner telling the Register this is a retirement initiated by Mahur? (sic - name misspelled throughout) Wagner hasn’t yet returned a couple calls from the Dispatch.

The settlement agreement (SA) includes a mutual non-defamation clause and a mutual non-disclosure provision intended to keep the facts quiet, but the agreement itself and Mahur’s existing contract are public records. The SA conveniently characterizes the departure as a resignation for the purpose of retirement, but neither Mahur nor Wagner use those terms in written statements released Tuesday. If Mahur simply wanted an early exit from his contract, which expires June 30, 2011, the Trustees wouldn’t be paying him over $250,000 to leave. That amount is one year’s salary of $237,231 plus employee benefits, and plus Mahur’s attorney fees regarding the separation agreement...

...A question lingers whether Tom Fuentes and Dave Lang opposed the Board’s 5-2 action because they approved of Mahur’s performance or instead because they opposed paying over $250,000 dollars to end the relationship one year early.

Gag agreements are common in the private sector, but in the public sector don’t necessarily serve voters well, because the secrecy hides accountability of elected officials. The privacy rights of the employee must be preserved, but the Board unfortunately avoids accountability for describing how the District expects to benefit from its quarter million dollar investment for a one-year period."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

UPDATE: evidently, Board President Don Wagner has returned MVD's calls. The updated MVD piece includes this paragraph:

Wagner tells the Dispatch he disputes the conclusion that Mathur was fired or that the Board is buying out the remaining year of the Chancellor’s contract. His logic is that Mahur might perform some duties after being required to leave the college on “compensated leave” at the end of June. But under the settlement Mahur is under no obligation to perform any duties and still will receive his $20,000 monthly salary each month for a year. The spin is obviously designed to minimize controversy, but it just isn’t credible.

‪Comments

Anonymous‬ said... ‪ Wagner should return those telephone calls and clear things up.
‪Anonymous‬ said... ‪ With these people, the deceptions never end.
‪Penny Pincher‬ said... ‪ But Don is a fiscal conservative! Here it is, quoted from his website:

 "Every month California families stretch their budgets and pinch their pennies to make ends meet. Not so in the State Capitol. There, budget gimmicks and creative tax schemes encourage the state's spending spree. This has got to stop. 

When pet projects, political handouts to special interests, and ineffective programs take priority over California citizens putting gas in the car, buying new school clothes, or repairing the water heater, something is seriously wrong in our state. I will not stand by silently while the liberals in Sacramento put their interests - like lining their crony's pockets or buying off interest groups - ahead of the interests of California's families. "

How could Wagner fork so much moolah over to his crony (or special interest, take your pick) - Raghu Mathur while Californians are pinching their pennies?
‪Anonymous‬ said... ‪ Gag agreements are common in the public sector, especially when they involve faculty sexual harrassment complaints from their students. Many esteemed professors think it better they just go away quietly.
Anonymous‬ said... ‪ Howard Zinn has died, yet Fuentes lives on. Where is God?

Return to Sender (Red Emma)

We at Dissent the Blog see recent developments as an opportunity to embrace a lost art form, what with email and bloggery. It’s letter-writing time. See Chancellor Raghu Mathur’s own letter and be, well, inspired. Red Emma suggests getting out your own pen and some crisp leaves of “Hello Kitty” stationery and having at it. Helpfully, he includes below other exemplary letters — missives which not only model excellent correspondence behavior but, as is the tradition here at Dissent over the past thirteen years of the Mathur Regime, still manage to keep the pissed in epistolary. Remember, Dissenters, that the rhetorical secret to creating a really fine and effective letter involves, as Chancellor Mathur demonstrates in his own letter, capturing just the right tone, appropriate to the occasion. Here, then, six possible sample letters you might use in composing your own, just for the occasion. Postage not included. Friends, you gotta write ‘em to get ‘em! Occasion: Vacating Office

Dear Raghu: Thirty four years is a long time. It seems like only yesterday that you were starting your very first secret file, eavesdropping, skulking, collecting embarrassing photographs of board members. My, how time has flown. Please do let me know when you’d like to dismantle the electronic surveillance equipment and if you’ll be taking with you the portrait of Ronald Reagan hanging in front of the secret wall safe, and how you’d like staff to pack and ship the following: • Richard Nixon Snow Globe, with pumpkin patch, Checkers and a flurry of subpoenas. • Ronald Reagan jellybean dispenser (empty), in the shape of the island of Grenada. • The original four dollars and twenty five cents, in bills and coins, framed, which you carried in your pocket upon arriving in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. • Your collection of inspirational and motivational posters: Destiny, Motivation, Attitude, Strength, Pride, Duplicity and Excellent Bowel Movements. • The photograph of you with Jesus, autographed (by both of you) and inscribed, “What Would We Do?” and two smiley faces. (Gosh, I will always remember the occasion of his visit, and the personal tour you gave Him of the ATEP campus.) Like you, I have treasured every moment of working together, and look forward to my new position as Vice Chancellor of your online educational resource, Mathur’s Academy of Managementarian Success and, further, to helping write and edit your memoirs, The Ten Commandments of Highly Effective Effectors. Love, Your Secretary

Occasion: Return of Items

Dear Chancellor Mathur: Now that we’ve arranged your retirement, we are writing to thank you for the opportunity to have worked so closely with you and request that you return those, shall we say, special and confidential items you have so faithfully guarded and kept securely in your office safe, behind the photograph of Ronald Reagan, from the hands of reporters or our family members and which now, we imagine, will be of less use to you than in the past. We would also appreciate return of the negatives. Sincerely, SOCCCD Board

Occasion: Resignation (Personal)

Dear Mrs. Chancellor and all the little Chances: After a great deal of reflection and discussion with, well, everybody your husband and father sued or was sued by, slandered, blackballed, lied to, recommended for anger management counseling, made up totally fictional stories about and generally fucked with, I would like to thank you for the guidance you offered him and concur with — and wholeheartedly support! — your effort of reflection over, and helpful discussion of, the decision to choose now as, indeed, the ideal time for your father and husband (uncle and brother, nephew and family member), Mr. Raghu Mathur, to indeed consider and pursue his next professional challenge. As a strong believer in the importance of family, I am so very pleased that you will now have the opportunity to spend time with him. We’ve spent plenty, thank you. Collegially, A. Colleague

Occasion: Exploding courses

Dear Chancellor Raghu Mathur: Your recent communication has been made available to our office. It has come to our attention that your letter of resignation, while no doubt attempting to communicate your decision, also suggests a serious threat. With white powder packets mailed to professors and students dressed in camo gear roaming campuses while armed with paint ball guns, we ask that you avoid using adjectives which unnecessarily provoke an emergency situation, and cause alarm. As regards your sentence, “Online course offerings have exploded,” we feel it our job to point out that offerings cannot in fact explode. We are only security experts, but our terrific Composition teachers taught us that much. Please do take steps immediately to correct this egregious error in syntax and word choice, toward making our campuses, states, nation and world indeed a safer place and, in the future, find someone to proofread your work, whether in the remaining months of your employment -- its minutes ticking like a time bomb -- or in your next professional challenge. Sincerely, U.S. Department of Homeland Security cc: Saddleback College campus police

Occasion: State and National recognition

Dear Almost Ex-Chancellor Mathur: We at the district’s news clipping service will miss you. Indeed, your work as instructor, college president and district chancellor has kept us all mighty busy here. Boy, have we been busy. State and national recognition, you bet, but also regional, county and city. Whether threatening faculty or praising Jesus, supporting a Holocaust denier or subverting Shared Governance, leading meetings in prayer or enjoying a security stipend, we’ve got an impressive archives documenting your success at gaining recognition for our little district. Things have been a-hoppin here for us, with features and news stories in any number of news outlets, from alternative weeklies to mentions in columns in national news magazines, not to mention transcripts from radio and television reports. In the spirit of fiscal responsibility and management, we offer you now the opportunity to purchase, for a nominal contribution to the charity of our choice, in this case Americans United for Separation of Church and State, these one-of-a-kind documents, which we know you like to call The Raghu Mathur Presidential Papers. Staff (Anonymous) SOCCCD Public Relations

Occasion: Last Day in the Office

June 30 is a Wednesday. It is, according to my calendar, also the birthday of civil rights activist-actress-singer Lena Horne. And, in 2005, it’s when the nation of Spain recognized same-sex marriage. Synchroniticy! Kismet! ATEP! Your commitment to student study abroad in Santander, Spain, and your work for civil rights, including gay marriage and the advancement of women instructors who are smarter than you happily collide on this occasion. Throw in the War on Terror and, yes, it’s Raghur Mathur Homeland Celebration Day Pray-a-Thon and Flag Ceremony 2010. We write to inform you that classes will be suspended that day in your honor, with all classified and academic faculty receiving the day off. On this special day we encourage prayer (mandatory), meditation and deep consideration of inspirational posters, which will be on display on campus, and offer an early walk-through of the Raghu Mathur Presidential Library (also mandatory). In addition to those historic documents pertaining to your state and national recognition as assembled by the SOCCCD archivist, on display will also be: the $1,200 swivel chair that graced your IVC Presidential Office, the taxidermy corpus of the late beloved Stipey the Security Hound, an audio-video recreation of threatening phone calls from Kate Clark, and an authentic-seeming scale model diorama of your reserved parking places at both the IVC and Saddleback campuses. Finally, we will unveil, in an elaborate commemorative ceremony involving prayer, speeches and bugles, a replica of the two-ton slate of polished granite which Roy Bauer, IVC philosophy professor (and noted body builder) famously threatened to drop on your head and, following the dedication of this iconic, well, icon, the opportunity to climb all over it and yell your name, lead the crowd in prayer or point a finger at those assembled, with three fingers pointing back at yourself. Mandatorily, Events Planning

Comments: Anonymous said... LOL Anonymous said... Funny! Anonymous said... If only my composition classes had been so inspired!

The ever-dynamic SOCCCD

Cleveland, city of light, city of magic
Cleveland, city of light, you're calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
'Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smokin' through my dreams

—From Randy Newman's "Burn On"

FIRST: Issued this morning, just after 8:00: “a statement to our campus communities from Board President Donald P. Wagner.”

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to take this opportunity publicly to thank Chancellor Mathur for his years of service to the district and its students. He has been tireless in his efforts in the Chancellor's office and can take great pride in the many accomplishments listed in his email. We on the board are fortunate to have been able to work with him in pursuit of the district's goals. We wish Chancellor Mathur all the best in his future professional endeavors.”

MEANWHILE, back in the real world, a friend and former SC/IVC administrator (now in Colorado) sent us the following list:

[This] is a partial list of administrators who either were terminated, resigned, retired, or reassigned since the South Orange County Community College District Reorganization in 1997:

· Administrators:

1. Andrews,William -Vice President, SC
2. Audibert, Donna -Director, IVC
3. Bauer, Roy -Chair, IVC
4. Bergerud, Marly -Dean, SC & District
5. Bishopp, Greg -Dean, SC & IVC
6. Bullock, Dixie -President, SC
7. Burgess, Terry -Vice President, IVC
8  Busche, Donald -Vice President, SC
9. Carcamo, Tony -Vice Chancellor
10. Cayabyab, Nelson -Director, IVC
11. Christianson, Bill -Director, IVC
12. Corum, Susan -Dean, SC & IVC
13. Craig, Jess -Dean, IVC
14. Culton, Donald -Director, District
15. Dachschlager, Howard -Chair, IVC
16. Deegan, Bob -Vice President, IVC
17. Deegan, Pam -Dean, IVC
18. Doffoney, Ned -President, SC
19. Doty, Ann -Director, IVC
20. Evans, Lloyd -Dean, SC
21. Forouzesh, Jennifer -Dean, SC
22. Gabriella, Wendy -Chair, IVC
23. Gensler, Howard -Dean, IVC
24. Goodwin, Don -Vice Chancellor
25. Hasson, Kathy -Director, SC
26. Hill, David -Director, IVC
27. Hodge, Kathleen -Vice Chancellor
28. Hodge, Vern -Vice President
29. Jacobson, Ruth -Dean, SC & IVC
30. Jay, Bill -Vice Chancellor
31. Kirk, Joyce -PIO, IVC
+ Kopecky, Robert -Park Ranger (Provost), ATEP
32. Kremer, Nick -Director, IVC
33. Kuss, Hans -Vice President, SC
34. Larios, Daniel -President, IVC
35. Lemkin, Susan -PIO, SC
36. Loeffler, Bob -Vice President, IVC
37. Long, Sue -Chair, IVC
38. McCrory, George -PIO, IVC
39. McCullough, Rich -Dean, SC
40. Merry, Pauline -Vice President, IVC
41. Mora, Aracely -Athletic Director, IVC
42. Newell, Linda -Director, District
43. Ontiveros, Michael -Director, IVC
44. Parmer, Harry -Vice Chancellor
45. Pniewski, Stacey -PIO, IVC
46. Poindexter, Rodney -Dean, IVC
47. Prystowsky, Richard -Dean, IVC
48. Reynolds, Nancy -Dean, IVC
49. Rickner, Donald -Director, IVC
50. Rickner, Sandra -Director, IVC
51. Riopka, Diane -PIO, District
52. Rivas, Daniel -Dean, SC & IVC
53. Robinson, Terry -Dean, SC
54. Rochford, Steve -Chair, IVC
55. Romas, Ted -Director, IVC
56. Roquemore, Glenn -Chair, IVC
57. Ross, Priscilla -Chair, IVC
58. Ruiz, Armando -Vice President, IVC
59. Ruminer, Sabrina -Director, District
60. Runyon, Mike -Vice Chancellor
61. Sampson, Cedric -Chancellor
62. Spencer, Patricia -Vice President, IVC
63. Urell, Bob -Chair, IVC
+ White, Dennis -VPI, IVC
64. Woodward, Ken -Dean, SC
65. Zandvliet, Bevan -PIO, IVC
66. Zanelli, Pam -PIO, District

Comments

Anonymous said...
Let's invite Kathy Hodge to the party. And Pauline Merry too.
Anonymous said...
How about the people who simply silently put their heads down in disgust and dismay and tried to survive that way?
Let's NOT invite Howard Gensler to the party.
Anonymous said...
What about all the people who simply never applied for jobs because of him?
Anonymous said...
Couldn't Don muster a list of Raghu's accomplishments on his own?
That's not lukewarm, that's cold, brother. Glacial. Icebergy.
Anonymous said...
If Don doesn't do better than that, Raghu is going to sue him for breach of contract. Don's just damning by faint praise.
Anonymous said...
Remember when he came THIS close to getting Jeff Kaufmann fired?
Anonymous said...
It might be helpful to update the list. Certainly Dennis White, Bob Kopecky and a host of others deserve a mention.
Anonymous said...
Let's all do the clap.

Anonymous‬ said...
...so, let me get this straight. All these people left after Raghu took over, so, therefore, they left because Raghu took over. Right? Oh, wait a minute, isn't that like "post hoc ergo propter hoc", some kind of logical fallacy? Aren't the operators of this blog writing and philosophy teachers? Well I guess it's OK if they don't practice what they preach, so long as it's for the noble overriding cause of getting rid of Mathur. The end justifies the means, you know...

‪Anonymous‬ said...
12:42, Chill dude. There are three people who write for this blog, and only one (me) teaches philosophy. The other two teach English/Writing.
 The post did not say or suggest that Raghu Mathur is responsible for these people leaving. Indeed, some people on the list (Woodward, Runyan, possibly others) were made administrators by Mathur and his group, just as Mathur was made an administrator. This is well-known. If you were more informed, you would be aware that a consistent complaint about our district and colleges--going back at least 13 years--is that they have seen far too much administrative turnover. The Accreditors have pressed this point, and it is a good one. ("Administrative instability," is how they recently referred to it.) When Mathur's crew took power (starting in December of 1996), we fell into severe administrative instability. That's the point. So, dude, get a clue. --RB

Anonymous said...
I get the point you’re trying to make, that Mathur was the cause. As you know, attrition is a normal occurrence in every organization. Why you would then include “resigned” and “retired” while already knowing attrition is negligible at best. Are we just trying to make this list as long as possible to impress? Not so scientific, I must say. The correct study would be: “employed” or “not employed” because of Mathur. First, I would compare a period of pre Mathur attrition against Mathur era attrition. The probability is extremely high there will be no correlation; you will not be able to establish a causal relationship, so that cancels-out most of your list.
Then there’s the issue of “reassigned.” As you know, the employer has the right to reassign employees “at will” within the organization. How could you then include them in your list? They do still work here. That eliminates another big “Chunk” (get it Chunk?) of your list.
Now were [sic] only left with “termination.” As you know, employees get terminated for a wide variety of reasons. How many were actually terminated because Mathur himself terminated them? As I recall, he did spare Dr. Kauffman.
The “administrative instability” as I recall, was due to a combination normal attrition and some voluntary resignations. And from what I understand, those who voluntarily resigned generally found better, higher-paying positions elsewhere.
1:40 PM, January 29, 2010

B. von Traven said...
Raghu, you really don’t read well, do you?

First of all, Mr. Goo, the post is a list sent to me by a former Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College administrator. It is not “my” list. It is his. Read the post again.

Second, and for the second time: no, neither the list-maker nor I have ever suggested that “Mathur was the cause” of the administrative exodus and administrative instability suffered within the district in the last 13 years, though he certainly was the cause of some of it (e.g., Bob Loeffler left his VP post saying who couldn’t work with you). Mathur (i.e., YOU) were a key member of the corrupt group that controlled the faculty union in 1996 (and for a few years thereafter) and that managed to get its right-wingers (Frogue, Williams) elected in 1996 (also in 1998: Wagner, Padberg; and 2000: Fuentes). 

That group (the Old Guard/Board Majority Axis) pursued actions and policies that created administrative instability, among other problems, one of the key areas of concern in a series of accreditation findings.

How many times do I have to say it, Raghu?

And, Goo, you really need to get some new material. You state that “those who voluntarily resigned generally found better, higher-paying positions elsewhere.” Gosh, you said practically the same thing back in 1998!



“[Mathur] said it is a ‘feather in the cap of the district’ that people who have gained experience here have gone on to find excellent positions when they have chosen to go elsewhere.” (Irvine World News, 7/9/98)

4:27 PM, January 29, 2010

Anonymous said...
I don't think Mathur "spared" Kaufmann - I think Kaufmann and a lot of others made it impossiblr for Mathur to fire him.

Mathur wielded a shameful, dishonest campaign leading up to the fateful board meeting -where - I recall - it was standing room only. 

I believe Mathur's longtime uber-supporter (then still playing a union role) kept trying to talk Jeff into resigning (!).

Cads.
4:30 PM, January 29, 2010

B. von Traven said...
You are correct, 4:30. Mathur didn’t spare Kaufmann. Some of us worked very hard to get public support for Jeff and media coverage of Mathur’s attempt to scare faculty into obedience. In the end, the support for Jeff was so great—and in full view of the media—that the board decided not to take Mathur’s recommendation. For an account, see Mathur goes after Jeff
4:39 PM, January 29, 2010