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| VPI Craig Justice |
Readers have persisted in expressing their disappointment—or fury—over recent actions by top Irvine Valley College administrators concerning the business building and labs:
Anonymous says:
There is another lab on the second floor of the BSTIC building. The only problem is that it's only open from 3pm - 6pm, Mon - Thu. I'm taking a programming class this summer that starts at 7pm, and as is often the case with night classes, there are a good chunk of students who work full-time jobs. Students in the class are supposed to log 6.2 hours in the lab each week to receive credit in the course, but it's just not possible for many of them given the limited hours of the lab. The prof. wasn't left with much of a choice but to ignore the lab requirement. Granted, students probably spend at least 6.2 hours outside of class studying and working on homework, but it's not the same as having lab hours with the professor.Anonymous says:
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:00 AM, July 18, 2011
Students at IVC do care, and we are very articulate about making our needs known. Speak up, students, and demand that IVC be a whole college, not just a transfer center. Let your board members know how you feel.Anonymous says:
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:39 AM, July 18, 2011
Clearly the admin wants to attract students who don't care and staff who care less. Easier for everyone.
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:03 AM, July 18, 2011
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| Prez Glenn Roquemore |
And here is the accreditation commission student complaint form for those who wish to speak up about the student computer center that now exists only in IVC's accreditation report.
http://www.accjc.org/complaint-process/complaint-form
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 2:10 PM, July 18, 2011Anonymous says:
Aw, they're not really such bad guys, are they?Anonymous says...
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 9:55 PM, July 17, 2011
2:10, Thanks for the link! I will have my complaint done today and I urge all others affected, students and their parents, to follow suit ASAP.
—Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 3:12 PM, July 18, 2011
57 comments:
Thanks for putting this guy's mug shot up, bvt. Until now he's been pretty much faceless.
I would like to raise awareness and endorse support for Mark Levinson at IVC. I hear the Injustice machine is rolling over him. He has been a valued and hard-working person at the college for years.
How could they do something that stupid? That guy has come to my rescue so many times, usually within a minute or two, and he always resolves problems swiftly. Whenever I’ve called, he actually answers the phone and I’ve always felt secure knowing I could count on him. To me, Mark and a few others are the last friendly faces of IVC Tech. staff. He’s invaluable and the epitome of professionalism. I’m at a complete loss as to how they could be so cruel to “roll over” this man.
I have relied on Mark to make sure my classroom equipment was up and running for me. Many times he has been there to get me out of a variety of technical problems. He is always quick to respond, polite, and extremely knowledgeable. This flies in the face of the kind of atmosphere we used to enjoy at the college. We need to defend the classified staff, many of whom sit in fear of the new regime.
IVC Tech is being dismantled and scrambled at the hands of the current management. If you like the support you've enjoyed in the past, speak up now. Because it is going to change bigtime and not for the better. Less support, less faces, less service.
12:42, there is no doubt that Mark is a great guy and very hard working. But, what do you mean by the "injustice machine is rolling over him"?
9:07, can you please substantiate your claims about the dismantling and scrambling of the IVC Tech. dept.? They seem contrary to the evidence: the tech dept. just hired another full-time network technician; they are in the process of hiring a help desk specialist; the alternative media specialist is transferring to the tech. dept. So it seems that currently the dept. is growing and expanding.
Yes, yes. For some reason, people with important and clarifying info don't post it. Could you all do that? Surely some of you readers know all about the Audit, what it says, etc. And about Levinson and much else. You can fly under the colors of anonymity.
Naturally, I would be even more pleased with details, specifics that can in some way be verified. Put on your journalistic caps. Support your assertions, if you can.
--The semi-retired BvT
Tech has lost 2 people to retirement, lost 3 part time project specialists, is losing Levinson in media. The alt media used to report to Tech, the function is just returning, but is not a "tech" position. So no, it is not expanding, just finally replacing with a couple of new folks. On top of that, they are responsible for ATEP now too. The part time tech that was there is gone too! So there you go.....
I heard they're proposing to abolish his job. If you don't like this, express your feelings to the board @ 6:00 on Monday eve.
Now there's 6 computer techs along with 2 web designers
bvt - the answer to your question is fear!
I'm more than disappointed!
More high paid admins = reductions in staff = less services for students. I wonder whose gonna get it next...
Notice how everyone here is anonymous? That's because a certain crazy administrator is extremely vengeful. I happened to run into a few of his prior institution's faculty at a conference. They said he was ok as long as you didn't get on his wrong side. He will stop at nothing to get revenge. He's been with us long enough to feel confident about destroying people, jobs, programs, and facilities.
Glenn, wake up! Are you asleep at the wheel? You've never tolerated this kind of atmosphere at IVC.
Glenn should be ashamed.
Yes, wake up! "Extremely vengeful" administrators? Decisions about "people, jobs, programs, and facilities" should be made objectively, fairly, and according to the established policies and procedures. Sounds like a loose cannon on the deck at IVC.
Beef? Yup, he's turning IVC into ground chuck!
Recipe for Disaster,
Does an autocractic leadership style with a big dose of micromanagement sound familiar? Throw in a pinch of dishonesty and a cup of ego, and you've got the recipe. Oh, don't forget vengefulness. That goes a long way in cooking up a dysfunctional work environment.
I thought D. White was the worst administator to ever disgrace the college. I was wrong.
Micromanaging the deans makes them look ineffective and incompetent.
Wait, the deans are effective and competent?
In most cases,the deans are competent, hard working, and well intentioned. You wouldn't know it because they are currently crouched like munchkins following the booming voice behind the curtain.
My dean is the cowardly lion. Who is Toto?
Toto would be any newly hired administrator, a lap dog.
10:24, you mean Bruce?
No Confidence, No Confidence, No Confidence!
Right! This upper administration is the worst infestation yet of petty incompetent dictators, rife with corruption and nepotism, at IVC. Time to clean them out!
Hasn't the board caught wind of all the goings on at IVC?
Our board is clueless, as always.
bvt - tell me it ain't so. Just heard the senate requested and approved taking the MRC from the students so a faculty lounge could be placed in there. Are you kidding? That is a huge space and hundreds of students used it daily. What is your recollection of this being discussed by the senate? I cannot believe the senate would approve of this. There are dozens of empty faculty offices. Couldn't something be rearranged there to facilitate the faculty area?
I don't think the senate requested that space at all. The senate considers the needs of students first and foremost.
I'm on the senate, and here's what I recall:
1. The "faculty lounge" idea has been spearheaded by Senate President Lisa Davis Allen. I was probably the least supportive of the idea on the Senate floor--I expressed fiscal concerns--but it did pass, in part because objections were well answered by Allen, VPI Justice, or the combination of the two. (They seem to be a team with regard to this project.) As I recall, there was discussion about the need to find a suitable location, but we were assured by the VPI that there was space for the lounge. We (or I) certainly was not under the impression that we'd be kicking MRC or anything else to the curb. It is my (fuzzy) recollection that the actual site was not decided until late in the Spring. Perhaps later.
2. As a Senator for the School of H&L, I know that I and my Senate colleague provided notes to the members of our school explaining these doings. I can't speak for other schools.
Team indeed.
Interesting how bvt's recollection is fuzzy about the MRC discussions in the Senate, meetings that took place recently, but as this blog shows, bvt's memory is pretty sharp when it comes to certain people & events dating back almost 20 years. Go ahead, label me a troll.
My memory about discussion of the lounge location is fuzzy because, during any such discussions, I assumed that there was no issue about the location--none was raised--and so I didn't pay attention to the location--or I didn't know what the location was if anyone mentioned it. It's that simple. It amazes me that people find hidden agendas and ulterior motives in others. I guess that's the way they operate, and so they assume everyone else does. It is not the way I operate.
bvt, WTF? Probably the biggest property grab in IVC's history and you weren't paying attention? They suceeded in pulling the rug out from under bvt, the official IVC watchdog? How does that happen?
This is hardly the "biggest property grab in IVC's history." And do keep in mind who is doing the "grabbing" in this case (if it can thus be described)--the academic senate, in cooperation with the VPI.
I think you're conflating issues. One issue is the recent fate of the MRC. Another is the creation of a faculty "lounge" (which actually goes by another name officially). During nearly the entirety of the senate's discussion of the so-called "lounge," we had no idea where the thing would be located. We concerned ourselves with, first, whether to pursue such a facility. After that, we were given periodic updates regarding progress. As I said before, I was probably the most negative of the senators re this facility (separate from the location issue). Only at the end (or toward the end) did we learn that it would take up space in the former MRC. I suspect that, when I learned of this, I didn't even know what the MRC was. In fact, just now, I had to look it up to learn what "MRC" stands for (Media Resource Center, v. p. 32 of the catalog).
7:57 and 1:52...cut BvT some slack. He's doing the SOCCCD community a great service with this blog. There is nothing preventing either of you (if you are not the same person) from pursuing this information yourselves.
I have some questions for you, BvT. Who makes the decision regarding where a facility will go? My hunch says it is the VPI. Even still, shouldn't it have been discussed at the Senate level before a decision was made? If you only recall a discussion about a lounge in general, but not its specific location, shouldn't that raise some red flags about transparency?
Also, the MRC was a student facility, and the showpiece of the BSTIC building. Doesn't turning that facility over to faculty violate the 50% law in some way?
And finally, what is the purpose of a huge faculty lounge? Do faculty need a lounge of that magnitude? Full time faculty already have offices with computers and telephones. Part time faculty have a space upstairs in the BSTIC. What is going to take place in this lounge?
Thanks!
4:26,
1. The senate discussion regarding the Faculty Facility (FF) proceeded as though there were no issue re who decides location. The FF initiative was championed by Prez Lisa Davis Allen, who (as I recall) tied the initiative to a showing of respect for faculty and their role. She seemed to enjoy the support of VPI Justice from the very beginning. (It seems to me that she was the only person in the room with any passion re the FF initiative.)
2. I (and perhaps others) assumed that space for the FF would be found by pursuing greater efficiencies in the use of space on campus. At no time did we perceive the FF initiative as the supplanting of one facility with another. I seem to recall that the location (in BSTIC) was not “decided” or hit upon until very late in the semester. It seems to me that, since Justice and Allen had been working so closely together on this project, we could trust that nothing screwy or untoward was happening re the nature of the facility or the choice of location.
3. Be clear: I am not yet persuaded that anything screwy or untoward has happened re the FF initiative. As far as I can tell, no “rug” has been pulled out from under anyone. The FF is going into the MRC space only because that space has become available. If there is an issue here, it is a separate one regarding the decision to relocate or render homeless the MRC.
4. I vaguely recall that the MRC space is large and that the FF would only take a portion of it. If so, it is a mistake to speak of the FF replacing the MRC. When we heard that the MRC space would be “repurposed,” I think I assumed that it was being relocated, not that it was being eliminated. I was unaware at the time of any “MRC” issue.
5. I believe that the 50% law proceeds with the notion that “instructional expenditure” is faculty salaries and benefits. I don’t believe that facilities enter the calculation at all. So, no, there’s likely no violation of that law here.
6. I do find it troubling that so much has happened since the end of spring semester—and neither administration nor anyone else has apprised the campus community of actions and the reasons for them. And so, evidently, big things have happened, and we don’t know why. If you’ve read this blog consistently, then you know that I have often (implicitly or explicitly) faulted the current administration on its lack of transparency. Roquemore and Justice are transparent when it suits them, not otherwise. Of course, “getting big things done” during the summer—when faculty are away—is an old and familiar trick. That seems to be part of what’s happening here.
7. My own view is that we do not need this FF. On the other hand, a year from now, I might feel differently. My view is that, given the unjust and otherwise poor conditions under which adjuncts labor, our efforts and money are better focused on them. But who knows. Maybe this new facility will be especially good for adjuncts. (I secretly hope that adjuncts just take it over and claim it for themselves.)
Bvt, what you're saying is that with the Senate's thorough and comprehensive deliberations Davis and Justice were able to slip this one through without much or any objections? Thats outrageous! Was the rest of the Senate snoozing or something? This flys in the face of the institution's mission, of serving the students. Of course when an action is proposed in bits and pieces it becomes deceiving. Its hard to belive no one caught on to it, unless of course they did know and just let it coast right on through. I guess this only confirms the public's view of our educators as being self serving. So screw all the students and their parents who paid for the MRC right? As long as faculty gets what faculty wants... Wouldn't this be considered a violation of the Brown Act?
6:56, you're talking out of your ass. You assume that someone has gotten away with something. With what? The Brown Act (clearly you do not understand it) was never violated: all discussions were properly agendized beforehand. No one was excluded from the discussions.
Further: Granting space for a faculty center is not in itself scandalous or objectionable any more than building a rest room is objectionable. The notion that the senate brought about eliminating the MRC for the sake of a faculty center is idiotic. The decision to pursue a faculty center was made before any action against the MRC was contemplated. Have you actually read anything I've written? Pay attention or go away. Please.
"...a showing of respect for faculty and their role." Right. If we could just kick the students off the rest of the campus, we could start getting the real work done, like having academic senate meetings and writing SLOs.
"I assumed that there was no issue about the location--none was raised--and so I didn't pay attention to the location--or I didn't know what the location was if anyone mentioned it. It's that simple" (bvt).
Looks to me like a failure on senator bvt's part. Aren't elected senators supposed to be paying attention, especially on matters directly affecting students?
Perhaps process was followed to the T, but don't you think the SAO (student accessibility outcome) and the preference of faculty to student benefits looks really bad, selfish? And then there’s the deception to the state… I’m just sayin… It is scandalous; no rhetoric can justify this kind of outcome.
Some of you people are too stupid for words. There are real issues here, but you obscure them by obsessing over non-issues, such as some supposed plot to steal the MRC by --who? The senate? Lisa Davis Allen? Allen and Justice? Move on.
Some of you obviously have never served in a deliberative body such as a senate, for, if you had, you'd know that it is impossible to work with the other powers (from the senate POV, that's administration) effectively if you never trust them and you endlessly question their motives. You've got to choose your battles in that regard. You must distrust selectively and intelligently.
I've been covering issues in this district for fourteen years, and I learned long ago not to jump to conclusions are to embrace ideas simply because I want them to be true. That's what some of you people are doing. And you're hurting your own cause (which, I take it, is the taking down of certain administrators). Focus on what is real and what you can support. You've got plenty to work with. This conspiracy shit is just stupid.
And if you don't like how I do things, well that's great. Don't read Dissent. And start your own blog. But of course the noisiest critics invariably have neither the talent nor the will to do any such thing. You're all sizzle and no steak.
Now go away.
Naturally, my previous remarks were not intended for those who object to the apparent scandalous actions and practices re computer labs.
Well it looks like your senate has deliberatively screwed this one up big time, and you are trying to divert attention away to the business and CIS folks. Sure thats another big issue, but isn't that in a different thread? Me thinks you like to selectively point the finger at whatever suits you best.
Did you notice the part about how I was the least supportive of the Faculty Center idea? You don't read very carefully, do you. Go away.
Cracks me up how a few people complain about Roy's failure to cover everything all the time. As if this blog is a full time gig. Jeez people. Be grateful. But of course this minority is not about gratitude.
Cafe = career ender. Does AIG ring a bell?
Plain and simple. The way this was/is handled is unprofessional and selfish. No updates, general meetings, etc. Obviously never made clear to anyone other than who they felt necessary. As pointed out, carried out during the Summer makes it even more fishy, whether good or not. Once again a failure to communicate. Maybe the breakfast on Monday is when ALL will be revealed. I heard Glen is going to do a Neil Young medley.
sorry my fingers got tied up......
Job Opening: Senior Admin. Secretary in the Office of Instruction. People are lining up for this job.
Did anyone attend the open in the PAC today? Any mention/explaination about admin's new, sneeky CAFE experiment, or why students have been sent packing to OCC?
It was mentioned in passing with no comments or questions from those seated. Move on . . .
No. Students shouldn't have to move on to OCC. What, you moonlight for moveon.org or something?
Now that Mathur is gone I guess your new “mob friendly” administration has begun a campaign of cannibalizing good, mission-loyal employees for some strange reason. Hey, someone should tell admin, “If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it!”
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