East LA College Chooses their Commencement Speaker: It's Gustavo!

This just in:

Gustavo to Give Commencement Speech at East 

Los Angeles College Graduation!

Gustavo writes all about it this morning (click title above for the whole enchilada, including a link to Arellano's LBCC commencement speech last year, and see below for an excerpt).

Regular readers of Dissent will know Rebel Girl has forwarded Gustavo Arellano and many other worthy candidates (local, smart, articulate, connected to education and O.C.) as nominees for the IVC Commencement Speaker gig for many years now.  

After last year's rather hurried, muffled consideration of candidates, Rebel Girl wishes she had recorded some of the rather dismissive and condescending comments made about certain candidates like Arellano—inappropriate, too, uh, political, not a good fit, etc. Coded language, of course. You know what they mean. You know who is appropriate, whose politics are acceptable, whose fit is just fine (Yes, and Rebel Girl knows what those wags will say about his East LA College invitation—and perhpas you do too: Well, of course they (e.g. East L.A.!  Mexicans!) want him and he is just fine for them. But not us. No.)

This morning's news comes after yesterday's dissemination of IVC Commencement Speaker Committee's list of new nominees—a hot discussion topic in the hallways. It's a very, very, very, very, very, very long list (over 30) and committee members have been directed to rank each candidate.  

Among the names: Tom Hanks, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Gates, Morgan Freeman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scott Lay, Hilary Rodham Clinton—and yes, Gustavo Arellano. 

Not so long ago, this committee used to meet and sort out the list of nominations that came in from across campus. Call it a feasibility sort. The committee knew, say, that it was unlikely that Steven Spielberg would come to speak at the little college in the orange groves even if we said pretty please, so to "rank" him and others like him (Pope John Paul, Dick Cheney, Beyonce, Seth McFarlane, etc.) was a waste of time and skewed the process. Better to focus energies on a list of more, uh, realistic candidates, people who were likely to say yes. As Rebel Girl recalls, that committee did its work well with a collegial spirit,  meeting a few times under able leadership and generating a list of finalists to forward to the president.  

No, Rebel Girl has declined to serve on that committee this year. She can take a hint. Like her nominees, she is perhaps inappropriate, too, uh, political, not a good fit. She wishes the committee good luck. 

And yeah, ask Tom Hanks. Go for it. Hanks is poised to make his Broadway debut in Nora Ephron's final play, "Lucky Guy." One of Rebel Girl's high school pals is in the cast (behind Hanks in the photo below, black tie).  She knows that they're in rehearsals right now (previews begin March 1!) and that the play is scheduled to run through June. So Rebel Girl advises that perhaps Hanks is just a little too busy to say yes. But you can ask. Why not. The play could be a big flop and close early. It's happened before. 

excerpt:

This will be the second year in a row I've [Gustavo Arellano] been invited to speak at a community college graduation (I did the deed last year at Long Beach City College), and it's a wonderful honor given I'm a product of the juco system, having graduated from Orange Coast College way back when.

*

Past commencement speaker wrangles:

• Plagiarism is a form of theft, Glenn (but all is well, really) - May 30 12
• "Too Political" - May 24 12
• That's some leadership, that leadership à la Roquemore – May 21 12
• News about Gustavo Arellano, who, again, won't be commencement speaker - May 1 12
• Evidently, the IVC Academic Senate cabinet won't agendize whether IVC should support Saddleback faculty's "shared governance" resolution - Apr 15 12
• Commencement speaker choices: the controversial and the unimaginative - Jun 12 10
• What about Gustavo Arellano? - Jan 18 08

Today's forum

     YESTERDAY, I heard tell of a “forum” to be held at the college this week. I took a quick look at my emails, and I couldn’t find announcements about any forum, at least not any sent recently.
     Then, this morning, at 8:09, I received an email from President Roquemore, explaining that this very day there would be an open forum from 1:00 p.m. until 2:30. (The forum will be repeated tomorrow morning, from 10:00-11:30 a.m.)
     OK. I guess they don’t want lots of people to show up to these things. What’s the point of announcing a forum on the day that it’s held? And the A100 lobby might be OK for B-Day celebrations, but it isn’t suited to forums, that’s for sure.
     And, as usual, the forums are scheduled during teaching prime time, when most of us teach. My teaching schedule conflicts with both forum times. As usual.
     Rebel Girl and I decided that we should attend as much of this thing as possible, and so our plan was to high-tail it over to the A100 “lobby” right after our 12:30 classes—which would be at about 1:45. It was a good plan. After all, the forum was scheduled for 90 minutes, and so, with any luck, we’d be able to attend half of the thing, despite missing the first 45 minutes.
     So, today, at the end of my Philosophy 2 class, I headed over to A100 and walked inside. I came upon the forum all right. It was like a wax figure exhibit. No, it was as if everyone had taken a sedative, the way they sat peacefully in their chairs, eyes drooping, and the way that Glenn or somebody murmured almost insensibly.
     I noticed that fewer than 40 chairs had been set up.
     After about ten minutes, Glenn commenced trying to end the program! “Well,” he said, “thanks for coming….”
     --Luckily, Kurt had a question. Something about the controversial topic of full-time faculty hiring this year. Originally, we were supposed to hire ten faculty, but then we got that weird news early in the Fall—something about how there was this pattern of revenue continuing to be flat and expenses gradually creeping up. For some reason, this trend, which evidently was clear for quite some time, produced a kind of emergency, and, in response, Glenn panicked and started talking like, well, there wouldn’t be any faculty hiring this year, that’s for sure.
     Maybe you’ve heard of this “shared governance” thing. Yeah. It’s like Glenn isn’t supposed to make unilateral decisions about important things. There’s supposed to be input and collaboration and such with “governance groups”—the faculty, the classified, students, those geese out on the lawn, et al. So, when it became clear that Glenn was backing off of the faculty hiring plan, right away, faculty leadership reared up with, “Hey, dude! Who are you to make this unilateral decision to toss faculty hiring before the fiscal emergency gods?”

     To make a long story short, Glenn backed off some, though, really, he seemed to be stalling for time. Obviously, if we waited long enough to decide on these hires, it would be too late to advertise and such, and so things would go Glenn’s way, the unilateral way.
     But, before that, it was decided that a new committee would be created in which various shared government reps would think really hard about raising revenue and lowering costs. The committee would issue a report and then decisions could be made—not unilaterally and in a panic, but carefully, thoughtfully, sharedly.
     Meanwhile, Glenn really dropped the ball, slowing the process whereby HR down at the district is told that we’re going to pursue some hires (something we can do even if, in the end, we decided to pull the plug on some of the hires). And so, to their horror, during the between-semester break, faculty leadership learned that Glenn had done absolutely nothing to let HR know that we might do some hiring. Thanks to the immediate outcry, the situation was addressed and so, belatedly, HR got the word about five possible hires. The upshot: if we pursue hiring, we’ll do so at a disadvantage relative to competing colleges, who, obviously, desire to scoop up the best instructors out there on the market. They’re advertising earlier than we are. They’ll be hiring before we do.
     Thanks, Glenn.
     Well, anyway, Kurt asked about the faculty hiring situation, and he got some mumbly-mouthed answer that clarified little or nothing. Later, a friend who had attended the entire forum opined that “these people aren’t really into the Q and A thing, are they?” They’re more into the “we’re here to tell you here’s the way it is” thing.
     Another friend said that, during the forum, he had asked about the possibility of expansion or improvement of services to deal with, well, crazy and dangerous students--a real problem here at IVC. He got some hemming and hawing, I guess. The person up there on the hot seat was desperately avoiding saying, “there’s no money for that,” I guess.
     Pretty soon, Glenn shut this forum thing down—just after 2:00. So much for that 90 minutes.
     Rebel Girl and I wandered over to the “refreshments” area—a plate of cookies plus two beverages: a hideously sweet, sticky, red punch plus icy lemon water (that's good). We talked with a certain faculty member whose job was recently saved from the machinations of dastardly people, owing mostly to the sheer incompetence and cluelessness of, well, Glenn & Co. As we talked, we noticed people wandering into the building late, hoping to join the forum. But they found us and the beverages and the plate of cookies and an empty “lobby” instead. We smiled.
     Rebel Girl just called and reminded me that, at some point, Glenn said something about how it’s OK if we hire late, cuz there are so many people out of work.
     Yeah. Good thinking. It's a good thing you're in charge.

Nick Contopoulos, OCC Professor, Had Ali Syed Point Shotgun at Him and Lived to Tell About It (Navel Gazing)
U. of Phoenix Expects to Be Placed on Probation by Its Accreditor (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Things I learned today

They're all about leadership

     Things I learned today about last night’s reversal of Glenn & Co’s “no tenure” recommendation regarding Amy Grimm (Art History) and Susan Boettger (Keyboard):

• Some people in IVC’s music department are hopping mad. (I have direct knowledge of this.)
• Glenn & Co. utterly screwed the pooch. There are clear indications that one or some among them never read, um, certain files. They were caught with their pants down.
• The board was not particularly impressed by the show of support for the probies (especially Amy Grimm) by colleagues, students, et al.; they responded essentially to the two union officers’ assertions regarding failures of process.
• If such failures of process did indeed occur (as seems to be the case), Glenn & Co. have no one to blame but themselves. (But, given their natures, you can bet they’ll blame others.)
• At least one trustee explained today that the board found it difficult to go against the recommendation of the Chancellor and IVC President; but they felt compelled to do so by the evident failure, in these instances, to follow the defined process, including development of plans of remediation for alleged failings.

You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning
You got a lotta nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that’s winning
You say I let you down
You know it’s not like that
If you’re so hurt
Why then don’t you show it
You say you lost your faith
But that’s not where it’s at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it
I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You’re in with
Do you take me for such a fool
To think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don’t know to begin with
You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck”
But you don’t mean it
When you know as well as me
You’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once
And scream it
No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I’d rob them
And now I know you’re dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don’t you understand
It’s not my problem
I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you

Copyright © 1965 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1993 by Special Rider Music

Meeting of the SOCCCD BOT: part 2 (open session)

[UPDATE: it's confirmed. The board added the names of Grimm and Boettger to the list of faculty to be granted tenure (item 6.9).]

[See Tere's Board Meeting Highlights]

7:42 — Looks like the closed session is over. I spotted TJ Prendergast and maybe one other trustee lurking in the hallway. Saddleback's Burnett is zooming around the room. Peebles is out and about. Now trustee Jemal appears.

See post re earlier session: More than 30 come to speak in support of probies Grimm and Boettger

Craig Justice

7:49 — Nancy's out and about. Now Bill Jay. Now Marcia Milchiker, Dave Lang, Gary Poertner. They'll start soon, I think. Jim Wright just arrived.

7:52 -- Still waiting for our "read out to come from our attorneys," says Nancy. I suppose this means that they're running a decision past the attorneys. But what was the decision?

7:55 -- Clerk reads actions taken in closed session: on a 6-1 vote (Jay voting No) Affirm (?) rejection of tenure, 2 at SC, 2 at IVC [I've scrambled to get clarification. Three very reliable sorts in the room heard Marcia's readout this way: the two IVC probies were granted tenure but the two SC probies [for whom tenure was not recommended] were not granted tenure. Speakers earlier addressed only the IVC probies: Amy Grimm and Susan Boettger. So it appears that the jobs of Grimm and Boettger were saved.]

UPDATE (March 4): Here's what Milchiker actually said: “On a six to one vote, with trustee Jay casting the negative vote, the board voted to affirm the district’s recommendation to nonreelect two faculty members at Saddleback College and to reject the recommendation to nonreelect two faculty members at Irvine Valley College.”

7-0 vote, classified employee's appeal re discrimination.
7-0 denied request paid leave for police officer
7-0 3 month paid leave.
7-0 approve termination of employment of a faculty member.

A resolution read regarding IVC women's golf team. Evidently, they're the best in the country or something. (I was off talking with colleagues; sorry.)

2nd resolution: "Leadership innovation award." [I was busy during this.]

Pulling 5.11, moving 6.1 forward.

Board reports:

Bill Jay: Congrats to Lasers golf team. Marvelous. All we do as trustees is figure out ways to spend money. Note item 6.6: IVC management reorganization. Budgetary savings of $117k. They deserve recognition.
Tim Jemal: pretty active month. I completed the tour of SC and IVC. Thanks for the hospitality. Saw learning environments. Etc. We're seeing legislation re using community colleges as engine for increased....economic growth.  "There is a skill gap in this country." Our colleges will get ahead of legislation in this regard....
Marcia Milchiker: echos what Jemal just said. I'm excited too....The importance of community colleges. Meeting with legislators.
TJ Prendergast: attended invention convention. Congrats to Saddleback for "recovering the cup" (President's cup, I think.). Blah, blah, blah. My daughter's taking Early College at Beckman. She dragged him to music concert, but he enjoyed it.
Nancy Padberg: various committee meetings she attended. Presidents cup in memory of "my husband." Scholarship in his name. (Applause.)
James Wright: workshops on how to be effective trustees, etc. Gosh, Jim, your voice tends to trail off into nothingness. I think his voice has a sleep-inducing effect. Am I dreaming?
Lang: passes

Chancellor Poertner: reports tonight: 4.1 report, student success. Improving ed of basic skills students. 2nd, mental health services at our colleges. Third item: 6.1 concerns lease-lease back strategies for construction.

President Roquemore: President's award recipients. We give our awards during Fall inservice, so wanted to mention recipients. Goes through IVC awards. Craig Justice, Dennis Gordon, Bruce Hagan, Matt W/Ilkner E-W, Roopa Mathur;  Melody Harper. (Does this in lieu of report.)

President Burnett: blah, blah, blah. Men's basketball, undefeated. Etc. Accreds accepted our follow-up report. Refers to "recent tragedy" concerning one of our part-time students. Jemal's request for report on mental health services very timely.

Board requests for reports: Jim Wright requests progress of veterans services. There's been a lot done since last year, so a report would be nice. Unanimous support.

Advancing 6.1. Resolution. Lease lease-back contracts. Brandye D'Lena comes forward to explain, discuss. But first VC Deb Fitzsimmons will explain (I became distracted by conversation with someone).

Brandye comes up to give "overview of lease-leaseback construction delivery method." I'll be tuning out for this. (Pretty dry.)

Any questions? ... Unanimous approval.

Consent Calendar: nothing else pulled. 5.11 already pulled. Unanimous.

Discussion items:

Student success task force, blah, blah, blah. Kathy Schmeidler, Kathy Werle, Summer Serpas, Donna R. Here we are being cooperative and collaborative, says KS. SS discusses accelerated writing project. Presents data suggesting success of pilot program. Then DR: fast track to success. (These people speak well.) She discusses the problem of "allied health" and lack of basic skills. Got the allied health and basic math/English people together. They created a textbook. Sounds good. Pilot program. KW: discusses basic skills funding. She thrilled all by discussing "butts in seats." Blah, blah, blah. It all sounds good to me. Questions? Jemal: experiential element, where taking place? A: here on campus. DR discussed blood taken from fake arms.

Next report: mental health services. Linda Fontanilla speaks for IVC. She refers to her colleagues. Mentions 33 discipline cases. Three years ago, saw maybe one student per semester. Now all the time. Describes one student with mental health issues. Hygiene problems, disruption, snoring, etc. She was apprised of available facilities/services, but she rejected them. Intelligent but delusional. Another case: a young man who wasn't getting his financial aid on time. He became loud and aggressive. Called the police on him. Learned that he suffers being bipolar.

Chris H, IVC nurse, speaks. Been at IVC since 1985. Reviews history at IVC. A huge range of cases. We were dealing with mental health issues in 1979, but demand has increased. Demand for health services doubled from 2003-2012. Students were at first referred to "community resources." We did crisis counseling. Now, we have part-time psychologist. There's a year round waiting list. Lots of community resource referrals still. I started out as a psychiatric nurse. There are such limited resources in the community [OC]; it is appalling. Really bad in Orange County; was bad back in 1985, still is. Notes various things that have been done recently; preventative actions, etc. Funding? It is through $18 Health Fee. That's it. Chris does a great job, heavy on cynicism about lack of funding, lack of services in the County.

Liz Cipres, dean of counseling services. Discipline officer. We've seen 33 students through 2012. Various cases. Threats, etc.

Robert Melendez: Protocol of the health center. Etc.

Chris comes back to discuss protocol. There are many ways students come to us. They are interviewed by a nurse. We need to know if they are in immediate danger, are an immediate threat. We put them on the list for therapist. We are not dealing with schizophrenics, bipolar, referring them--we do not abandon them. Referrals. Follow-ups. 51-50 call: identified someone who is an immediate danger to selves, or to others. We had five during a recent semester. Amazing. You involve the police. Etc.

Next: Saddleback College. Blah, blah, blah. We have a wonderful collaboration between those working in this area. Counselors, et al. Blah, blah, blah. Presents "measures to identify, assist and educate employees working with at-risk students." 7 points. Online, self-paced program called "Kognito 'at-risk' gate keeper training." (Sounds like BS.) Evidently, the speaker went through this program. He seemed pleased as punch. There's one of these programs for faculty, for faculty and staff working with veterans, etc. We've had 52 people go through the (something) training. Etc. We're looking to expand that.

A faculty guide developed two years ago. How to respond to students who are distressed or threatening. We've handed these out to faculty at inservice, etc. We try to get info out there. (This guy's emphasis was on training faculty and staff.)

Turned over to Jeannie Harris-C. We have ten mental health beds in the County of Orange. Ten. (Echoes what Chris H said.) We shouldn't be surprised by what is happening at the college. Lots of students come with problems, baggage. We need to find ways to identify and help these students. Kognito is wonderful. We have two clinical psychologists. 5 registered nurses. All working part-time. Every slot that I have is filled. Cases: student misconduct. Discipline issues. Meetings with therapists on biweekly basis. Individual consultations with faculty members. Referrals from faculty happen every day. 51-50. One of our students was a "cutter." They can't feel pain, so they cut themselves. We were able to talk with student, put her on 51-50. Took her to a hospital. Held for five days. Was very gravely ill. This has a happy ending. Her medications were adjusted and changed. We'll be monitoring her. So we try to identify these students and try to refer them to something that will work. Lots of drug and alcohol use on this campus. About half of the cases involve substance abuse of some kind. Blah, blah, blah. Notes a web page available to faculty. Brochures given out. Anxiety, suicide. Occurences have become more routine. We try to address everything.

Jemal: dealing with these problems, very challenging. I'll hold in abeyance many questions that I have. So we have two different systems--one for IVC, another for SC? Woman explain the number of faculty who have completed "modules."

Jemal: a very good report. Good structure in place. --So Jemal has opted to be positive.

6.6. IVC Reorganization. Will hire new dean of online, etc. Significant savings overall....

That's it for me. I can stand no more. 9:41.

Meeting of the SOCCCD BOT: more than 30 speak in support of Grimm & Boettger

A remarkable crowd, pre-closed session; over 30 speakers spoke for over 45 minutes

(For background: see BOT meeting preview & Lariat highlights Grimm. Essentially, there are worries that one or some of the recent tenure decisions/processes are hinky, perhaps only because the defined process isn't being followed. That, at any rate, has been the point emphasized tonight by union speakers. Meanwhile, many speakers—colleagues, students, et al.—address the manifest absurdity of accusing Grimm of a lack of collegiality. [Evidently, both faculty were tagged, not for poor teaching, but for failures of collegiality.] Much great support for both instructors tonight: Grimm and Boettger.)

5:00 - Nancy Padberg, board president, has called the meeting to order. 30 people wish to speak, she says. (She doesn't seem happy about it.) Nancy orders the crew of 30 (actually, more) to break into groups of 5, come on up. (She calls groups of five at a time.) If you're going to repeat what someone else has said, "well, please do not do that."

Padberg calls five names: "please come forward," she commands
   Andrea: Now at CSLB. Here to support Professor Amy Grimm. She helped me a lot. If not for her, I would have likely changed majors. But I stuck with Art History. She's a very valuable professor. She deserves to be granted tenure.
   Joon Kil: associate Prof, poli sci. Here to support Amy Grimm's tenure. She's the most collegial colleague I've known at IVC. We teach in different areas, but she is a genuine, good person. A great colleague. Outstanding professional.
   Claudia Lee: speaks about program Professor Grimm has started. Amazing info that you can't get from a textbook. Very valuable. Etc.
   Jerry Rudmann: here to support Amy Grimm's tenure decision. I've been an instructor since IVC started. Amy is one of the most dedicated professionals I've ever seen. She's always on campus, working with students, setting up guest speakers, etc. IVC has an honor society that runs a survey. Amy is always in the top group of professors appreciated by students.
   Alex D?: Here to support Amy Grimm. She has always been respectful and kind. Good with staff. Students say she is one of the best instructors they've had.

Nancy officiously reads off the next five names:
   Mithra K: a student at IVC. To speak in support of Susan Boettger (IVC Fine Arts probie). Students adore her. She is kind, helpful, patient. Really cares about her students. She is clear and effective. She has greatly increased my appreciation of classic music. A highly professional member of IVC faculty.
   Michael Cassens: psychology dept. I share a hallway with these two (Boettger and Grimm.) They are clearly strong faculty. Very collegial. To suggest that these people lack collegiality is a gross mis-assessment.
   Bari Rudmann: I retired after 25 years. Still involved in Honors Society. I wish to address collegiality issue. (I look over at board: Nancy is annoyed. The others are hard to read.) Barry tells story of first meeting Amy. Great speaking with her, getting to know her. "Collegial? Absolutely?" She's always been helpful.
   Kari Tucker: Speaking on behalf of Amy Grimm. Her collegiality is under question here. Very surprised. I've worked with many faculty, but Amy's certainly on the top among them. She was great to work with, etc. Gives examples. Assessments, etc. She is dedicated to her students, too. Her interactions are admirable. I often ask myself if I live up to her standard. I'm amazed that her collegiality is being questioned. I wish she were in my dept.!
   Yemmy Taylor: here to speak on behalf of Amy Grimm. We've worked together on the Academic Affairs committee. She did great work. When I visit campus on Saturday, Amy is there. Collegiality? No one is more collegial than Amy. She's more social that we in psychology! She's been an incredible faculty member. A very good person.

Next five called up:
   Pamela W: speaks on behalf of Susan B. Relates details of Susan's efforts and success as an instructor. She is always available to students. She's fair. I have over 30 pages of notes just from her this semester. Her students have won innumerable awards. (Your time is up!)
   Jody Titus: I share the hall with Amy Grimm. Former curriculum chair. She's amazingly dedicated. Writing new curriculum for a new program. Many hours of work, willingness to put in hours. The most collegial person on this campus. I hope you reconsider.
   Tiffany Tran: articulation officer at IVC. Speaks on behalf of Amy G. She did excellent work on curriculum. Strong work ethic. She has earned the respect of many faculty and students. Many have written letters for her. (She reads the names of those who wrote letters. Pretty impressive list that goes on for some time and includes many impressive names.) The trustees seem impressed. (Your time is up!)
   Janice Wyma: I was hired as the first music professor in 1979; retired recently. Was involved in hiring Susan Boettger. Extraordinary candidate. Stellar. Our department has lacked balance, and it was a ray of sunshine to welcome Susan. She's been an enthusiastic colleague. Her tenure review has been shoddily put together. She's fun, courteous, etc. Jan speaks very highly of her. (Padberg: interrupts. Jan finishes anyway, talks right through Nancy's protests. Clash! Whoa!)
   Didn't get her name: on behalf of Susan Boettger. Describes her work with SB. "A joy to work with." Always showed respect. Etc. Always collegial. Never a complaint about her. Smart, musical, modest, a most wonderful colleague."

(Next five:)
   Susan Boettger: for four years, I've worked hard to be the best possible instructor..... (etc.) Describes her credentials. Evaluations of her teaching: overwhelmingly positive. Describes her accomplishments. Seems very impressive.  Presents well.
   Amy Grimm: Prof of Art History. My 4th year, fantastic years. I was hired to teach Art History courses and to build a program. (She describes her success in those areas.) Again, seems very impressive.
   Megan ?: Here to speak on behalf of Professor Grimm. I'm an Anthro major. The classes and programs she's establishing have been very helpful to me with my major. This student is very articulate, impressive.
   Dennis Gordon: Amy Grimm is a fantastic person. I won't repeat what's already been said. He describes first meeting her. Wonderful, personable individual. I was shocked to hear that there's some question about her collegiality. She's very friendly, welcoming. She's outstanding.
   Didn't catch her name: speaks on behalf of Susan Boettger. All students just love her as a teacher, as a person. She's very experienced, a wonderful pianist. She has a great personality, easy to work with. She's an ideal colleague. I've worked with her for a year and a half and I can only say great things.

(The next five; Padberg is pissed that not all five come up right away; urges them to come stand against the wall)
   Didn't catch his name: keyboard person here at Saddleback. Susan Boettger, a wonderful colleague. Easy to work with. Always followed through. We did joint concerts; a pleasure to work with her. She always goes the extra mile, also in community service. She's a mother of three kids, but she spends so much time going extra mile; don't know how she does it. I've been on many hiring committees; I would not hesitate a minute to hire her for a piano position. Exemplary professor of music. What she does is at the level of a major university! Putting IVC and the district on the map. (Nancy interrupts. Time's up!)
   Kathy Schmeidler: today here as grievance chair. It's been a while since we've seen this kind of support for faculty re probationary faculty. I am here to speak on the process itself, in case you think this is about personalities. "The process was not followed." The part of the contract: if unsatisfactory, the TRC will develop a plan of action to address.... To my knowledge, none of this was done. In these cases, these faculty were told of problems late. (Nancy: your time is up!)
   Dave Lang interrupts: let her speak. I'm most interested in process issues. Nancy gives her a "few more seconds."
   Kathy: dean and two faculty on each TRC. Deans are responsible for following the process. In this case, the dean and the upper administration have not done this properly.
   Roopa Mathur: Academic Affairs chair at IVC. Here to speak on behalf of Amy Grimm. She's very professional. Roopa highlights Amy's work on the committee. She was very, very helpful. (Gives examples.) Describes Amy's participation in IVC's lecture series. A talk on Andy Warhol. Was a success, despite an audience of 60-year-olds.
   Antoinette Geldun: I shared an office with Amy. She's wonderful with students, wonderful as a colleague. She's very modest, helpful. Why did this happen? You heard about all the "hallway" conversations. The art department is scattered and doesn't see what she's like. Describes Amy's work; we'll lose our connections with the Getty, etc. (Nancy seems annoyed.) Also, "she always has ginger cookies." (Laughter.)  You couldn't ask for a better person.
   Ann McDermott: I took a piano class with Susan B. The class was fabulous. I've taken courses in many colleges, but this was the best ever. So friendly, patient with all students. What a difference, taking a class with Susan. Goes through various anecdotes. She's so enthusiastic, it's contagious. It would be such a loss, if....

(The last group:)

Lewis Long

(It's now 5:44. An extraordinary display.)
   Lewis Long: past president of the Faculty Association. Here to talk about the tenure review process. The spirit and intent of the process was not necessarily followed in this case. A system needs checks and balances. He describes the process, which he helped develop. TRC focuses on teaching. The role of the VP, the P, the Chancellor. If each of these latter simply forward the TRC assessment, then the process is not being followed. Each of these has a role: to discuss the person's participation at the college level, etc.
   (Nancy: your time is up! Lang: we want to hear more...  Nancy: "One sentence more": )
   ? Kim: speaks on behalf of Susan Boettger. Describes what Susan does, how well she does it. She encouraged me as a music major, "even though I'm not young."
   (Nancy: as the next "Kim" steps up, she says: "looks like we have a relative here....")
   H. Kim: describes her experience with Susan Boettger. Success, etc. Such great teaching skills. "I'm very proud of me that I am her student!" I cannot speak English very well. But she encourages me. She understands students like me. Please support her.
   Lisa Alvarez: I've taught English at IVC for 20 years. Reads letter by last year's part-time teacher of the year. Support for both Fine Arts probies. Impressive letter. (Your time is up!)
   Name?: I'm a student at IVC. A student of Mrs. Grimm. She starts class with, "Dear beloved students." Says it all of the time. She welcomes us. (Speaks in halting English.) I'm very pleased to be in her class. Witnessed student disrespecting her. She handled it so beautifully. I'm very happy to be her student.
   ? G: I have a few unique things to add. I'm a returning student. I have an MA from UCLA, an MA.... I made a career change. She's amazing (referring, I think, to Amy Grimm. Not sure)

   Nancy Padberg: That concludes our speakers: I must tell you that we will not be able to reconvene until an hour and half. So we'll reconvene at 7:30 or so. No sooner.

     The room is amazingly full. There's a celebratory mood among supporters of Grimm and Boettger. Very pleased. Applause broke out here and there during the preceding. This greatly annoyed Nancy. Amy and Susan's remarks received strong applause, which was not appreciated by the Nance.
     Lewis Long and Kathy Schmeidler's remarks were well received as well.

You'll hear from me again at 7:30 or so.

The Bookman mystery photo

     I was in Bookman yesterday, the marvelous used bookstore in Orange—right next door to Pepperland Music, and three doors down from Brandi and Jarrod's crummy thrift store ("as seen on TV"). Been goin' to Bookman for many, many years. 

     Among the store's charms is the array of cool old photos, newspaper clips, and posters stapled randomly on the bookcases—if so elevated a word as "bookcase" may be used for Bookman's rustic shelving. Well, yesterday, as I walked past some of the postings at the end of one bookcase, an old German postcard caught my eye. It's the one at the top of this post. 

Brandi and Jarrod say "Hi"

     I asked one of the wacky Goth Girls who work there if I could buy it. "I don't see why not!", she said. She destapled it for me. I think I paid 50 cents for it.

     The photo caught my eye because, as you know, I'm the Bauer family archivist, and I've come across (and scanned) many photos that look just like this one, especially among the often mysterious pics from my dad's side of the family. The Bauers hail from a little town in the Black Forest near Stuttgart, Germany. (Böblingen.)

     On the back of the card is written, "Erinnerung an das Plätzchen im Dreisbachtal 1925." It means, "In memory of this spot in Dreisbachtal, 1925." 

     Today, I showed the card to my folks, who thereupon pondered, as is their custom. "I found this yesterday," I said.

     "This is one of Opa's pictures," said mom.

     "Opa" refers to my grandfather—my father's father, Otto Bauer—who lived from 1907 until 1998. At the time of the photograph, he would have been about 18 years old.

     One of the reasons I was interested in the photograph is that one or two of the young men in it seemed to resemble my grandfather, Otto. 

     Here's a photo of Otto taken in perhaps the late 20s:

Otto, hangin' with his Commie friends

     Otto—and the woman who became his wife, Louise, my paternal grandmother—were die-hard members of a nature organization called Naturfreunde ("friends of nature"). (See also here.) The Bookman mystery photo is very much like a picture of a Naturfreunde gathering—what with the flags, the natural setting, etc.
     "No," I said. "This is not one of Opa's pictures. I found it yesterday on a wall at Bookman in Orange."
     My folks stared at me, seemingly stunned. They often look that way.
     "I bought the photo because it really reminded me of some of Opa's old photos. Plus one or two of the men in the photo look a bit look Opa."
     Yesterday, when I first saw the photo, I thought that the Mandolin Man at left resembled Opa. Opa owned and played a mandolin that looked very much like the mandolin shown here. (We've still got the dang thing.)
     But when I got home and took a better look, I could see that the Mandolin Man didn't look like Opa at all. On the other hand, the guy crouching a few feet to his left (see below) did look like him.

   
     On the other hand, maybe not. Here's another shot of Opa/Otto:

   
     This last photo was likely taken a bit later than 1925. Same guy? Dunno.
     Here's another shot of Opa/Otto, sitting on a plane built by his boss and friend, the celebrated Hans Klemm:

     It's hard to say when this photo (it's actually an extreme closeup of a much larger photo) was taken. Probably in the 20s.
     Dreisbachtal (in German, "tal" is often a suffix meaning something like "dale" or "vale") may well refer to the town of Dreisbach, which is in Germany's Western Forest, about 150 miles to the north of Böblingen. Opa did a lot of "wandering," as per the custom at the time, especially when he was about 18, and so he might easily have been to Dreisbach. Who knows.
     I've encountered other "Erinnerung" ("Remembering") postcards among Opa's old things. For instance, here's a postcard, depicting people known by either Otto or Louise or both (I've found some of these people on other photos depicting Otto or Louise), from 1919 (when Opa would have been twelve years old):

     Kälberbronn is in a forest to the southwest of Böblingen.
     It's not likely, I guess, that my Otto is the guy in the Mystery Photo. 
     I still have a couple of leads. We'll see.

Opa's mandolin

Making the "scene," at Bookman

The Lariat is all over the Ali Syed story

• Ali Syed's first victim, Courtney Aoki, was allegedly pregnant at the time of death
• Ali Syed struggled with classes while at Saddleback*

*A commenter (on the Lariat website) asserts that, in this article, the Lariat violates FERPA—presumably, by reporting Syed's grades.

Lariat highlights Grimm

Amy Grimm

Susan Boettger

     Here’s a four-month-old Lariat article about one of the probies, in IVC’s School of Fine Arts, whose TRCs (tenure review committees) recommended not granting tenure. As a result, her name (and the name of the other 4th year Fine Arts probie) do not appear on the agenda item for Monday’s board meeting, recommending tenure.
     The case against these two women, I’m told, does not concern deficiencies in their teaching; rather, it concerns their alleged failure to be sufficiently collegial. Supporters, please be aware that the closed session begins at 5:00 p.m. There will be an opportunity to address the board before it retreats to that session.

IVC offers access to museums and galleries through new art program - Thursday, October 18, 2012

     IVC Art History Professor Amy Grimm is currently heading a newly developed program in Applied Museum Studies that is exclusive to Irvine Valley College.
     Grimm offers students the opportunity to go behind the scenes in Galleries and Museums by gaining valuable knowledge from experts and hands-on experience.
     “The key elements are we are not just working not just in the classroom, but we are actively in the field talking to experts who do this type of work,” Grimm said.
     According to Grimm, Orange County and neighboring cities offer great opportunities for museum visits and guest lectures.
     “Because of the area that we are in (Orange County) we have an embarrassment of riches. We have so many fantastic museums here, plus in greater San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Spring areas. We’re kind of spoiled here, but in a good way,” she said.
     Grimm’s experience in the museum field spans over 15 years.
     She has worked in the Albany Institute of History & Art, the South Carolina State Museum, the El Paso Museum of Art and recently the Long Beach Museum of Art.
     Representatives from LACMA, The Hammer, OCMA and among many others are set to visit IVC for students to hear from those working inside museums and galleries.
     “We are working with people who are at the top of their careers. We have some great colleagues who are the best of the best to come and spend time with us and my students which is pretty fantastic,” said Grimm.
     The Museum Applied Studies program is still new to IVC, but the response has been positive according to Grimm.
     “We are getting good feedback from working professionals to help make our students more marketable," she said. "Our students are really going to have a competitive edge."
     Grimm begins teaching Collections Management (ARTH 115) this Friday, Oct .19 in IVC.

The President on vacation with another probie.
His TRC recommended tenure.

BOT meeting preview

Poertner

     As per Chancellor Gary Poertner’s email earlier today, the agenda for Monday's meeting of the SOCCCD BOT is now available (see here).
     Given the latest killer maniac episode—the seemingly unmotivated murder, two days ago, of three people by Saddleback College student Ali Syed—newbie trustee Tim Jemal’s request, last month, for a report on the mental health services provided at Saddleback College, Irvine Valley College, and ATEP seems downright prescient.
     In truth, however, there have long been indications that, at least at IVC, the college is less-than-prepared to deal with alarming behavior exhibited by students. On at least one occasion (about two years ago), a junior faculty member was left to twist in the wind by incompetent administrators when she sought to draw attention to the plainly disconcerting behavior of one student who, as it turns out, had a history of mental health problems. That episode and others have left many of us with little confidence in the college’s ability to deal with students who exhibit disconcerting behavior.
     The reports—from the two colleges—will be presented at Monday’s meeting of the SOCCCD BOT.
     I’ve accessed the agenda. Saddleback College’s report begins thus:

     The Counseling Services faculty and Student Health Center nursing and psychological staff have a long history of working collaboratively to address the mental and emotional issues of our students. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) was created in the early 1980’s to better address the needs of students, faculty, staff and community members in crisis. This team has continued to work collaboratively over the years to provide immediate assistance to those in need. As we have grown and matured as a campus and community, the occurrence of students in crisis has become a regular occurrence that has required a more proactive offering of education, training, intervention and followup of mental health services to better address the needs of our students.

Jemal

     Saddleback’s report makes much use of the phrase “Identify, Assist, and Educate.” The targets of such assistance and edification are, not troubled students, but employees, including faculty, who have available to them a “Faculty Guide” and an inservice activity.
     It all seems so feeble.
     For a delightful romp through our recent past re "disturbed students" and addled administrators, read

• Running with Scissors - Nov 3 10
• More criticism for IVC administration - Nov 5 10
• Benighted and bewildered - Jan 11 11
• Listening? - Feb 28 12
• Waking up with a horse head in your classroom - Feb 21 12

     Earlier, we noted the curious fact that the two fourth-year faculty probies in IVC’s School of Fine Arts up for tenure have reportedly received negative (i.e., terminal) recommendations by their Tenure Review Committees. In the case of at least one of these instances, a notorious faculty bully is involved, and some of us have grown concerned that an injustice is afoot. Glenn Roquemore’s history of accomodating bullies leaves us with little hope that pleas to look into possible problems in the process will yield anything.
     I noticed that the two probies in question are not on the list of fourth-year tenure-track faculty recommended for tenure:

From item 6.9

     Expect litigation.