A screen door on a submarine

     Did you know that IVC’s eternal President, Glenn Roquemore, is on the “Political Action Committee” of the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA)?
     At the ACCCA website, Glenn is listed along with seven other PAC members.
     Golly.
     What’s the ACCCA, you ask? Well, according to the website, “Established in 1975, ACCCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of administrator's rights” [sic]. It is, they explain, “the premier association for community college administrators in California.”
     I guess these administrators have it pretty bad. Much put upon. So they've got this lobbyist organization to give 'em a little muscle so they can protect themselves. Like a can of Mace.

* * *

     Turns out, Glenn is on the ACCCA board. He’s the organization’s "Second Vice President."
     Gosh.
     David Bugay, the SOCCCD Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, is also on the board.

* * *

     Looks like the ACCCA and its PAC are nakedly political. They unapologetically play the lobbying game up in Sacramento.
     Elsewhere on the site, we’re told:

     The ACCCA Political Action Committee is the only PAC among administrative organizations, and gives ACCCA the ability to support political campaigns and legislators through direct contributions. The PAC ensures that ACCCA has the means to cultivate relationships with legislators, influence legislation, and contribute to significant initiatives and statewide campaigns that benefit administrators. ACCCA also employs a lobbyist to achieve these goals, and uses PAC money to support his efforts.

     They advocate pension reform.
     They provide salary surveys to their members. (Aren't paid enough, I guess.)
     They’ve got a newsletter with ads and everything.
     Evidently, they have strong views about the mess at City College of San Francisco. Some administrators are under threat there 'cuz CalSTRS thinks they aren't "performing creditable service." Imagine.

* * *

     Like I said, the ACCCA is all about promoting administrators’ rights. They're pretty focused on that. The organization’s PAC

is ... solely dedicated to advocating for your administrative rights in Sacramento. The PAC ensures that ACCCA has the means to influence legislation and contribute to statewide campaigns that help administrators throughout the California community college system.

     I wonder how the ACCCA feels about the growing sense,* across the country, that higher education is being overrun, even ruined, by administrators? And that said administrators are more useless than ever, which is really saying something?

     I wonder if ACCCA have a mascot? 

     I’ve got a mascot idea.

     How about a screen door on a submarine?

Glenn's the Captain.

*Regarding this sense, see 'The Fall of the Faculty'

Very top down

“I wanted to emphasize a major shift that’s been underway for several decades. Deans have an academic background. Years ago, they were part-time and always part of the faculty. This is extremely important because, like the faculty, they saw the university as an instrument of teaching and scholarship. Today, we have a cadre of professional administrators. I called them deanlets to give emphasis to the difference. They either have no faculty background or they decided early in their careers that their talents lay elsewhere. To them, what used to be the means is now the end. Instead of an institution serving teaching and scholarship, teaching and scholarship serve the institution.”

See also • REMARKS ON BENJAMIN GINSBERG’S FALL OF THE FACULTY • Book review

Yet another FUBAR: the "commencement prayer" issue at IVC

     As you know, Karla Westphal, a math instructor at Saddleback College, has for many years urged the board to back off of its practice of prayer, especially sectarian prayer, at district and college events. She has enjoyed the support of academic senates and other groups. (The prayer issue in this district predates Karla's efforts of the last dozen or so years. It actually goes back at least 22 years.)
     Naturally, in defiance, the Wagner- and Fuentes-dominated board, with then-Chancellor Raghu Mathur, started laying on the religion mighty thick, which led to the “Westphal v. Wagner” litigation, of which I was a part. (See Prayer in the SOCCCD.)

"Loophole" Boy

     In the end, a settlement was reached according to which a “commencement committee” (actually: the group of "event planners") was supposed to decide independently—i.e., without the influence of trustees or college presidents—whether or not to have an invocation or prayer during commencement ceremonies. (See actual "resolution" below.)
     As you know, Saddleback College’s Tod Burnett immediately defied the prima facie demands of the agreement (evidently on the basis of an alleged “loophole” in the "resolution" produced by the settlement), overriding the commencement committee's decision not to have an invocation.
     Folks complained, but it didn't matter. Not to this board.
     Ah, yes. Exploiting a loophole. Reminds me of the conniveries of such heroes of yore as Steve Frogue and Tom Fuentes, always lyin' and cheatin' for the Lord.
     Meanwhile, at IVC, friends close to the action informed me that the relevant IVC committee was indeed making the determination regarding prayer according to Hoyle. So I backed off and let them be.
     By late Spring (2013), however, I decided to pursue the matter more vigorously. Was the “commencement committee” at IVC, assuming there was such a thing, duly deciding the prayer question—and without undue influence?
     But first thing's first. Is there such a committee? Is there a committee, anyway, that is charged with raising and answering the question of whether there would be a prayer at commencement? Just who are the "event planners"?

Rumored to be Glenn's
"spiritual guide"–or possibly
Glenn's "spirit animal"

     On June 25, 2013, I wrote the Academic Senate President, knowing that she, if anyone, would be able to answer my question. In a friendly email, I wrote

     [A]s you know, the "Wagner v. Westphal" settlement essentially requires that the "commencement" committee will decide, independently of outside influence, whether to include an invocation/prayer. ¶ I do not recall how it is that the membership of that committee is determined. No doubt you do. Do we (the AS) appoint faculty members? I suspect that we do. ¶ If not, we need to consider changing that. ¶ Hope to hear from you. ¶ In either event, perhaps we can make this a higher priority next school year.

     The divine Miss S is known and celebrated for many things, but she is not known for speedy responses, and so I waited.
     On August 31, I received this response:

Hi Roy,
     There are several Commencement-related committees [she then notes the unclarity this situation creates]…. ¶ Scholarship awards (that’s the group that decides who gets what) Commencement speaker – for next year; this year (May 14) should already be decided but I don’t know the answer  ¶ Scholarship “oversight” TF [task force]– that is the one that started/restarted last summer to try to figure out how to make the system work. When that group was initially brought together, I thought that it was to look at scholarships and commencement issues, but apparently not. ¶ … and none, as far as I can tell, to look at the actual commencement exercises and how we arrange them. …[I]t appears that the commencement ceremony and associated [folderol] is a Helen L[ocke] - Glenn R deal. ¶ I will ask [IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore] about this at our next regular meeting.

     On that day (Aug. 31), I responded:

     Wow, if there is no "commencement committee" that oversees/plans the commencement, that's a problem. ¶ Do let me know how Glenn answers your question.

     I didn’t hear from Ms. S again (on this matter) for nearly four months—until today, Dec. 21:

"Let us pray" (& cheat) 

Hi Roy,
     It has taken many repetitive inquiries to ferret out an answer, because I kept getting partial answers. My response to you was further delayed because I tied together my notion of addressing what we see as a problem with this answer. I have not “fixed” it, but I think that I’m chopping away, and I did want to answer you in the same calendar year, even with a less than satisfactory answer. ¶ It seems to be “Student Services Council”, which in turn, has no faculty representation. In and of itself, no faculty is OK (parallel to, for example, Dean’s Council), but the problem, obviously, is that this group has purview over events in which faculty have interest and should have standing. So far, I have only been able to insert myself into these things informally and personally, which is a band-aid, not a fix. It is on the list for my first official meeting with GR next semester, to try to ‘convince’ Linda F of the virtues of inclusiveness…. ¶ Commencement is untied from scholarships, and we’ve been focusing on the latter since its timing is more critical. Thank you for your participation and voice in that discussion; I hope we can resolve those issues soon.

     —Well, I guess you’ll just have to stay tuned.
     So typical here at IVC. Everything's either encased in mud, obscured by fog, or operating (in a manner unknown & unhinged) behind closed doors in haunted and hollow A100.
     I think I'll contact this "Student Services Council" and ask how their "prayer" deliberations went last year. What do you suppose they'll say? (Normally, I'd contact Helen, but somehow I don't think that will work.)
     Here's my prediction. They'll say, "huh?" 
     Wanna bet?

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     For an overview of the prayer saga at SOCCCD, see socccd prayer