Scientists, Feeling Under Siege, March Against Trump Policies
(NYT)

Dozens of angry Whittier Law School students protest after college announces closure
(OC Reg)

Hundreds demonstrate in Laguna Beach to demand that Trump release his taxes (OC Reg)

Irvine Valley College’s Child Development Center targeted for closure

     Administration at Irvine Valley College is once again scrambling to deal with yet another budget shortfall, and it's pretty serious. The IVC Academic Senate, which represents faculty on academic matters, has attempted to monitor the situation, but, as usual, neither President Glenn Roquemore nor his VP of College Administrative Services, Davit Khachatryan, seem capable of providing clear or coherent budget information. It's an old complaint.
     Natch, college personnel have been looking for ways to save big money.
     As you may know, many college programs offer courses with lab time, and these labs are generally money-losers, a state of affairs tolerated owing to the necessity of the labs for the viability of the programs.
     The Human Development program has a lab, too. It is the Child Development Center (CDC), situated at the east corner of campus, where, for many years, children have been provided day care and instruction. Owing to recent increases in salaries (secured by our faculty union), the cost of maintaining staff at the CDC has gone up, and, for that reason among others, the center now operates in the red. We keep hearing deficit figures between $400k and beyond.
     Evidently, our VP of Student Services, Linda Fontanilla, has, in recent weeks, been making the rounds presenting a very dismal picture of the CDC, saying (as I understand it) that few HD students do lab work at the center, that the CDC attracts few clients (children), and so on. She's obviously making the case that the CDC should be shut down.

Fontanilla

     We at the Academic Senate have just learned that some committee (not sure which, but the usual suspects) is already recommending pulling the plug on the CDC as a way to help address the budget shortfall. As a result of that decision, there is an item on the agenda of the next board meeting requesting the the college may be allowed to move in that direction.
     Following a now familiar pattern, administration seems to be making decisions sans the defined process, which is designed to solicit input from various governance groups (including the Academic Senate).
     According to HD faculty, who attended Thursday’s Senate meeting, the first they heard about this move to close CDC was a week earlier. They were horrified. Now, they've got only a few days to scare up ideas to save the center.

     At the meeting, two HR faculty complained that the current process, whatever it is, has proceeded without any effort to consult or inform the affected faculty, who were taken utterly by surprise. Why was there no effort to reconfigure the CDC to make it operate more cheaply?, they asked. Why not ask for our help and resources? Why are we moving straight to closing down the CDC?
     At the meeting, HD faculty asserted that their programs are dependent on the operation of the CDC and that, therefore, the college's plug-pulling of CDC would be a de facto plug-pulling of their programs. Further, they claimed that the alleged factoids promulgated by the VPSS are erroneous or distorted—that, for instance, the related programs do indeed seek to maximize the number of HD students instructed at the CDC but that efforts in this regard are constrained by the limited number of classes that can be offered there.

     Khachatryan was present to answer questions, but that didn’t go far. He suggested that, when it comes to the “academic side of things,” we need to talk to the VP of Instruction, Chris McDonald.
     Natch, he wasn’t present.
     The senators heard all this and were sympathetic. The senate will try to insure that the college's governance procedures are followed. That means that no decision to close CDC can have been made at this point and that this matter must wend through the prescribed process, involving various committees and other entities.
     That's our thinking, anyway.
     Stay tuned.

Burnett lands at Brandman

Bully boy

       UPDATE ON TOD BURNETT (April 8, 2017): a reliable source tells us where Tod Burnett, who is set to leave Saddleback College in June, has secured his next job. Tod will be working at Brandman University, which, of course, is local and is part of the Chapman University system.
     (I checked: Burnett has been associated with Brandman and its school of education for some time. See "Mentor magic: equal parts experience, friendship, guidance," January 28, 2016).*
     Our source says that, essentially, Tod will be Brandman's "foundation director."
     Our source also noted that, 'cause Brandman's private, this foundation gig could get rough. It ain't like the public sector, he said.
     You'll recall that Burnett was hired by the wily Raghu Mathur nine years ago, despite the Todster's lack of academic experience (VP of Eva Gabor International, Governor Schwarzenegger's deputy appointments secretary, Associate Faculty at the University of Phoenix). So why'd Raghu hire him? Answer: owing to his supposed connections up at the state chancellor's office, where he served in a "vice" capacity, doing nothing much of significance (he could see the bottom of the barrel from where he labored).
     That "connection" didn't seem to pan out for the Gooster, who is now teaching Chem as an adjunct somewhere—and lending his "name" to dubious for-profits.
     Google Raghu's name. You'll see that he has now achieved oblivion. It's like he disappeared from the face of Earth.
     Buh-bye Mr. Goo. Buh-bye!

*IVC President Glenn Roquemore is on the Brandman University EdD Advisory Board. On July 21-22, 2016, Vice President for Student Services Linda Fontanilla held a student ambassador leadership institute at Brandman University.

My Saturday

Poof: Bugay bugs out

     Yes, our info is that David Bugay (VC Human Resources) was "asked to leave," and he's now gone. We don't know how or why this came about, but it doesn't look good.
     "Poof."

     He has "teaching retreat rights," but he isn't expected to make use of 'em.
     Bye bye.

     Golly, there're lots of "interim" characters at the top of SOCCCD administration these days, doncha think?
     Like I said. Golly.
     Bugay was hired (as VC of HR) in July of 2008, replacing Bob King.

     P.S.: we've been assured that Bugay will be returning soon as an instructor. Evidently, the matter appeared on the board agenda a few months ago (and was approved).

SEE ALSO:

The pious and the poetic - Nov. 18, 2011 - The Naked Turtle Dances: Poem by David Bugay

Bernie TV, our dishonest prez, angel baby

Our Dishonest President
a(LA Times editorial)
Academic Freedom, Under Threat in Europe
(NYT; opinion)

     …Academic freedom is not a partisan issue. Even in these partisan times, all lovers of freedom can surely come together on the principle that self-governing institutions should be left alone to govern themselves free of state interference. This is as true in Europe as it is in the United States.
     Americans should also find it easy to agree that the United States should not allow any ally to intimidate an American institution. As for Central European University, its board and its administration will never surrender its academic freedom to anyone….

RIP