They're making a list, they're checking it twice

• SH*T LIST. The big news around campus is our receipt of the action letter from the accreditors. It looks like the DOE climbed all over ACCJC/WASC and is forcing the latter to stick by the rules. That’s not so good for our colleges, since the rules are that colleges that remain “out of compliance” for two years get their ticket pulled. Guess what? Yup. Thanks to Raghu and his board pals, both colleges have been out of compliance for three years. Hence the letters (one per college). Luckily, we’ve been given some breathing room. Our next reports are to be filed in October. But can we bring about the cessation of trustee micromanagement, the overcoming of despair, the defining of the undefined and the stabilizing of the unstable in SEVEN MONTHS? The accreditation commission meets in January ('09). If we don’t satisfy them (with our October reports) at that time, they'll pull our ticket. See The Accreditation Letter Arrives.

• ENEMIES LIST. On Friday, the OC Reg (Judge sets trial date in CUSD 'enemies list' case) reported on a case concering the former chief of the Capistrano Unified School District:

A trial date has been set for a felony case against retired Capistrano Unified Superintendent James Fleming and former Assistant Superintendent Susan McGill.

…Fleming and McGill were indicted last May by a grand jury over the alleged creation of an "enemies list" of political opponents during an attempted recall effort of all seven members of the Capistrano Unified board of trustees.

Both Fleming and McGill have pleaded not guilty….

Perhaps you’ll recall that our own Raghu P. Mathur is fond of enemies lists. Check out Raghu’s enemies list.

• CONTRIBUTORS LIST. There’s an odd little piece in the OC Reg this morning about presidential campaign contributions by UCI and Chapman U professors: O.C. professors spread money among presidential candidates:

Political commentators say you’ll find a lot of liberal professors and executives at colleges and universities. It’s true. But you’ll also find moderates and conservatives at such schools as UC Irvine, Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton, as we learned by examining public online donor records maintained by the Federal Elections Commission.

The donors range from famed UCI economist-mathematician Duncan Luce, who gave $1,250 to Democrat Bill Richardson, to Chapman President and economist James Doti, who gave at least $6,600 to Republicans Rudy Guiliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The article provides a list of professors and administrators and to whom they donated. Check it out.


• COMPLAINT LIST. This morning’s Inside Higher Ed reports on the most recent effort to draw attention to the “equity” issue re community colleges and higher ed (Call for Equity for Community Colleges):

American higher education “is not sustainable,” and risks a growing detachment from reality if it does not come to grips with the needs of community colleges and the way higher education and government consistently mistreat the sector.

That unsettling argument was put forth Sunday night in the introductory talk of the annual meeting of the American Council on Education, by Gail O. Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College, of the City University of New York. Mellow’s critique probably wouldn’t surprise most people who work in community colleges, but it was an unusually public rebuke for the rest of higher education at a meeting of the higher education umbrella group that represents two-year and four-year, public and private colleges.

Mellow argued that the way higher education is categorized, defined and financed have all worked to the detriment of community colleges, even as they educate nearly half of all undergraduates, and significant portions of those who will later graduate with bachelor’s degrees from four-year institutions.

“We must stop giving community colleges straw and expecting spun gold,” she said. “The fact is that what happens to community colleges affects all of higher education. As higher education leaders, we have allowed the baccalaureate and community college systems to develop separately and unequally, with tenuous points of integration and inadequate financial support.”

Added Mellow: “Higher education funding and quality assessment is still premised on what are now nostalgic memories of traditional-aged, upper-middle class college students. Unless we let go of this myth and realistically face the modern demographics of the U.S. college population — who goes and who should go to college — the relevance and status of American higher education in a competitive, global education market will erode.”….

“One Love, One Heart”: Reagan/Marley ‘08 (Red Emma)

WRITTEN BY RED EMMA (and posted by Chunk)

.....I got a laugh out of my Dissent editor when I proposed manufacturing a bumper sticker advertising this unlikely ticket, and he asked me to share with Dissenters because both of us are all about sharing the love. One love. Or, if you prefer, the luv.
.....Ronald Reagan and Bob Marley are both dead, which makes them ideal presidential candidates, even Kennedy-esque. Weirdly, their birthdays were the day after SuperDuper Tuesday, noted on the radio even as we were offered a preview of the big match-up: Audacity of Hope vs. the Hundred Years War. The liberal NPR “Morning Edition” chose to remind listeners of the Gipper’s big day (1911) while the radical weirdos at KPFK celebrated the Rastaman’s (1945). More, perhaps, of the funny dichotomy of our political moment, which requires us to choose sides.
.....Remember, once, when you were either a fan of the Beatles, those charming and adorable moptops, or a fan of the Stones, the street-fighting Satanists? That’s how voters make their choices, or are offered them, so that my own reductio ad absurdum political pair-up echoes I think quite modestly the symbolic excitement drummed up by the horse-race media and, more to the point, the corporate owners who are the singular beneficiaries of hustling “change,” “hope,” “pride,” “the future,” or whatever other useless psycho-spiritual commodity is for sale this season. Think $100 million in ad revenues.
.....But, to the big point (because Red does have one): Reagan, the former wax museum president, should be poster boy for the biggest transfer in history of public wealth into private hands, Star Wars, invading itty-bitty countries, firing trade unionists, murderizing thousands in Central America, destroying public education. But, no, he is perpetually avuncular, jolly, strong, wise and patriotic.
.....Bob the Rastafarian died of brain cancer, smoked a lot of dope, fathered about 20 children, went to Zimbabwe to celebrate Pan-Africanism, seemed to support a Socialist Jamaica, but mostly worshipped a dead Ethiopian monarch and wrote a whole lot of freedom songs. (As a former South County waterman, I spent a lot of time with white, ganja-smoking OC surfers who loved Bob Marley and his music, play it constantly but, interestingly, vote Republican and hate black people.)
.....So, yes, Reagan, the Great Communicator with nothing to say except taxes are bad, the jingoist iron fist in the iron glove, embraced by right-wing religionists who hate women. And Bob, the dreamy Black artist-musician humanitarian whose songs, intrinsically political, transcend politics and whose “One Love” will no doubt be played at the next Republican convention, if it hasn’t been already.
.....Bookends, it seems to me, and an ideal ticket, not even trying to reconcile the choice we are offered between McCain and Obama but, My Friends, embracing it! Why settle for either the current old man Viet Nam war criminal on his zombiesque anti-historical death march (clearly, he is just fucking mental, poor guy) or the all-things-to-all people cipher whose ambiguous hot air of hope “transcends” race, sex, politics, civil rights (in other words, history).
.....One is never, ever, not even once asked to account for dropping bombs on civilians from a big fat American plane. The other is never asked what he will do, exactly, with the garrison state, Star Wars, the corporations, James Dobson and Newt because that would mean he might be fighting a class war. So: “Let’s get together and feel alright!” No, my ticket, Fellow Americans, has something for everybody, and all of it symbolic and therefore sell-able, a real consensus.
.....To misquote Mother Mary Harris Jones: Vote for the dead, and pray like hell for the living. -RE

Andrew Tonkovich

"I Guaran-damn-tee it"

Here’s the latest on Irvine Valley College’s “Hometown Hero,” Mike Carona—transcripts of wiretaps:

• OC REG: Feds file wiretap transcript they say shows Carona plotting testimony:

"Whatever we did, as long as our stories are straight, I'm OK, as long as I know there's no trail anywhere," Haidl told Carona, according to the transcript.

Carona replied, "No trail anywhere," the transcript said.

When Haidl needs further assurance, Carona added, "Period. Period. In fact, not even close to being a trail."

•LA TIMES: Transcripts of secret Carona tapes released:

"On my end, nothing's traceable. It's hidden," Haidl tells Carona, explaining that money he had given Carona had come from a private safe.

"Well, on my end of it, completely untraceable, completely untraceable," Carona responds.

"So we're going to be . . . facing these guys at some point, I believe," Haidl says, referring to federal authorities.

"Oh, I guarantee it," Carona responds. "Guaran-damn-tee it."

The IVC Accreditation letter arrives and it's a doozy

.....The ACCJC's action letter, explaining the agency's latest determination regarding IVC's accreditation, arrived on campus yesterday, and it once again tags the college for the problems identified the last time around: trustee micromanagement, a plague of despair, unclear roles and responsibilities for governance groups, etc.
.....Evidently, we are required to submit yet another report in October.
.....None of this is surprising. What IS surprising is that, apparently, we are now in danger of losing our accreditation.

.....Both letters are now available at the college websites. For IVC's letter, see Jan. 31 ACCJC letter -- a pdf file. (For Saddleback College's very similar letter, go to Saddleback College ACCJC letter.)

.....The letter states:

.....The ACCJC, WASC, at its meeting on January 9-11, 2008, reviewed the Focused Midterm Reports submitted by IVC....

.....The Commission took action to accept the Focused Midterm Report with the requirement that the college complete a Progress Report...[to] be submitted by October 15, 2008.

.....I also wish to inform you that under US DOE regulations, institutions out of compliance with standards or on sanction are expected to correct deficiencies within a two-year period or the Commission must take action to terminate accreditation. [!]

.....Irvine Valley College must correct the deficiencies noted by January 2009. The recommendations below represent deficiencies that were first noted by the Commission in January 2005 (as a result of the Oct. 2004 comprehensive evaluation team), and therefore IVC has exceeded the two years permitted to resolve deficiencies.

.....The Commission has extended the time permitted for good cause because the college and the district have done significant work and have sought and received advice from expert consultants....

The letter again repeats Recommendations 6, 7, and 8: the ACCJC recommends...

6: The Board of Trustees cease involvement in college and district operations....

7: The Board..., District leadership and College leadership define, publish, adhere to, regularly evaluate, and continuously improve the respective leadership roles and scopes of authority of college and district constituent groups....

8: The Board of Trustees, chancellor, president, administrators, managers, faculty senates and unions, classified senates and unions, and students come together and take measures to reduce the hostility, cynicism, despair, and fear that continue to plague the college.

.....So we've got trouble.

.....Our board of trustees has a history of displaying contempt for the ACCJC, and now we're paying the price, I guess. For some of that contempt--especially concerning the charge of board micromanagement, which reaches back to 1997!--check out the video below. Pay especially close attention to Mr. Fuentes' bullying of the student trustee toward the end of the video.



.....For the ACCJC's recent institutional actions, go to: ACCJC actions.

SADDLEBACK COLLEGE'S "ACTION" LETTER:

Over the Rainbow

Thousands of people turned out at the Del Mar Fairgrounds yesterday to urge the Coastal Comission to reject the extension of the 241 toll road -and you know what? - they did! The Commission voted 8-2 after a 14 hour hearing.

Read all about it here in the OC Register.




We're on a roll, folks.

Old documents provoke reverie

.....I happened upon some old documents today, and they provoked special memories.
.....Remember when then-IVC President Mathur joined his Board Majority patrons in deploring the practice of reassigned time? (For those not in the know, reassigned time is an instructor's taking on non-teaching duties—e.g., chairing a department or penning an accreditation self-study—in place of part of his/her normal teaching "time.") That was back in the late 90s. Ten years later, Raghu is still pretty down on reassigned time, as you know.
.....And do you recall the enthusiasm with which Chancellor Mathur helped his trustee patrons determine how many fiendish faculty were members of the "one hundred thousand dollar club"? Gosh, I do. That wasn't so very long ago.

.....Well, today, I happened upon district salary records from 95-96 and 96-97. According to those records, for 95-96, Mathur, then a lowly Chemistry instructor, was the third highest paid faculty member in the district, making $118,312.
.....Gosh!
.....For 96-97, Raghu was again the third highest paid instructor in the district, this time making a cool $123,305. —That's right. Mr. Goo was in the friggin' hundred twenty thousand dollar club! And that was more than a decade ago!
.....Did Raghu have any reassigned time? Well, I can't say. On the other hand, everybody knows that he held on to that "School Chair" job like a dog with a bone. And some chairs of little schools who saw themselves as especially hard-working received 80% reassigned time, know what I mean?
.....Golly! I do believe he suffered a slight cut in pay when he became IVC President!
.....But don't worry about our Goo. He now makes about $300,000.

Lambrose Canyon/Live Oak Canyon, earlier today

Construction at IVC: moving right along!

92 goes down

In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Californians Reject Community College Measure:

California voters on Tuesday rejected — by a wide margin — a controversial measure that would have set aside a specific share of state appropriations for community colleges and cut tuition at two-year institutions.

With more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, the measure was attracting only about 41 percent of the vote.

“Obviously, we are disappointed by the decision of California’s voters,” Scott Lay, president and chief executive officer of the Community College League of California, which worked on behalf of the measure, said via e-mail early this morning. California’s deteriorating budget outlook hurt the effort, he said.

…Proposition 92, as the measure is called, is the latest in a series of California ballot questions designed to shape how the state spends its funds. Supporters of these measures (as was the case with this one) cite the importance of setting aside a share of the state budget for particularly crucial agencies or services. But critics see the measures hurting other, equally vital state services (including much of higher education) by making everything not covered by a special measure compete for a smaller and smaller slice of the budget pie. Because much of the state budget in California (as elsewhere) is set aside for required spending, higher education tends to be particularly fearful of the impact of more budget set-asides — however worthy the set-aside.

As a result of these tensions, Proposition 92 won the backing of many community college advocates, but was opposed by many public university leaders.

Supporters of the measure noted that California’s community college system — the nation’s largest higher education system — served many low-income, minority students who can be discouraged from enrolling by large classes, closed sections and even seemingly modest tuition increases. Supporters provided plenty of stories — not contested by others in higher education — of the need for more state support and more stable state support for community colleges.

But critics — within higher education and elsewhere — focused on the impact the measure would have had on the rest of the state budget. A resolution from the University of California Board of Regents, for example, expressed strong support for the mission of community colleges, but opposed Proposition 92.

“Proposition 92 requires more state funding and reduces student fees for one segment of higher education without regard to the needs of all of higher education. Since it does not create or identify any new revenue sources, unprotected state programs such as UC and CSU would be competing for a smaller share of available general funds,” the resolution said. “Passage of Proposition 92 could result in a reduction in the university’s state-funded budget, which in turn could result in an erosion of university programs and services. It would limit fee increases for one segment of higher education while potentially increasing pressure to raise fees even further at UC and CSU to make up for unavailable general funds.”

ALSO: “RIGHT-WING NUT”:

Bruce Benson, the only finalist named by the University of Colorado Board of Regents to become system president, is facing tough questions — and a vandal — on the Boulder campus. The Rocky Mountain News reported on an open forum at which Benson, a career energy industry executive whose highest degree is a bachelor’s, was grilled by students and faculty members. He was asked about his lack of an advanced degree (he said he would leave academic decisions to campuses), whether he believes in climate change (he promised not to interfere in research), his Republican ties (he pledged to work only on behalf of the university), his DUI (he said it was a long time ago and he took responsibility) and his donation to a legal defense fund for former Sen. Bob Packwood, who faced sexual harassment charges (he said everyone deserves a defense). Also this week, a painting of Benson in a geology building named for him was defaced. Someone wrote on it: “I’ve given CU enough $ for an individual right-wing nut like me to be CU’s president.

McCain, not Romney

From this morning’s OC Reg: GOP: an untidy contest:

… “I can’t remember an election where conservatives were so intently confused about the right direction to go,’’ said former Lincoln Club Chairman Michael Capaldi. He waited until the last minute to choose who he would vote for. He went with John McCain.

…Capaldi, like many conservatives, has had a lot of problems with McCain over the years…“It seems like he’s left the reservation and now he wants to come back,’’ Capaldi said of the Arizonasenator. “And I’m willing to give him a chance.’’

…The mainline leadership of the Orange County GOP – Chairman Scott Baugh, former Chairman Michael Schroeder, Rep. John Campbell and most recently Rep. Dana Rohrabacher – lined up behind Romney.

…The question often asked – in an election season in which Democrats have outraised Republicans nationally and the pundits all say the GOP lacks passion for this race – is whether Republicans will get energized for the fall election.

…Romney’s California chairman Michael Schroeder isn’t so sure either Clinton or Obama will be enough to motivate conservative Republicans here if Romney doesn’t capture the nomination.

…Marianne Zippi may be one of the Republicans McCain needs to convince. She voted for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Zippi prefers Romney over McCain, who she called a “loose cannon.’’

"To me, voting for McCain would be the same as voting for Obama or Clinton, so I have no idea (if I'd vote for him). I'd have to wait and see."