"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised." Chinua Achebe
At the end of July there will be a special Board meeting called a 'retreat'. They (the President's Office) has not announced when and where it will be held on the Rio Hondo website. The Agenda for this retreat is a mystery. There are a couple of rumors flying around campus about the topics on the agenda. The rumor that has most people vexed is that they will go through the President's evaluation and may decide to renew his contract, denying the newly elected trustees a choice in the matter, as they did before the last election. I have great faith in the President of the Board Maria Elena Martinez will not allow such a vote because she believes in the community having a say through the election process. The other possible topic according to rumors is meddling in the curriculum process by agreeing to pass odious Board Policies on the newly State mandated degrees. This is a possibility because such a policy is being championed by Angela Acosta-Salazar. The Board most likely will direct faculty as to what courses are included in a degree to increase the number of students who transfer by making attainment of the degree easier. Such an action would weaken the Academic integrity and quality of Associate degrees and would show that the Board has no confidence in the subject area experts.
Trustee Acosta-Salazar and some board members are more concerned with how many degrees are handed out instead of whether or not a student with a discipline specific degree have an understanding of the subject. We the faculty saw this happen with the Psychology degree and we suspect it will happen again.
If this happens again, I will ask the Academic Senate to stand up for the integrity of the degrees offered at Rio Hondo. And I will advocate that the Academic Senate to have a vote of no confidence in Trustee Acosta-Salazar and other Board members who support her policy of cheapening the Academic quality of our degrees at Rio Hondo.
The agenda for this meeting came out today.
ReplyDeleteRIO HONDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Special Meeting, Friday, July 29, 2011
Board Room, Administration Building
3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA
AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER
A. Continental Breakfast (8:30 a.m.)
B. Call to Order (9:00 a.m.)
C. Pledge of Allegiance
D. Roll Call
II. STUDY SESSION – BOARD RETREAT
· Institutional Planning Process / ARCC Report
· Board Protocol
· Curriculum Development
· Accreditation Mid-Term Report
· Safety Procedures
· Residency Requirements
· Student Catalog and Schedule
· Master Plan Board Session
III. CLOSED SESSION
Pursuant to Section 54957
· PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
o Superintendent/President
o Evaluation Instrument
IV. ADJOURNMENT
Date of Next Regular Meeting: Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 6:00 p.m. (Rio Hondo College, Board Room, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier)
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY
Any individual with a disability, who requires a reasonable accommodation to participate in a Board meeting of the Rio Hondo Community College District, may request assistance by contacting the President’s Office, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, California. This document is available in alternate format. Telephone (562) 908-3403; fax (562) 908-3463; TDD (562) 908-3422.