Classifying SCC Faculty - Another Perspective

I'd like to take "Georgia Fayne" up on her (or his) offer and provide my perspective on SCC faculty. I'll use my actual name instead of posting anonymously because I think transparency is extremely important. In the interest of free and open dialogue, I hope my comment will be posted to this blog instead of being censored.

(1) The radical fringe. A small number of faculty members believe that Dr. Parker was sent here by the Chancellor to destroy SCC as part of a conspiracy theory involving Charting the Future. Despite the fact that SCC has recently hired three new full-time LAS faculty, they're convinced that the AA is going to be abolished and SCC will become an exclusively technical college. (In my view, this is extraordinarily unlikely.) These faculty members are very uncharitable, attributing the worst possible motivations to everyone with whom they disagree. They rely on unverified rumors, unwarranted assumptions, misguided misunderstandings and vicious personal attacks to make their case. Claiming to want what's best for the college, they actually make our situation worse by unfairly dismissing the union and undermining faculty unity. Moreover, they discredit legitimate concerns by including them alongside preposterous conspiratorial claims and obstruct constructive dialogue by demonizing union leaders and members of the administration.

(2) The concerned majority. Most faculty members recognize that there are problems at SCC—as there always have been and always will be. However, they (we) think that the concerns should be addressed via open, honest and respectful communication, not by anonymous (and venomous) blog posts which spread unsubstantiated rumors. We believe that the union has represented us effectively and bring our concerns to our union leaders instead of assuming that they've been co-opted by the administration. Because we actually communicate with Jay instead of attacking his character, we recognize that the union has challenged the administration when necessary and faculty have benefited as a result. Since Dr. Parker became President of SCC, two Deans who were widely disliked by faculty have been replaced by Barb Embacher; Department Chairs have been restored with equal compensation on both sides of the contract (something Keith Stover refused to do); a steamlined faculty evaluation process has been adopted (instead of the cumbersome approach which Nancy Genelin advocated); three new FTU LAS faculty and two (I think) technical faculty have been hired; SCC has experienced far fewer layoffs and non-renewals than most other MNSCU institutions; and the Marketing Committee has been reconstituted after a long absence. Is everything perfect? Of course not! We've had minimal advertising for the past year and a half, which probably contributed to our 3% decline in enrollment compared to last Spring; many staff members feel dissatisfied and some excellent employees have decided to leave SCC; temporary instructors who taught full-time schedules in the past will be limited to eight credits starting in the Fall; etc. Overall, however, full-time unlimited (tenured) faculty have fared rather well in the past year and a half. The fact that we don't agree with the assertions or the approach of the “radical fringe” doesn't mean we're “yes-men and -women” who don't care about the future of the college. Instead, we believe that the problems which SCC faces are manageable, not catastrophic, and are willing to work with the union and the administration to find constructive solutions. Admittedly, some of us have been more vocal than others in expressing our concerns due to perceived intimidation and the fear (justified or not) of reprisals.

(3) The indifferent remainder. The rest of the faculty are focused on their teaching and aren't terribly concerned with what's going on in the rest of the college. They're not sure what to believe, but know that their jobs have not been directly affected and would rather focus on their students than become embroiled in this controversy. I respect their position and would not accuse them of being “self-serving,” as Georgia Fayne does. Unfortunately, they may have fewer students to teach in the future due to the harm inflicted on SCC's reputation by the radical fringe's vitriolic campaign.