CHABOT COLLEGE ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE
R e g u l a r Meeting
Board Room, Building 200
Thursday, April 10, 2008, 2:23 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.
A P P R O V E D M I N UT E S
Submitted by Chad Mark Glen and Diane Zuliani
Senators
Applied Technology & Business — Michael Absher
Arts & Humanities — Dov Hassan
Counseling — Rachel Azimina & Dara Greene
Health, Physical Education, & Athletics — Nancy Cowan & Jeff Drouin
Language Arts — Susan Gill & Vacant
Library — Jim Matthews
Science & Mathematics — Dave Fouquet & Ming Ho
Social Sciences — Michael Thompson & Sherri Yeager
Part-time Faculty — Anne Brichacek
Ex-Officios
ASCC — Jove Meyer, ASCC Vice President/Senate Representative
CLPFA — Shari Jacobsen
Academic/Faculty Senate Immediate Past President — Chad Mark Glen
Guests
Jonathan Lightman and Ron Taylor
Presiding Officer
President Diane Zuliani
ITEM
1.0 GENERAL FUNCTIONS
1.1 Call to Order: President Zuliani called the meeting to order at 2:23
1.2 Approval of the Minutes: Jim Matthews moved to approve the March 13,
2008 minutes and Ming Ho seconded the motion. The motion carried and
the minutes were approved.
2.0 REPORTS (Item 4.1 addressed at this point)
2.1
President’s Report: Zuliani reported that in the Chancellor’s Council, Joel
stated that he will be reinstating the District Budget Study Group (DBSG) because
of the current state budget situation. Jim Matthews has chaired this committee in
the past and would be great to have on the committee. Mike Absher has also
expressed an interested in being on this committee. Jeff Drouin asked about the
process for making budget requests for his program. He went to his dean about
this matter and then to the college president, who referred him back to the dean
ACADEMIC/FACULTY SENATE DRAFT MINUTES
April 10, 2008
who referred him to the president. Senators commiserated about their budget woes.
2.2 ASCC: Jove Meyer touted the success of the speakers series and reminded us of the
ASCC scholarship packets, book scholarships, and co-curricular requests. The 3%
funding for the ASCC is not currently available, but President Barbarena has said told
the ASCC that an alternate source of funding will be provided. The district has consulted
with the ASCC about the new Web portal, which will allow one login for all accounts and
student e–mail accounts.
2.3 CLPFA: Shari Jacobsen reported the „new contract is online at the district Website, on
CDs and in print. Jim Matthews said the „calendar committee has put a flex day on
October 7th and is discussing having it be an all day event, rather than have a 4:00 p.m.
cut off time. „There is an Association meeting next Thursday, April 17th at noon in room
1904. „The Bay Faculty Association (BFA) is unhappy about accreditation SLOs,
academic freedom, busy work that goes no where, etc. „Adjunct FA representative,
Seth Harwood has a new book out worth reading. Anne Brichacek asked about how
our FA interacts with adjunct faculty and suggested that improvements could be made.
„Jacobsen encouraged all faculty to please join and support FACCC.
2.4 Senators: None.
2.5 Public Comments: Anne Brichacek read the following:
I come here today as an adjunct faculty who also happens to be their representative to
this body. I joined the Academic Senate because, as a person new to teaching and to
the community college system, I needed personal understanding of how the college
runs. By informing myself, I felt that I could not only be an instructor, but also a mentor to
students. On this level, it has been a satisfying experience. Being paid to be here is the
icing on the cake.
However, I realize that my “job” is to represent my colleagues who, while they comprise
the largest percentage of teaching faculty, are as amorphous as a cloud. I envy you who
have a “real” constituency to whom you can bring questions and dilemmas and, in turn,
receive input and guidance. I have as yet not found a practical means to reach mine.
That is why I chose to come before you not as a senator, but as an instructor to plead for
your attention to some matters that, in my opinion, need to be attended to. What better
time than now as the college is carefully assessing itself in the accreditation process?
Colleagues, thanks to the strong leadership of Dave Fouquet, Shari Jacobsen, and the
negotiations team, Chabot College adjunct faculty enjoy one of the best salary and
benefits contracts in the Bay Area and, perhaps, in California. A big “thank you” for past,
present, and future strides forward in this area. However, in other areas of college life, I
believe that, as a group, adjunct faculty is the least recognized and appreciated of all
stakeholders. The nature of the beast is such that adjunct faculty have a difficult journey
to make themselves recognized in the shared governance process unless they have a
grievance. It is nearly impossible for most adjuncts to attend division or committee
meetings where much of college business is conducted. So important matters such as
the hiring process for adjunct faculty, assignment of classes, staff development
opportunities and even general questions about how things work or who to contact about
specific issues go unanswered or unresolved. Most recently, adjunct faculty received a
letter from the District Office with instructions to choose between remaining in the STRS
benefits program and converting to Social Security. The letter arrived just around spring
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April 10, 2008
break and required a reply by April 1. There was no preparation laid prior to this, no
explanation of the benefits of one over the other, and no follow up. I feel that this
attitude is a reflection of a general perception that adjunct faculty is a necessary
nuisance that should be used when necessary and otherwise ignored.
One thing I have learned from my Senate experience is that many matters, although
they may not be in the direct purview of the Academic Senate, can be strongly affected
when the Senate expresses its interest and views. Through its stance on an issue or
question the Senate often effects a change in policy, awareness, and general attitudes.
With this in mind, I respectfully request the Academic Senate to
o write a statement that it values the contribution of adjunct faculty to the quality of
instruction and student success at Chabot College;
o encourage by any means the participation of adjunct faculty in the shared
governance process;
o call for input from the appropriate administrative office about items such as the
hiring process and class assignments;
o give some direction/input to the Senate adjunct faculty representative as to how
he or she could better serve and represent his or her constituency.
Jim Matthews moved to place support of Anne’s letter on the next Senate agenda as an
action item and Dara Greene seconded the motion, which passed.
3.0 ACTION ITEMS:
3.1
None
4.0 DISCUSSION ITEMS
4.1 Legislation and Advocacy for CCC Faculty— Jonathan Lightman: The Senate agreed to
address this item before item 2.0 in consideration of Mr. Lightman’s schedule. „10%
proposed budget cuts, yet project a 3% growth in enrollments. The new term “authentic
enrollment” is being used to make it clear that enrollment numbers are only valid if we have
enough classes to meet the needs of the students seeking to take classes. There is a
budget hearing at the State Capital on April 23rd. „All are encouraged to participate in a
march from Raley Field to the State Capitol in Sacramento on April 21st at 8:00 a.m.
Colleges from Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and the Bay Area will be
at this march. Details about the march can be found at the FACCC website, www.faccc.org.
„Jonathan discussed the usefulness of the “point and click” advocacy tool built into the
FACCC website. „FACCC is taking a leadership role in determining cost implications of
accreditation. How much does it actually cost to complete SLOs? To write the self-study?
How much are the new accreditation requirements costing our colleges? Chad Mark Glen
reported that the State Academic Senate has a resolution asking that colleges track the
costs to carry out the unfunded mandate of accreditation.
4.2 Faculty Senate Recognition Ceremony Update—Nancy Cowan reminded us to
submit our nominees right away.
4.3 Faculty Senate 2008 — 2009— Diane Zuliani will resign from the Senate presidency at
the end of June. An election to fill the vacant presidency for the next year needs to take
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April 10, 2008
place. Chad Mark Glen moved and Jim Matthews seconded that Nancy Cowan, Ming Ho
and Dave Fouqet serve on the Senate election committee, with Jim Matthews as an
alternate and Norman Buchwald as a consultant. The motion passed. Chad will provide the
documentation from previous elections. Former elections committee member, Norman
Buchwald, created an extensive document detailing the process.
5.0 REPORTS II
Senate Committees: None
6.0 GOOD OF THE ORDER
Future Agenda items
•
•
•
•
Compressed Calendar— Ron Taylor
Academic Council— Jane Church
Chancellor’s Budget Workshop— Mike Absher
Institutional Goals, Planning & Budget— Celia Barberena
Adjournment at: 4:25
Next Meeting: April 24th, 2008
Spring Meetings: 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 2:15 in the Board Room.
CMG & DZ
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