REDWOODS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Meeting of the Academic Senate
December 7, 2012, 1 p.m.
 Eureka: 7351 Tompkins Hill Road, SS 202 (New Board Room)
 Mendocino Coast: 1211 Del Mar Drive, Ft. Bragg, Room 106 B
 Smith River: 360 Bradford Avenue
Members Present: Mike Richards, Bob Brown, Dave Bazard, Steve Brown, Brie Day, Solomon
DeCamp, Kady Dunleavy, Ryan Emenaker, Chris Gaines, Jennifer Gardner, Dave
Gonsalves, Utpal Goswami, Cindy Hooper, Vinnie Peloso, Sandra Rowan, Bruce
Wagner, Maggie White.
Members Absent: Marcy Foster.
1. Call to Order: Copresident Mike Richards called the meeting to order at 1:05.
2. Introductions and Public Comments: Copresident Mike Richards welcomed senators and guests,
and he called for public comments; no public comments were forwarded.
3. Approve the November 16 Meeting Minutes: On motion by Ryan Emenaker, seconded by
Maggie White, the minutes were approved as written.
4. Action Item
4.1 Approve October 26 Academic Standards and Policies Committee Recommendation – BP
2520 Responsibilities of the Academic Senate: Copresident Richards presented the
proposal, and he explained that the revisions were made at President Smith’s request to
better align the policy with AB 1725. On motion by Maggie White, seconded by Steve
Brown, the proposal was approved by the following roll call vote: Bazard – y, Brown – y,
Day – y, Emenaker – y, Gaines – y, Gardner – y, Gonsalves – y, Hooper – y, Peloso – y,
Rowan – y, Wagner – abstained, White – y.
5. Reports
5.1 January 18 Closed Session Meeting to Hear Tenure Review Committee Recommendations:
Copresident Richards reviewed the guidelines for the closed session Senate meeting that is
scheduled for Friday, January 18, at 3 p.m. During the special closed session, which will
follow the regularly scheduled Senate meeting and is for tenured senators only, the Senate
will consider the Tenure Review Committee’s recommendations on tenure track, nontenured faculty. Senators were asked to inform the copresidents if they intend to have a
substitute for the closed session meeting.
5.2 Accreditation Oversight Committee (AOC) Update: Co-chair Dave Bazard reported that
included in the discussion of the last meeting was the future of the AOC, and a proposal was
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December 7, 2012
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5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
put forward to assemble an Accreditation Leadership Team that would include Senate and
student representation, and administrators who are responsible for meeting the ACCJC
standards. The possibility of including responsibilities for meeting the standards in the job
descriptions of administrators was discussed, and the committee agreed to address the future
structure of the AOC after the college receives the Commission’s decision in late January.
Also addressed by the AOC was the December 15 addendum report to the Commission, and
evidence of how the college is continuing to meet the ACCJC’s recommendations is being
gathered. The focus of the report and what to include will be identified at a meeting
scheduled for next week with Dave Bazard, VPI Utpal Goswami, President Smith, and
Special Trustee Tom Henry, and the fiscal stability of the college will be a primary item. In
response to questions, Dave informed the Senate that the Visiting Team’s report has not yet
been received by President Smith, and whether the addendum report will be distributed as
information to the college community has not been announced.
Spring 2013 Flex Activities: Copresident Richards reported that the Flex Committee met
and established a draft of activities for the January 10 and 11 flex days. Mike presented an
overview of the draft Spring 2013 flex activities schedule that included an Instructional
Program Review Data presentation and drop-in workshop; a staff development opportunity;
a session on working with Basic Skills students; program and course level assessment
dialogue and reporting, and a session focused on common issues in assessment. Concerns
were raised regarding the lack of time allocated for department meetings within the two-day
flex schedule, and Mike agreed to take the feedback to the Flex Committee for
consideration. Mike reminded senators that the deadline for full-time faculty to submit their
flex goals is December 14, and part-time faculty flex forms are due today. With no specific
deadline for entering the Fall 2012 assessment results into the software, senators were
reminded that the data will support the program reviews, and they were encouraged to
complete assessments prior to the program review deadline.
Budget Planning Committee (BPC) Update: Committee Co-chair Bob Brown reported the
following: (1) the BPC met and prior to Board approval, Vice President Lindsey presented
the new fiscal projections and what they mean to the budget; (2) the timeline and changes to
Program Review that effect BPC’s consideration of requests was addressed, and Bob
reported that the committee feels it can still consider the recommendations in a timely
manner; (3) no major changes to the Governor’s budget are projected, and with the passage
of Proposition 30, CR’s cash flow issues should improve; (4) VP Lindsey has stated that the
2011-2012 financial books are closed, and the college will not need to apply for an
exemption from the 50% Law; and (5) the BPC’s spring meeting schedule was addressed,
and the members think the committee will need to meet twice monthly. A question
regarding an apparent discrepancy between the Business Office’s and the Enrollment
Management Committee’s projected cost and savings in the Spring 2013 enrollment was
raised, and Bob agreed to bring the question to the next BPC meeting.
ASCR Update: Solomon DeCamp reported that due to the finals schedule, firearm
regulations, and insurance issues, the ASCR paintball event is being postponed. As a result
of those challenges, an off-campus event will be pursued next semester. As a stress relief
for students, ASCR plans to pass out water to students during finals week next Monday and
Tuesday.
Vice President of Instruction Update: Vice President Utpal Goswami reminded faculty that
the end of January will probably be the deadline for getting curriculum approved in time to
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December 7, 2012
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include courses in the Catalog, and he also emphasized that assessments need to be
completed. In addition, Utpal reported that the Student Success Task Force Common Core
Standards will come into effect in 2015, which will impact how our students are prepared
when they enter college, and CR faculty may want look at the achievement level descriptors
and align their course descriptors to match. California has signed up with Smarter
Balanced, which is a group that is coordinating the process, and faculty can submit
comments or feedback prior to the January 15 deadline through the corestandards.org or the
smarterbalanced.org websites.
5.7 College Council November 19 and December 3 Meetings: Copresident Brown reported that
College Council addressed the following: (1) AP 7211 Faculty Service Areas, Minimum
Qualifications, and Equivalencies was approved with minor revisions, and it will be
forwarded to the Board as information; and (2) Senate concerns and feedback on AP 5055
Enrollment Priorities were considered along with issues forwarded by the Enrollment
Management Committee. College Council postponed approval of the AP pending further
review and revision by Vice President Keith Snow-Flamer.
5.8 Board of Trustees December 4 Meeting: Copresident Richards reported that the meeting
included the following: (1) Prior to the first closed session, students from the Mendocino
Coast campus spoke to the impact the proposed layoffs would have on the staff and students
at the campus; (2) The Board held its annual election of officers, and Colleen Mullery and
Tom Ross will continue as president and vice president respectively, and Sally Biggin will
again serve as clerk; (3) Agenda items 7.1 and 7.2, the Reorganization Plan and the
Discontinuation of Classified Positions proposals elicited a lot of discussion, but they were
both approved; (4) The bumping rights process for employees slated to lose their positions
due to eliminations was discussed; (5) An amendment to the president’s contract for a
reduction in salary was approved; and (6) Institutional Research Director Angelina Hill
presented the 2012 ARCC Report, which is now available on the IR website. Senators
addressed the potential impact that the elimination of classified positions might have on
academic programs, and faculty were encouraged to keep the Senate copresidents informed
if instruction is adversely affected.
6. Announcements and Open Forum
6.1 December 15 CR Holiday Party: Copresident Richards encouraged everyone to reply to the
email invitation by the December 7 deadline and to attend the party if possible. There is a
$15 per person fee, and he emphasized that no CR funds will be used for the party. The
event will include food, music and a no host bar.
6.2 Portugal Award Call for Proposals: Past award recipient Cindy Hooper announced that the
Call for Proposals has been distributed, and she encouraged faculty to apply by the February
8 deadline. As a former recipient, Cindy described the rewards and benefits of giving the
Portugal presentations, and she emphasized how it demonstrates the intellectual skills of CR
faculty and elevates the level of the college’s academic rigor to the community.
6.3 2013-2014 Book of the Year Selection: Book of the Year (BOY) Committee Co-chair
Vinnie Peloso reported that the deadline to vote for next year’s CR/HSU BOY is Thursday,
December 13. More information on the proposed selections and a link to the online voting
can be accessed through the Book of the Year website, and Vinnie encouraged everyone to
participate in the process.
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December 7, 2012
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6.4 Spring 2013 Enrollment: Enrollment Management Committee Co-chair Bruce Wagner
announced that the committee is cautiously optimistic about the spring enrollment numbers,
and the summer schedule is being finalized. Summer will include a six week session, which
the committee thinks will work well for three unit courses.
6.5 Spring 2013 Senate Representation: Vinnie Peloso announced that Susan Nordlof will be
returning from her Sabbatical in the spring, and she plans to resume her role as the
representative from the Humanities/Communications division. Bruce Wagner announced
that Kevin Yokoyama may also be returning to the Senate in the spring as the representative
from the Math/Science/Engineering division.
8. Adjournment: On motion by Ryan Emenaker, seconded by Maggie White, the meeting was
adjourned at 2:43 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Sally Frazier, Administrative Secretary to the Academic Senate.
Next Regular Meeting:
Friday, January 18, 2013, 1 p.m.
Special Meeting:
Friday January 18, 2013, 3 p.m.