Breaking news! Fear Factor! News you can use!
These are all tag lines from television ads. They get our attention, inviting us to watch the different TV shows, and I hope that they can also spark your interest in what is happening with legislation and governmental affairs up in Sacramento. Both the Legislature and the Governor have been in the news-it has been a busy time for all.
At the Student March on Sacramento in 2003, a contingent over 10,000 strong, made a huge impact on the perception of community college students in the eyes of legislators and the Governor. Students showed they were willing to get actively involved to voice their dissatisfaction with the proposed cuts to community college budgets and the proposed increases in fees to students. In spite of this show of force, legislators generally ignore the protests of students, citing the fact that students do not vote.
Note: The following historical summary was compiled from online histories and documents prepared by the Chancellor's Office.
Changes to higher education practices and curricula began over 50 years ago, when institutions first opened their doors to groups that previously had been excluded from higher education. The Brown v. Board of Education (1954) left a lasting imprint on America and its notions of citizenship, democracy, diversity, and social equity, that is second only to the Post-World War II student enrollment boom caused by the GI Bill.
It's been my distinct joy to visit so many of your campuses during the past year; those travels will continue during the remainder of my term of office. I've been impressed by your programs in the culinary arts and advanced transportation technology; by exciting model UN activities and ultra-responsive supportive services; by remarkable honors programs and learning centers that, whether loaded with electronic devices or person-to-person contacts, operate throughout the weeks to serve our students.
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- Pastor Martin Niemller
It is not necessary to detail the natural consequences of the principle of democracy, it is the principle itself, simple yet copious, which deserves to be developed.
- Robespierre
Two statewide hearings on proposals to amend the Disciplines List of minimum qualifications for faculty serving in the community colleges attracted people eager to debate the merits of the 36 proposals submitted for consideration. Among the most controversial were those affecting physics/astronomy, environmental studies and environmental science, and forensics.
Article I.G of the Academic Senate's Bylaws read:
3. To be elected, a candidate must receive a vote from a majority of those delegates present and voting.
4. In the event no candidate for a position receives a majority, the run-off will be limited to the top two candidates with the largest number of votes, including all ties.
The funding formula recommendations that initially came out of a group of Chief Business Officers (CBO) convened by the Community College League of California (CCLC), Report of the Workgroup on Community College Finance, have been widely disseminated and have generated much discussion throughout the system. That document proposes a new allocation model for distribution of community college funding at the system level.
In the past year President Kate Clark has written of principled perspectives, pragmatic suggestions, idealism and integrity. To an outsider it might just seem that statewide faculty leaders are terminally confused. And local faculty leaders are not exempt from that charge because, as every local senate president knows, the life of a local faculty leader mirrors that of a statewide faculty leader. It's a delicate balancing act for us all, coupled with painful step-by-step progress along the neverending high wire to the future.
The Academic Senate's website continues to grow as an unequalled source of valuable information. Visitors will find notices of and registration forms for upcoming Academic Senate events, including pre-session area meetings and the increasingly popular summer institutes (leadership, curriculum, technology, and student leadership). The site also features position papers - both adopted and in draft form -and resolutions passed by the body. In addition, there will soon be a list of papers of interest to faculty by groups outside the Senate which are now available through the Senate Office.