Recruitment of new hires for the fall of 2016 have been approved by Pierce College President Kathleen Burke which has caused some conflict among faculty.
There are 50 positions available and 11 were already recruited in the fall of 2015, According to an email from Burke. One incentive for approving new employees is to make progress in improving the school’s full-time to part-time ratios. She believes most disciplines should attain 60-70 percent full-time staff before any one discipline exceeds 75 percent.
“A balanced and fair distribution of full-time positions is critical to ensure that, even in times of reduced resources, the college is able to maintain a comprehensive program of services and disciplines for students,” Burke wrote.
The Faculty Position Priority Committee (FPPC) is a group made up of some of the school’s faculty and is responsible for making suggestions regarding hiring. They prioritize the disciplines which they believe are in the most need of faculty. However, Burke has the power to override any suggestion given by the committee.
“The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations, not to set policy which is, from a faculty standpoint, very frustrating,” said David Schamus, FPPC member and computer science information technology professor. “[The FPPC is] upset a bit because the objective guidelines that [Burke] selected don’t take into account some of the things that we did.”
As the school’s president, Burke reviews the committee’s suggestions and makes the ultimate decisions as to which departments hire more staff and which do not. Burke has prioritized the hiring keeping in mind the Faculty Obligation Number (FON), a statewide goal of 75 percent full-time faculty in community colleges.
The disparity between the viewpoints of Burke and the FPPC have caused some professors at Pierce to believe the administration is more concerned with the numbers than they are about the quality of the staff they are hiring.
Constance Kocs, FPPC chair, submitted a document to Academic Senate on Feb. 8 acknowledging that President Burke did remove some positions from departments who had stated reasons for not hiring.
“Ultimately the committee feels responsible for developing and maintaining a transparent and streamlined process that places realistic and well considered requirements on department chairs who seek to hire (or not to hire),” Kocs wrote.
“I think the issue is the pacing and the timing,” said Sheri Lehavi, department chair of Mathematics. “We don’t want to be pushed into hiring and then end up with faculty that we don’t think are really qualified or fit in our department and I think there’s a certain timing of growth that’s going to make it better for the department as a whole.”
Burke’s email recommends hiring in disciplines that have not asked for positions, in order to improve the full time numbers. She presents a chart with Mathematics, Counseling, Child Development and ELS and the positions available in those departments.
“Please note that the departments in the following chart did not request positions; however, in light of overall goals related to completion and offering a balanced and comprehensive program, an investment of time and effort to review the full-time to part time ratios in these disciplines is warranted before considering any other positions currently recommended by the FPPC.
The case of objective versus subjective, and the imbalance between those involved, has raised some concerns regarding the communication between Burke and the committee.
“Perhaps what the process needs is more points at which the committee and Kathleen interact,” Schamus said.
“Ultimately it’s [Kathleen’s] call and I respect that as well, but I think it’s going to create a not pleasant environment both ways if we’re not both mutually respecting each other’s decisions, so I don’t like the idea of her just overriding,” Lehavi said.