Despite the need to fill 48 vacant positions, Pierce College may only hire five new professors according to senators at the Academic Senate meeting on Monday.
While nobody knows for sure, as the final choice is up to college president Kathleen Burke, senators Kathy Oborn and Lyn Clark, who are also both on the Faculty Position Priority Committee (FPPC), were told at a meeting with Burke that there would be five hires.
The definition of five new hires is unclear, as 18 people retired last year and Burke did not clarify whether those retirees would be replaced.
“I don’t know if it’s five over the 18. It’s never an automatic replacement, because some departments may have enough other full-timers, some may not have any full-timers,” Oborn said. “There’s never a ‘let’s always do this.’ It’s not a one size fits all.”
FPPC is a subcommittee of the Academic Senate formed in October 2000 as a way for a diverse group of faculty and administration to consider the needs of students, the college, and departments when hiring new faculty according to its charter documents.
Senator Cindy Herbst, who attended the FPPC meeting to advocate for a position within the American Sign Language department, was unhappy that her department was number 39 on the list of 48 positions.
“Would it be appropriate if we had a letter we wanted to send to Kathleen to add to the suggestive list she’s gonna get from this committee, or is that not appropriate,” Herbst said.
Senator Constance Kocs, who is president of the FPPC, said that the agreement made with last year’s Senate president that was signed by Burke says that when the FPPC has created a prioritized list, that list will be forwarded to the president.
“That agreement almost excludes the Senate’s involvement,” Kocs said. “In response to that, I don’t know if Kathleen would entertain recommendations or opinions coming from faculty. I can’t say that she would not.”
Traditionally, the Senate as a body determined whether or not it endorsed the list that comes from FPPC, and then it could send opinions or wishes to deviate from the list to the president according to Kocs.
“As a body, we should still try to have our hand in it,” Kocs said.
By default, cinema and history are the first two positions to be filled. Oborn said that according to an agreement years ago, if someone lost their new hires within their first year, they automatically get to replace them.
If Burke decides to hire five new faculty members, the other positions that will be filled according to the list compiled by the FPPC are theater, geology 1 and English.
