SMC Faculty Votes No Confidence in Administration

By Jonathan Arkin and Jorge Casuso

June 6 -- Protesting a decision last month to slash six programs, an overwhelming majority of Santa Monica College faculty approved a vote of no confidence in President Piedad F. Robertson and asked the administration to give teachers a greater say in campus governance.

The faculty also voted to demand that the College Board of Trustees change its plan to close a looming $9.5 million budget gap by axing six academic programs -- including automotive technology, a hallmark of the college's vocational offerings.

Coming after a call to action by the school's academic and classified senates, Friday’s action -- which amounts to a call for Robertson’s resignation -- marks the first time in the college's history that both its president and board face such censure.

Faculty representatives hope both the vote of no confidence (supported by 86 percent of faculty) and the call to action on the budget (supported by 85 percent) will give the faculty a greater say in how the college is run, including decisions to cut programs and courses.

"There's a great deal of momentum going in this direction,” said Gordon Dossett, outgoing president of the Academic Senate. “We stand united now and we haven't been able to achieve something... because of the board. It's not working right now.

"Whenever 86 percent of faculty and 83 percent of classified staff vote no-confidence in an
administration, you have trouble,” Dossett said. “The faculty should have a voice in campus matters."

In a statement issued after the vote, Robertson wrote: “The recent actions on campus are a reaction to a budget situation we’re not used to at Santa Monica College. Until we were hit with the worst budget crisis in the history of this college, we have generally received adequate funding from the state.

“The budget -- which is the fiscal responsibility of the SMC Board of Trustees and the administration -- is a shock to all. Yet, we must manage, as best we can, to provide access and quality education for our students.”

The vote came four days after the board voted Monday to approve a tentative $126 million budget, which eliminates the departments of architecture, geographic information services, public safety, recreation, tourism and hospitality, and transportation technology. The move would save about $1.25 million.

At the meeting, Robertson deflected criticism of the administration's decision to go ahead with the cuts rather than explore other, less severe, cost-cutting options.

"We are a teaching institution," Robertson said in response to accusations that she has been unresponsive to faculty concerns during the crisis. "The concept of teaching and learning as it happens in the community colleges -- that happens only here.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Dossett called for a "summit" meeting involving all elected leaders of campus groups -- including the board, faculty and staff associations, the Associated Students and Robertson. But he was cautious in his optimism.

"The climate on the campus is ugly," he said last week. The summit, he added, “is our last chance to keep these programs going."

Although Dossett held hopes that the eliminated programs could be restored, Robertson offered a different prognosis during an interview last week the campus newspaper, The Corsair.

The programs, Robertson told the student paper, “definitely won't be back.”

SMC’s budget shortfall is the result of an historic $35 billion State budget deficit which is pending legislative approval. The State budget slashes at least $90 million in funding for community colleges and increases tuition from $11-per-unit to $18.

Earlier this year the Academic Senate, which comprises faculty members elected from every department, proposed a number of alternative solutions to firing employees. One suggestion was to offer early retirement incentives to employees over the age of 55.

Barbara Baird, chair of the Department of Communication, felt Friday’s vote represented a fair expression of faculty sentiment.

"I think it's a reflection of the faculty's concern that academically sound programs were eliminated
without a thorough investigation of the options," Baird said.