 "Photo: Dan Handing")
With budget cuts in STLCC operations on the rise, as well as the removal of Stephen Petersen Eh.D., former vice president of Student Affairs at Meramec, and the recent resignation of campus president Paul Pai, Ed.D., the future of Meramec is uncertain.
On April 2 approximately 170 concerned members of STLCC-Meramec’s staff, faculty and student body were given the opportunity to question Chancellor Zelema Harris, Ph.D. in an open forum at the student center about the future of the campus in response to recent events.
Pai has received opposition for his refusal to renew the probationary contract of Petersen and a level of fear to speak against his administrative decisions has generated among discontented students and faculty.
“I would hope that Dr. Pai’s presence would not pose a problem for those of you who expressed that there was fear on the campus,” Harris said at the open forum.
Pai’s resignation is effective June 30, 2010. After that date, vice president of Academic Affairs George Wasson will act as interim president until the position is filled.
Pai temporarily manages student affairs as vice president. Wasson’s responsibilities to the Meramec campus will grow as a search for president and vice president of student affairs continues.
“I do not have an arrogance of doing three jobs,” Wasson said. “There is a lot of passion and commitment at Meramec and we will take advantage of that. Things are happening in the moment. We are going to work as team and I think you will be pleased with the outcome.”
Whatever confidence is restored at STLCC with Wasson’s commitment to Meramec, many students and faculty are still dissatisfied with the removal of Petersen.
Michael Roman, president of the Student Governance Council, said he felt that Petersen was a role model and asked that Harris provide a reason for her recommendation to not renew the probationary contract.
“Legally I cannot discuss anyone’s performance publicly,” Harris said. “I am not hiding behind it. It is a fact. Those are the conditions that I have to operate with. It is unfortunate, but that is the case.”
Roman asked Harris if she may reconsider her decision on Petersen.
“To tell you at this moment that I am going to change my mind I think would be disingenuous,” Harris said. “So far, I have not heard anything that would make me change my mind, but who knows? I may leave here and a light bulb goes on.”
While Harris is prohibited from commenting on the recommendation regarding Petersen, she said that probationary decisions are not made negligently and that they require information from not only the person making the recommendation, but from colleagues and those who are familiar with the individual’s work and performance.
“Any time a recommendation is made to me not to renew [a contract], we don’t have to give cause for probationary people. But is very important to me that I have enough information on which to base that decision,” Harris said. “If I receive a recommendation and there has been no discussion with me prior to that, chances are I will not discuss it. That is the process.”
Claudia Potts, manager at South County Education University Center, asked for faculty who were questioned about Petersen’s performance by Pai or Harris for evaluation purposes to raise their hands. No faculty or staff member indicated that anyone had asked for their opinion.
Harris said that the human resources department is currently being audited to make recommendations on the evaluation system.
“In a complex organization like St. Louis Community College, you cannot be sure how things are done at every campus. I’m pretty far removed and have to rely on those people who report to me,” Harris said.
Harris said she is working to implement the 360 Evaluation System, a business tool that will provide various sectors of the district with an opportunity to give feedback to administrators regarding system performance.
Harris said that she would use the 360 System with the people that report directly to her - the presidents and vice chancellors. She said that it would be left up to the president of each campus to use the same system.
“I think it is very important for the presidents to be educational leaders on their campuses,” Harris said, explaining that she works toward empowering the presidents “who are essentially the CEOs of their campuses.”
Transparency of administrative decisions regarding the budget and operational cuts of the district were also addressed.
Harris said that she is willing to provide summaries of budget meetings to the faculty, as well as workshops where faculty can learn about issues regarding the budget and possible cuts in campus operations.
“We will keep you as informed as you want to be,” Harris said.
6 comments
Finally, if we really want to bring Dr. Petersen back there are things that can be done but they need to be done collectively. Faculty members, staff, students and administration must communicate both with the Chancellor and the BOT with one voice. There are it appears only two options:1 convince the BOT to change what happened. 2. convince Dr. Peteresen to reapply (I suspect he is still the most qualified person).Finally, I believe it is in the best interests of the campus that Dr. Pai be moved to the Cosand Center. With Dr. Pai off campus, we can move more quickly to address the issues of trust and change. We have the campus leadership to take on the tasks need. Yes, some of the leadership are relatively new to the college and thier position but all of them have many years of experience help us get through the next few months. Also many managers and staff have significant experience and they are willing to step up if they are openly communicated by the leadership.
We can not wait for 3 months to move on.I strongly support the Meramec Campus and we will move forward with students, faculty members and staff who continue to passionately care about learning and community.