By Greg Horner, Staff Reporter.
Thunder and rain couldn’t break the heat felt inside the Ricker Center gymnasium as trustees, faculty and members of the public gathered for Delta’s monthly Board meeting on September 8. At least once a year the Board tries to hold a meeting at all three satellite campuses, but the location proved difficult as the sound of whirring fans drowned out much of the initial conversation.
After several minutes board member Earl Selby complained about the quality of sound in the room, and fellow trustee Robert Emrich agreed. “I can’t hear either, let’s turn the fans off and just sweat it out.”
With improved audio the board began its deliberations regarding a proposed emergency succession plan for Delta College President, Jean Goodnow. According to the draft given to board members, “If the organization is faced with the unlikely event of an untimely vacancy in the President’s office, Delta College has in place the following emergency succession plan to facilitate the transition to both interim and longer-term leadership.”
Emrich and Selby had reservations about the plan including: whether authority would fall to the Board as a whole or to the chair, the need for a special meeting to confirm the plan in the event of an absence, the role of seniority in determining an interim president and the salary of an interim president.
“I understand the plan is designed to eliminate questions, and to make transition seamless,” said Selby. “But quite frankly there’s really not many things we actually do as a board outside of choosing a President and the process by which the President is chosen. I’m not ready to give up most of that tonight.”
President Jean Goodnow responded that the plan was drafted at the board’s request. “The Board asked to have this put together, and this is certainly in draft form and certainly subject to revision by the Board.”
Eventually the Board agreed to hold off on the issue at the suggestion of Emrich. “I would make the motion that we postpone action on this item until the next board meeting, and that if Mr. Selby or anybody else has amendments to make we be prepared to do it at that time.”
A presentation on the Open Meetings Act was given by Ellen Crane, a member of Delta’s Board of Directors. The purpose was to clarify confusion about “deliberation,” or the discussion intended to lead toward a decision.
“Deliberations can occur in closed sessions under limited circumstances,” said Crane.“It’s really tricky when you’re dealing with electronic communications because It’s not an open forum, and so if there’s a question posed and people start answering you risk a violation.”
The presentation was given to ease fears that some trustees had about whether or not asking a fellow board member a question electronically would violate the Open Meetings Act. Crane clarified that electronic communication was alright as long as it was one-on-one and did not state a position or try to persuade.
Mike Rowley spoke about the grievance between the president and the English division during the meetings closing chair comments. Rowley defended President Goodnow’s decision to change English-111 from a four-credit course to a three-credit course without regarding concerns from some some English faculty.
“After the grievance hearing, I was told by somebody from the English position that quote ‘we understand that it is ultimately the Board’s decision’ end quote,” said Rowley. “If it’s ultimately our decision than we have the right to delegate that authority to the president.”
Rowley also responded to a letter from a fellow trustee asking how the Board should best revisit the issue. “My personal opinion is that I don’t believe the issue should be revisited; the policy was followed, it is now time for the college to move on with the business of serving our students.”
Other topics covered at the meeting include:
- The Board approved a resolution to be sent to the Michigan state legislature stating that Delta College has met the qualifications for the state’s ‘strategic value’ benchmarks. The school has to prove that it met criteria in community services, educational partnerships, economic development and business partnerships.
- The Board voted to reschedule its next meeting to October 6, in order to avoid scheduling conflicts with the American Association of Community College Trustees 2015 leadership conference.
- LIz Ullrich, an associate professor of Political Science, presented studies from the American Association of University Professors and the Association of Governing Boards on how to improve relations between college board members and their faculty. It was the suggestion of Ullrich that the Board consider appointing a representative from the faculty to take part in their procedures.
- For the regular student success portion of the meeting John Neal, Delta’s Multicultural & Diversity Coordinator, shared his experiences The Michigan College and University Partnership/Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (MI-CUP/LSAMP) the program is a collaboration between Delta College and Michigan Tech to promote a transition to a four-year university among minority, first generation and economically disadvantaged students.
