GORA A
Adjunct faculty face extra hurdles
THE
Monroe County Community College
Dec. 11, 2009
Vol. 53, Issue 5
www.mcccagora.com
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IHM preserve needs help pg. 6
Campus gun bill issues debated MCCC president testifies at state Senate hearing Danny Shaw Staff
LANSING — A bill that would allow students to carry guns into classrooms and dormitories was the subject of a Michigan Senate hearing held this week. The hearing, chaired by Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R), was intended to allow state senators to hear opposing sides of the bill and to address any questions and concerns. Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) said in his introductory testimony that he introduced Senate Bill 747 six months ago and thinks that some people need more clarification on what the bill would change. “I’m hoping that some of the testimonies today, and some of the questions and answers, would help to clear up some of the misconceptions that are out there,” Richardville said. He also said unless a college campus has banned firearms entirely from the premises, a concealed weapons carrier can walk anywhere on that campus but would not be able to put their firearm anywhere before they step into a classroom. “When you get to the classroom, there is no place for you to put your concealed weapon. We think that was an unintended consequence of the law that was passed in 2002,” he said. MCCC currently has a policy banning all firearms from its campus. Dr. David Nixon, MCCC president, and
Agora photo by Danny Shaw
MCCC president, Dr. David Nixon, and Michigan Community College Association president, Mike Hansen, testify to the Senate committee against guns on campuses.
Mike Hansen, president of the Michigan College Association, testified against the bill. Both said they want the individual community college’s Board of Trustees to decide the concealed weapons policy.
“What we would like at Monroe County Community College is the opportunity to decide that for ourselves, from our Board of Trustees who set policies for the college,” Nixon said.
Nixon also said he was happy to hear that Michigan community colleges and universities represented at the hearing are opposed to the bill.
MCCC Faculty Association, asked the board to postpone the renewal of Nixon’s contract until the final Higher Learning Commission report is released. The Faculty Association had voted at its November meeting to ask that the board push back its decision regarding the contract. The final HLC report is expected sometime in January, but could be delayed if the final report contains any content that the college wishes to appeal. An appeal would push the final draft’s release to as late as April. The HLC sent a team to MCCC earlier this semester to consider reaccreditation for the college. The team recommended that the college be granted a ten-year accreditation, but that a follow-up visit be held in three years to review some of the issues that were found.
Dr. James DeVries addressed the board in opposition to the renewal, citing “this board’s manifest dysfunction.” “You (the board) do not have before you at this time all of the information that is pertinent and has bearing on your decision,” Devries said. “Anything less than postponement I believe borders on negligence and more important violates the public trust.” A student at MCCC also spoke in opposition to the motion. “There’s nothing wrong with waiting,” he said. The board’s Presidential Contract Committee was made up of board Chairman William Bacarella, Secretary Mary Kay Thayer, and Vice Chairman William Braunlich, who was head of the committee. Braunlich spoke for 20 minutes, recommending that the board go through with renewing Nixon’s contract. He noted that the contract is “at will,” and doesn’t carry the same protections that faculty contracts carry. An “at will” contract says that the president may be released for any reason at any time. “When people hear that (Nixon) is getting a three-year contract, they see it as a three-year guarantee,” Braunlich said. “There is no guarantee.” Braunlich referred to Nixon’s volunteering last year to freeze his pay, adding that the pay freeze would continue in the next three years. Also mentioned was Nixon’s agreement to a cut in severance pay, which now stands at 90 days paid salary in the event of his departure. Braunlich reported that the committee looked at statistics from the recent feasibility study conducted by the Clements Group.
The study found that in a poll of 85 individuals, consisting of 25 internal (board trustees) persons and 60 influential community residents, 95 percent had positive feedback on the leadership of the college, with 5 percent mixed and no negative feedback. Braunlich said the committee met extensively with the team from the HLC. “There was no criticism, no warning signs (in regards to Nixon),” Braunlich said. “If there was anything serious, we’d know by now.” Braunlich’s committee met before the board meeting with Bergmooser, a speech professor, as well as Dr. Mark Naber, faculty vice president and a math professor, and Dr. William McCloskey, who teaches English and composition. The group from the Faculty Association stated that they felt there were issues involving Nixon with internal communi-
“I was also comforted by the fact that Sen. Richardville assured us that, if this bill were passed, it would not be a problem for MCCC to enact a policy for no guns on campus,” Nixon said. St. Mary Catholic Central High School student Keenan Wetzel, 17, attended the hearing and is against guns on campus. He said he thought people who testified in favor of the bill were “mirror images of each other.” “I thought all the people that were guntoters, as I’ll say, were basically the same testimony. They all just want to carry guns,” Wetzel said. Wetzel also said the hearing strengthened his views against the bill. Steven Dulan, attorney and firearms instructor, called on his own experiences as an infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army, among other professional areas, in his testimony supporting the bill. Dulan describes himself as “somebody who is disarmed by the current policy.” “There is a logical fallacy upon which the current policy is based. The logical fallacy is that the people who are bent on doing harm are going to obey the rules regarding a pistol-free zone,” Dulan said. “When I’m lecturing on this subject, I refer to the pistol-free zones list as the mass-murderer empowerment zones list because the only people who are disarmed by the current policy are we lawabiding gun owners,” he said. Sen. Richardville said he was hoping for some sort of decision or amendment to the bill during the hearing, but the absence of several senators caused any decision-making to be postponed to an undecided date.
Board approves contract extension President of college receives renewal despite faculty efforts to postpone decision Andrew Hoppert Assistant Editor
The MCCC Board of Trustees recently renewed the contract of President David Nixon for three years on a 6-0 vote, with Linda Lauer abstaining. Nixon’s contract, which was set to expire on July 31, 2010, will now be extended by three years. Mark Bergmooser, president of the
Agora photo by Andrew Hoppert
William Braunlich, vice chairman of the MCCC Board of Trustees, relays his committee’s points in favor of renewing current college president David Nixon’s contract as board Chairman William Bacarella looks on.
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Campus News.........4 Feature....................5 Feature....................6
Enriching the students across Southeast Michigan
cation and trust. The faculty group mentioned gaps in communication regarding the establishment of the Middle College and the implementation of contact hours. Board member Linda Lauer abstained from the vote, saying that with the HLC report should come a new evaluation of the president. She also cited a lack of readiness for her to thoroughly review the proposed contract. In the closing moments of the meeting, Nixon expressed his gratitude for the board’s decision, saying he was thankful to be the practitioner of a fine college with great upcoming projects and one that helps its students find jobs. McCloskey said he thought the faculty’s grievances were heard, despite the passing of the resolution. “They listened to some of our concerns, and we respect their difficult decision,” McCloskey said.
The Agora now online! • Note from Editor
Jennifer Niswender inviting students to check out the Web site.
• Launch of Web site historic for MCCC.
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