More Funding, Not More Miracles The community that makes up the Commonwealth’s community colleges – staff, faculty, administrators, trustees, parents, family, friends, etc.– are a dedicated, resilient group of individuals who, under some of the most challenging of circumstances in the world of higher education, pull off miracles to help move students along the pathway of academic achievement and lifelong success. From the financial advisor, who spends hours assisting each student to navigate a … [Read more...]

Enrollment vs Funding Declining enrollment. This is what is driving most of the administration’s decisions these days. I have been in the system long enough to have seen this movie before. When money is tight, what is available tends to be spent on three things: 1) hiring more administrators, 2) hiring expert consultants, and 3) adopting new technology. Interestingly, when enrollment is up, and revenue is flowing in hand over fist from all those student fees and tuition from DCE courses, the … [Read more...]

Recognizing A Con Game As the newly elected MCCC President, I would like to welcome you all to the 2018-19 academic year and to wish everyone a productive semester. As a matter of history, we are living in interesting times. In terms of the MCCC and public sector unions in general, these are uncertain times. Nevertheless, I believe we will persist and prevail. 27 days after I assumed the reins of this office, while I was in the air on my way to Minneapolis for the NEA Representative … [Read more...]

“When We Fight, We Win” – A Lesson from West Virginia It’s no secret that our union has not been functioning effectively. It’s no secret that we will be hit hard by the Supreme Court’s Janus decision, which will rule that people no longer need to pay an agency fee but may nonetheless get most of the benefits of the union. It would be easy to predict disaster for our members and our union; West Virginia shows it may not work out that way. A word on our own situation before considering the … [Read more...]

Union Solidarity – “An Injury to One Is An Injury to All” Since the announcement of my election as MCCC President in March 2016 and before I even took office on June 1, 2016, I have been, and I remain, a polarizing figure in the MCCC, my every move distrusted, with the worst of motives ascribed to me. So let me be clear: I am not a candidate for re-election as president of the MCCC. It is my hope that fresh voices will be elected to give the MCCC a chance to start a new, and I offer a few … [Read more...]