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AFA DIALOGUE

An Open Forum for Faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College

The AFA Dialogue has been created to air concerns of all faculty. The AFA Update will continue to be the factual voice of AFA, while the AFA Dialogue will encourage conversation and publish personal opinions about workplace issues and political concerns. We invite any faculty member to submit letters, articles, or opinion pieces. The opinions contained herein are solely those of the writer and AFA neither condones nor condemns these opinions. AFA reserves editorial prerogatives.

AFA welcomes your feedback!

Submit comments, letters, and/or articles via email to afa@santarosa.edu or via fax to (707) 524-1762

AFA members who submit original articles of 500 words or more that are published in an issue of the AFA Dialogue will be awarded a Stipend of up to $200.

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Legacy of Excellence, or Legacy of Exhaustion?

by Reneé Lo Pilato, Contract Faculty Member Work Experience

As I exit stage right from this college, after 17 years of working at both campuses, in both Student Services and Academic Affairs, and as a dean and a contract faculty member, I feel compelled to note my last candid observations of where we seem to be today as an institution.

  1. We tout ourselves as being a fiscally conservative District, but we struggle with an ongoing $6 million dollar deficit that we blame wholly on the state. This District can't ever identify any cuts except to salaries to address this problem, and the structural deficit remains unchanged.

  2. What about faculty salaries and Rank 10? What about that legacy of fair pay for greater amounts of work? Contract faculty participate in shared governance and professional development and I hear from everyone that the District expects all of us to "volunteer" and do more. Being honorable and caring about students, all of us continue to "volunteer," and the workload grows greater and greater. And what about volunteering for summer Strategic Plan work groups, DUO, SLOs, Accreditation, department chairs and program coordinators? Is there fair compensation? We are being treated like managers who are expected to work "overloads," but we are not paid like managers.

  3. Interim appointments and special assignments have taken faculty poaching to a new level; doesn't the college have enough funds to hire permanent administrators for each vacant slot with national searches? And why are faculty recruited for these slots? Each time a contract faculty member agrees to fill one of these interim administrative slots or special assignments, the students and that department lose the expertise of that faculty member and that capacity for cutting-edge curriculum development. Isn't there enough depth and breadth in the current management team to fill these positions?

  4. In Spring 2009, we had a total of 303 contract faculty, in Spring 2012 we had 283, and now we have 277. As faculty assume roles other than instructional or allied, the District does not replace them, leaving their work to be picked up by those left behind, and without additional compensation. As faculty retire, the District does not replace them for reasons known only to them. Where are all these savings going?

  5. Not filling contract faculty positions year after year and then luring some to interim administrative or special assignments is a short-term delusion. Saving a few dollars now piles more and more work on fewer faculty, and trumps the long-term investment this college badly needs to preserve "the legacy of excellence," and make that legacy more than a pitch from public relations.

  6. This burgeoning and invisible workload affects all faculty and contributes to stress-related illness, demoralization and burnout. We all need to say "no" and say it repeatedly. Call me and I'll mentor you in that art.

  7. Where is the District commitment to employee wellness? Why can't facilities that sit idle be opened for staff to swim, work out or stretch every day? Look at our own increasing health care costs and all the other colleges and companies that invest in their faculty and staff. Why can't we make this a priority? Healthy employees equal healthy outcomes for the students and our community. Are you as fit and healthy today as when you first came to SRJC?

  8. The years of degrading top-down decision making must end and all administrative efforts must be focused on supporting current faculty with the resources, salaries, and respect they must have to thrive; the District needs to find the money to balance this budget without bleeding the faculty dry year after year.

If these patterns do not change, soon there will a legacy of nothing, and whom will the District blame then? If the questions I've raised concern you, too, then attend the upcoming Budget Forums and ask Vice President Doug Roberts for his answers.

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