Turmoil rages at Central Brooklyn’s historically Black institution of higher learning. Medgar Evers College, part of the CUNY public university system, is experiencing a public battle. Faculty have issued a resolution condemning the school’s president and provost.
Several full time Medgar Evers College faculty and staff members who are part of the coalition that has been formed and who wish to remain anonymous responded to the following questions:
1. Please explain what exactly has been going on at Medgar Evers College over the past several weeks. What prompted a group of full-time tenured faculty to issue a Resolution on President’s and Provost’s Leadership & Management?
President Pollard and Provost Johnson came to Medgar Evers in August 2009. Since that time, a number of issues arose which prompted faculty to be concerned about the competence, leadership and academic integrity of the President, Provost and his administration.
The final actions that prompted faculty to issue a Vote of No Confidence in the Offices of the President and Provost and in the leadership of the administration were the result of faculty learning about a number of irregularities in the procedures for the reappointment and non reappointment of faculty, the unprofessional behavior of the administration in disseminating letters of non reappointment to faculty (letters disseminated in classrooms), the cut back in services and resources for instructional support and the pending eviction of The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions.
The following represents a list of concerns leading to the Faculty Vote of No Confidence.
?Faculty are concerned about the administration?s lack of respect for shared governance.
?Upon arriving at the College, the President authorized a CUNY group to conduct an assessment of the college. The assessment was primarily conducted with administrators, center directors and some chairs. This assessment was never concerned with the college community but decisions affecting the college have been made as a result of this assessment.
?The administration has neither a Strategic nor Master Plan after one year. As a result, there has been no movement with academic programs and the administration’s inabilty to hold college council meetings has prevented academic programs, policies and curriculum issues from moving forward.
?Faculty feel disrespected and ?bullied? by the Provost?s management style and professional demeanor in meetings.
?The Provost has refused to sign off on grants related to student and faculty research because he does not want to approve reassigned time that would allow faculty to work on grants and be released from teaching.
?The Provost initially told faculty who were scheduled to move in the new Science, Health and Technology building that unless they were actively involved in research, they would not be allowed to move into the new building. Faculty met with the Dean and Provost and came together to resist this. The Provost eventually relented and agreed to let all faculty move into the new building.
?The Provost eliminated the role of pre-professional advisor for pre med students and biology majors. This position had been at the college since 1975 and when this was made clear, the Provost insisted that there was no
?The Provost removed the Chair from the Department of Economics in the Spring 2010 semester and in August 2010, removed the Chair of the Education Department. Both of these Chairs had been elected by the faculty in their departments as required by the PSC CUNY contracts. These issues are in litigation.
?The search for the Provost lacked transparency and did not represent shared governance and practice. Faculty expressed their concern to the President and requested a new search. Additionally elected officials requested from CUNY that the formal appointment of the Provost be tabled or delayed because there were a number of concerns related to the Provost?s leadership and relationship with faculty. These requests were ignored and the President and Chancellor expressed unequivocal support for the Provost.
? In previous university settings, the Provost was accused of plagiarism and mishandling of the tenure and reappointment process for faculty.
?The President speaks of a student-centered campus. Medgar Evers College has always been a student-centered campus and students have praised the quality of student/faculty relations. However, the current administration has reduced resources for The Learning Center, Computer Labs, Library and Psych labs.
?The Provost eliminated the Writing Center and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
?The Administration changed the venue for commencement (which has traditionally been held on the college campus) without input from faculty and students. They relented after external sources, CUNY and elected officials intervened.
?The President hired top level administrators and consultants in the midst of a budget crisis. In previous administration at the University of the District of Columbia, the President was accused of mishandling the budget of the university and wasting millions of tax levy dollars.
?The Administration cancelled the Jazzy Jazz series and only brought it back (on a much smaller scale) after community outrage.
?The Administration removed Carver Bank ATMs and replaced them with Citibank ATMs. Upon learning of community outrage, the administration stated that they would look into bringing them back. To this date, the Carver ATMs have not been brought back to the campus.
?The Administration issued an eviction notice for The Center for NuLeadership and although the proposal for formal approval of the Center under CUNY guidelines was approved before the current administration came into existence, the President and Provost have refused to forward the proposal to CUNY.
?The current administration has not been able to get a quorum for college council meetings, the governing body of the college. There were only three meetings in the last year and only one legitimate meeting in the Fall 2010. As a result, issues related to curriculum and policy have not been addressed.
2. Councilman Charles Barron has spoken in defense of this group’s resolution with this statement as reported in Our Time Press:
“This was expected and long overdue. He has gone against the faculty and the community. Elected officials were trying to get him to understand that this is a community institution. This is not a regular college; this is a college that the community gave birth to.? What do you think Councilman Barron meant when he said, “This is not a regular college, this is a college that the community gave birth to” and do you agree that Medgar Evers is not a “regular college”?edgar Evers College has a special niche to provide a high quality education while also ensuring that it serves the community. This was the vision of the founders and symbolized by the life and work of Medgar Wiley Evers for whom the College was named. Medgar Wiley Evers devoted and gave his life in the struggle for civil rights. See the overview of the history of Medgar Evers below.
During the 1960s, residents of Central Brooklyn, represented by various community leaders and elected officials, requested that the Board of Higher Education (currently known as the CUNY Board of Trustees) establish a new college to serve their community. After many discussions and active involvement by community residents, the Board of Higher Education agreed in 1967 to establish Community College Number VII in Central Brooklyn. For the first time in the history of the Board of Higher Education, representatives from the local community participated with representatives from the Board in planning for a new college and selecting its President. The college was established as a four-year college of professional studies offering both two-year and four-year degree programs and incorporating the six statements developed by the community into the charge for a four year college. The other five mandates were that: 1) the college would develop new and improved methods of teaching and would pioneer innovations in education; 2) that the college would emphasize professional studies without neglecting liberal arts; 3) that the college would be responsive to and serve the educational and social needs of its community; 4) that the community would have input in the selection of a permanent site; and 5) that the community should determine the name of the college. The Medgar Evers Community Council is represented on the College?s College Council, which is the governing structure of the College.
3. The Center for NuLeadership was shut down when Medgar Evers security took the office computers, an issue of real contention among disgruntled Medgar Evers faculty. Professor of Mathematics Dr. Frank Ragland believes that the Center for NuLeadership, an innovate public policy, research, training, advocacy, and academic center founded by previously incarcerated professionals, should be a CUNY-wide initiative and not just a Medgar Evers program. What’s your response?
The Center for Nu Leadership was closed, not shut down, when the college administration took their office computers. This was done after office hours and after the College had already issued an eviction notice effective Dec 30, 2010. Since then the court has issued a temporary stay against the eviction.
The Center for NuLeadership is a Center that was developed according to the guidelines stipulated by the CUNY Guidelines on Centers, Institutes and Consortia, Centers are specific to campuses and are involved in one of the following: research, training and instruction and service to the surrounding community. Thus, Prof. Ragland?s remarks reveal his lack of understanding of the nature of Centers.
The programs and work conducted by the Center for Nu Leadership are not just to help formerly incarcerated individuals. This is a specific center, the only one of its kind in the country. It is known as a national think tank and in the six years that it has been at MEC, it has been dedicated to teaching students to create and deploy new and innovative paradigms for solving community development and related criminal justice challenges in communities of color, trained students to produce research, policy, practice and programs that reveal and reconcile the contradictions within and among the various disciplines comprising the study of urban affairs and criminal justice and developed new ?community specific? models in these areas.
CUNY has a college-wide Black Male Initiative and Reentry Task Force. The work of the Center for Nu Leadership enhances the work of the CUNY wide initiatives in these areas and in fact, Dr. Divine Pryor had been asked to be part of specific task forces in these areas. Medgar Evers? policy against Nu Leadership is in direct opposition to CUNY Central, its Board of Trustees and the Black Male Initiative.
Furthermore, the staff of the Center (known as the NuLeadership Policy Group) initially came to the College at the request of former President Edison O Jackson, who upon seeing the group present at the Black and Legislative Puerto Rican Caucus, was so impressed that he asked them to consider Medgar Evers as his home. In April 2009, at the request of MEC?s president, Dr. Edison O. Jackson, the NuLeadership Policy Group ? with the assistance of the college?s legal counsel ? submitted a formal written application to be recognized as a center within the college and renamed itself the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions. It is the first academic center in the country whose staff is comprised of formerly incarcerated professionals educated at the post graduate level.
4. In that same interview for Our Time Press, Professor Ragland says this:
“And let me tell you something if I may.
OTP: Yes.
Ragland: These men and women who are dissenting are not interested in those men. They are as reactionary and arrogant as you can imagine. And they have no interest in them.
OTP: No interest in them?
Ragland: Because of their success. They feel they have their tenure and position in the college, and they are isolated from having to deal with them. These people were making lots of money. All legal, they?re not stealing. But they have been bought off. Not the most competent people were being brought in. Some of them didn?t have any classes and they?re fighting for this! This is what this is about. This is about the gravy train. Well, we?ve all lived in New York City long enough to know that your train may start on Flatbush, but when it gets up to Dyre Avenue, it stops. And all gravy trains sooner or later stop.
This man is trying hard, but he is fighting with these people, continuously complaining for their own selfish purposes. If they are so dissatisfied, they?re all 30-plusers. They could go ahead and retire at full pension, but they just hang around and kick up trouble. And nobody listens to them because they?re tainted. They?ve let departments get dismembered, and the faculty gets filled up with people who are completely unqualified.”
Ragland goes on to say that “the same plan is afoot in English. Because these are the two departments that got dismembered.” Are there, in your experience, unqualified faculty teaching English at Medgar Evers? If there are English Department faculty who do not have to actually teach still working at Medgar Evers, what exactly are they doing to earn their pay?
Prof. Ragland is one faculty member who does not have all the facts. The vote of no confidence came as a result of a number of issues. Sixty six people, mostly tenured faculty, came out to vote and only 6 of these people voted against the vote of no confidence and one abstained. To have 66 faculty vote in a faculty election is significant and to have 89% issue a vote of no confidence is even more significant.
There are no unqualified faculty teaching English and all faculty in the department are involved in teaching.
The approval process for hiring faculty to teach follows the college’s governance plan, union contract and CUNY Bylaws. All full-time and part-time faculty who teach in academic departments must be approved by a departmental personnel and budget committee consisting of senior faculty in the department, a faculty academic review committee consisting of senior faculty in all departments of the college and a college-wide review committee consisting of chairpersons from all college departments.
5. The faculty resolution was drafted in part because of the reduction in support services intended to help students succeed in college, including elimination of the Medgar Evers Writing Center and the Center for Teaching and Learning as well as a reduction of tutors in the Learning Center budget and reduction of staff in the College?s library and in the Student Computer Lab. These are all basic resources American college students expect to be in place at the university level. Are these kinds of cutbacks taking place at colleges and universities around the country because of the bad economy, or is something unique happening at Medgar Evers?
When there are budget cuts, resources will be cut. However, these resources were cut within the first 12 months of this administration. How do you cut resources and hire additional high paid top level administrators and consultants? How do you cut instructional resources and reduce the number of faculty in academic departments? The administration?s notion of student-centeredness is skewed.
Given the nature of the college, a comprehensive college offering associate and baccalaureate degree programs, and one that moves students from basic skills through college level courses, we need more not less support for students? success. The current administration is dismantling rather than expanding and building on the resources needed for student success.
6. What has been the student response to the events taking place at Medgar Evers College?
As students become aware of the issues, they are disturbed. Some issues such as the bank issue, the Jazzy Jazz and the Center for NuLeadership do not directly affect them but as they become more aware they are becoming more engaged. There are several student leaders who are holding forums and passing petitions to educate students on issues that directly affect them.
Students came out in full support of having the commencement changed back to the college last year. At the beginning of the semester, the Provost refused to sign the PAFs allowing tutors to be hired for the Learning Center and enabling the library to stay open for late evening and weekend hours. Students signed a petition and with the assistance of the SGA, the PAFs were signed and library hours expanded. However the service in these areas has not been fully restored.
Some students question eliminating a writing center and building a billiards room rather than expanding the space for the Learning Center. Currently there is one room, the size of a small classroom, for the Learning Center and the College has over 7000 students.
This is also the only CUNY unit with no dedicated Writing Center.
7. Have faculty or students at any of the other CUNY schools offered support for your resolution and the new activism at Medgar?
A coalition of faculty, directors, staff, students, community leaders and clergy has been formed to mobilize around these issues.. Representatives from CUNY Contingents Unite and a Student International Group based at Hunter attended the first public meeting which was held on Friday, December 17. They have stated that they want to be involved.
8. Classes for the spring semester will begin on January 29th. What do expect to happen during the intercession, and what do you think college life will be like next semester?
The Coalition that has been formed will meet and continue to update and mobilize people around the situation. We want to make sure that all faculty, students and staff are aware of the issues.
9. What can people in the community who want to support the faculty resolution do right now?
Those who want to be involved should attend the next public information meeting. We are also in the process of setting up a website where people can get more information. We will want people to be involved in a number of activities in support of the resolution. This information will be given out at the public meeting and available on the website.
PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING ON SITUATION AT
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE, CUNY
6:00 PM, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011
Where:
Fort Greene Senior Citizens Council
966 Fulton Street (Cambridge Place & Grand Ave), Brooklyn NY, 11238
What:
Public Meeting to find out why and how MEC is under attack
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Wow!!!
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@ Chris Chambers – Yup.
@ P Spears Jones – I agree that the monetization of public education at all levels, elementary, secondary, and higher, is problematic. I also bemoan the elimination and reduction of resources that directly improve the quality of learning and overall development of the student, while lines in the school budget that do not directly impact student achievement, like salaries at the administrative level, remain unchanged.
Thank you both for taking time to read and comment!
Eisa
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I agree, Yeon, that the student response to all this is important to know. I hope some current Medgar students leave comments expressing the voice(s) of the people the college is intended to serve.
Eisa
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Readers may be interested in these articles from the newspaper of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the faculty/staff union at CUNY:
http://www.psc-cuny.org/Clarion/ClarionJanuary2011.pdf#page=07
http://www.psc-cuny.org/Clarion/ClarionSummer2010.pdf#page=05
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Thanks for those links, Peter Hogness.
Eisa
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The Mess at Medgar Evers College
By Kevin Powell
“You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea.”?MEDGAR EVERS
(NAACP Field Secretary in Mississippi murdered by Ku Klux Klan in 1963)
And, no doubt, Medgar Evers must be tossing and turning in his grave at Arlington National Cemetery this very moment. For how terrible is it that a college named in his honor is in the midst of the ugliest chapter of its long history, a history born of the sweat, and the blood, of the Civil Rights Movement?
The problem, to put it mildly, are the president and the provost of Medgar Evers College, two Black men who, by virtue of one baffling action after another, demonstrate no respect for the mission of a school built in the heart of Black Brooklyn, and who ostensibly have little to no respect for faculty and staff, nor the community that surrounds that institution. That their behavior and mindset are akin to the Southern White segregationists of the Civil Rights era who went out of their way to block, literally and symbolically, the doors of their schools rather than allow Black students in, must be something the president and provost have conveniently forgotten. That the leadership of the City University of New York, which governs all 23 of the four- and two-year schools in its system, has allowed this now very public spectacle to fester and rot begs this question: Who really cares about the mission and future of Medgar Evers College?
I mean, seriously, would this blog and the protests and pending lawsuits be necessary if we were discussing, say, John Jay College, Lehman College, or Medgar?s borough cousin, Brooklyn College?
No?
However, we are talking about Medgar Evers College, though not technically an historically Black college in fact, but certainly so in its creation, sense of purpose, and the overwhelming numbers in terms of faculty, staff, and students. Indeed, for those who do not know, Medgar Evers College is a four-year commuter school of 7000 students nestled in what we call Central Brooklyn. Brooklyn is not only the largest of New York City?s five boroughs (with 2.5-3 million residents we would be America?s 4th most populated ?city?), but Brooklyn also contains the biggest Black population in our nation (nearly 1 million people of African descent from across America, and the globe).
And the original mission of Medgar Evers College, as stated currently on its website at http://www.mec.cuny.edu/presidents_office/mec_mission.asp, was ?a result of collaborative efforts by community leaders, elected officials, the Chancellor, and the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York. The College, named for the late civil rights leader, Medgar Wiley Evers (1925-1963), was established in 1969 and named in 1970, with a mandate to meet the educational and social needs of the Central Brooklyn community. The College is committed to the fulfillment of this mandate.?
Obviously someone didn?t mention this bit of history and purpose to President William Pollard or Provost Howard Johnson. Or perhaps the duo has simply not bothered to read the website during their tenure. Because in my 20 years of living in Brooklyn, and an extensive association with that school?as a community and political leader; as a writer and artist; as someone who has given numerous lectures there, and participated in more panels, conferences, and seminars than I can count, there; and as an ally and supporter with my own critiques of Medgar Evers College?never could I have imagined, when these two took over the leadership in August of 2009, such a swift and abrupt deterioration of the way the school is administered.
Immediate past president Dr. Edison O. Jackson definitely was no perfect leader, either, but you at least got the sense he genuinely loved the school and the community about the school. Conversely, at a chance encounter with President Pollard the summer of 2010, I came away thinking the man not only did not like Brooklyn (it took everything in me not to suggest he should leave if he despised it, and us Brooklynites, so much), but that Mr. Pollard was eager to do whatever he could to dismantle the inner mechanisms of Medgar Evers College, even the parts that were working just fine. It is one thing, as a leader, to put your own stamp on an enterprise you are now running, as every leader should have her or his vision on how things should be. It is quite another to give the appearance of destroying that enterprise entirely, with reckless abandon, just because you can?
Yet I am not even sure if ?incompetent? is the right word to describe what is happening here. But it is abundantly clear to me, when one reviews the backgrounds of President Pollard and Provost Johnson prior to their coming to Medgar Evers College, that whoever thought these two gentlemen deserved to run a major institution for higher learning must not have seen any of the numerous articles critical of their prior escapades.
In Mr. Pollard?s case, we are talking allegations of the gross mismanagement of millions of dollars at his previous job as president of the University of the District of Columbia:
http://image2.examiner.com/a-1072664~UDC_chief_details_waste_of_millions.html
In Mr. Johnson?s case, we are talking allegations of the plagiarizing of an academic plan from Syracuse University, where he formerly worked, and which he gave to his new employer, the University of North Texas:
http://www.dailyorange.com/2.8654/plagiarism-by-administrator-unacceptable-1.1241774
So is it little wonder that since the arrival of Mr. Pollard and Mr. Johnson in August 2009 we have the present mess at Medgar Evers College, including:
1) Some very curious faculty dismissals
2) Threats of shutting down academic centers on the campus
3) Faculty concerns about the administration?s lack of respect for shared governance (in the past month 66 faculty members (89% of those who voted), mostly tenured, cast a vote of ?no confidence? in the president and the provost)
4) No strategic plan by the president or the provost, after one year on their jobs, on the future of Medgar Evers College
5) The Provost eliminated the Writing Center and the Center for Teaching and Learning (what college does not have a Writing Center?)
6) The Administration removed Carver Bank ATMs (Carver is the largest Black-owned bank in America) and replaced them with Citibank ATMs
7) The Administration issued an eviction notice for The Center for NuLeadership; and although the proposal for formal approval of the Center under CUNY guidelines was approved before the current administration came into power, the President and Provost have refused to forward the proposal to CUNY
For a full accounting of faculty, staff, and community concerns, please check this excellent blog: https://eisaulen.com/blog///index.php/2011/01/02/interview-is-medgar-evers-college-under-attack-faculty-battle-provost-and-president
And there are many more issues, but the one that sticks out to me is the apparent attack by the Medgar Evers College administration on the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions. As was stated in a recent press release, the Center for NuLeadership ?is the first and only public policy, research, training, advocacy and academic center housed in the largest urban university system in the United States, conceived, designed, and developed by formerly incarcerated professionals.?
In other words, these are not just ?ex-cons? running wild at Medgar Evers College. These are individuals like Dr. Divine Pryor, formerly incarcerated person, who has turned his life around and become a valuable asset to community and academia. And I can honestly say, in my travels throughout America, to literally hundreds upon hundreds of colleges and universities, community centers and religious institutions, and jails and prisons of every kind, that I have never encountered someone who is as articulate, dynamic, and passionate in identifying ways to stop the school-to-prison pipeline so real for American ghettos as Dr. Pryor.
And if Medgar Evers College was founded with the expressed purpose of meeting ?the educational and social needs of the Central Brooklyn community,? then does it not make sense to house a center that deals directly with the record numbers of Black (and Latino) males being shipped off to jail each and every year, in Brooklyn, and all the Brooklyns in America?
Not by the logic of President Pollard and Provost Johnson. Perhaps that is why these two Black males, along with CUNY central administration officials, saw nothing wrong with a December 17, 2010 late-night ?raid? of NuLeadership?s offices, and the seizure of computers personally owned by Dr. Pryor and his colleague Kate Kyung Ji Rhee.
Or why the Center for NuLeadership was asked to vacate its offices by December 30th (the center had to go to court to block the eviction, temporarily).
Or why the president and the provost have refused to forward the recommendation by the college?s governing body to establish, officially, the center at Medgar Evers College.
Or why the president and the provost have blocked the Center for NuLeadership?s funds, and refused to approve a $2.4 million grant that would have given first-time non-violent offenders a second chance by sentencing them to college rather than prison.
The great sadness and irony of these two Black male administrators doing this at a college born to better the most underserved parts of Brooklyn is not lost on me. Doubly sad and ironic that we have a president of the United States (Barack Obama) and a Secretary of Education (Arne Duncan) who have consistently called for innovative solutions to prepare and propel the most marginalized populations in America.
And sad and ironic, furthermore, because the City University of New York actually has a system-wide Black male initiative. But how can we seriously discuss any initiatives for Black males and not include in that conversation ideas and best practices to cease the rapid flow of Black (and Latino) men in and out of the criminal justice system?
So as we approach the annual Dr. King holiday in less than two weeks, the president and provost of Medgar Evers College and the City University of New York hierarchy find themselves with a major dilemma, bad publicity, and unnecessary and very preventable beefs, in and out of court, with Medgar Evers faculty and staff, and Brooklyn community members. As one tenured professor at Medgar Evers College said to me in an email, what is happening at the school ?should be a national outrage.?
For sure, the mess at Medgar Evers College is a national outrage, and a deeply moral failing, too, especially at a time in our history when America?s inner cities require, need, demand, nonstop and pro-active solutions and remedies, and as many opportunities as possible for our communities, particularly for the young and the poor.
And wasn?t that the point of Medgar Evers College in the first place, to serve the people?
Kevin Powell, a long-time Brooklyn resident, is a nationally acclaimed activist, public speaker, and author or editor of 10 books, including Open Letters to America (Soft Skull). You can contact him at www.kevinpowell.net
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In contrast, my son attends Westchester Community College, in Valhalla (near White Plains), part of the SUNY system. Support services for incoming students have EXPANDED, as the student body has grown the past two years (both from adults returning to school for new job training, and regular students entering community college for the first two years of their education to save money). There certainly is a difference between schools that serve a predominantly black community and one that serves one of the wealthiest counties in the state.
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Wow, Nana. That definitely places the entire situation in context – and makes the conflict between administration and staff even more disturbing.
Thanks for your input!
Eisa
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I am a current student of Medgar Evers College and I can give a view on how some of the students feel about this situation. Many students of the Public Administration Department are upset about what is going on at the college. Four wonderful professors in our department were given termination letters effective later this year and we are appalled by this action. These professors have given much of themselves to their students in and out of the classroom to help us succeed and the current administration has basically spat in the faces of these dedicated educators. Other students and I have signed petitions that were sent to the email of Chancellor Goldstein. We have very little faith in the college administration’s claim of being student-centered, when so many services that are geared towards helping students have been terminated, or reduced. Unilateral decisions supposedly in our best interests have been made without our input.
The atmosphere in the college is very tense. Though there are problems before this new administration, I have never seen professors so frustrated in their working environment. The fear is that the legacy of Medgar Evers College is swifty being destroyed.
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Thanks so much for sharing your view of the situation, from a student’s perspective, Alejandra. I can imagine having so many professors receive letters of termination is very disturbing. Long-term relationships with faculty are key to mentoring, professional and academic advice, informal counseling, and to supplement applications to grad school and work with their letters of recommendation. I’m glad to hear you’re circulating petitions and voicing your concerns in the public realm.
Thanks for adding to this public discourse!
Eisa
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As an employee and student at Medgar, I’m upset with the general hostility and incompetence of many faculty and staff as well as the mis-information that they give to students. There were all kind of negative things going on that were not good for the college before Dr. Johnson and Dr. Pollard arrived. Though I don’t agree with some of what they are doing, the behavior of so many faculty and staff who have day to day contact with students is horrible. As it stands, the College as a whole is not doing its best to honor the “mission.” The graduation numbers, which are public, speak for themselves. There’s a lot of work for everyone to do and a little less fighting on both sides is needed.
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Now that’s a strong comment, Candace. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. From what you say, it seems like there might be a possibility for some good to come out of the current mess, and maybe a real overhaul of the things that do need to be changed can take place. Hopefully folk at Medgar like you can help make the school even better going forward from all this.
Eisa
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Dear Colleagues and Friends
This is an update on the evolving situation at Medgar Evers.
A public meeting led by the coalition was held on January 5, 2011. The revised name for the coalition of students, faculty and community leaders is the Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity. There was a good turnout and many are ready to work to change the situation at Medgar Evers.
There is now a website and a facebook page which details what people can do to show their support. The website for the coalition is www.MEfortheCommunity.org and the facebook page is www.Facebook.com/MEforthecommunity. The website has a fact sheet and two letters which can be sent: one to the Chancellor and one to the President. The Chancellor’s letter requests that the President asks for the resignation of the Provost and the President’s letter asks for the following.
* Immediately ask for the resignation of Provost Howard Johnson.
* Restore student support services to ensure academic excellence.
* Redistribute resources allocated to outside consultants and shift them to student support services.
* Demonstrate your support of the College?s centers and community programs.
* Rescind the eviction of the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions and forward the Center?s proposal to CUNY.
* Restore the open enrollment policy at the College and create a pipeline for student enrollment.
* Restoration of the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School’s Dual Enrollment Program to previous levels.
* Take immediate actions to provide gender equity balance in your top level administration.
The coalition is asking that this information be disseminated widely.
There will be a silent demonstration outside of BAM on Monday, Jan 17 (where the President is asked to give remarks). Information will be forthcoming.
Stay tuned!
Peace
Brenda
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I man hope people like Dr. Kim are affected by this, the
Learning Center was and is always a joke as it provides no
true tutoring which permits students to grasp and comprehend
academic complexities, the faculty have been infiltrated by
derelicts who qualify due to standards and certification
rather than an ability to facilitate the target group people
Sonny Carson intended: impoverished melanin possessing people
of the African diaspora, MEC is creating failure 1 classroom
at a time, government never did anything for laymen as a result
it is time conscientious people take it private…