“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

- Bertrand Russell

 

From the EA President

As we rush to complete the Winter 2007 semester, it’s time once again to think about politics. Currently, the Governor and the Michigan Legislature are going back and forth over ways to address the nearly $900 Million deficit in the State budget. How they will eventually resolve this crisis is anybody’s guess, and unfortunately it is largely out of our direct control. One place where we do have a direct impact on important issues impacting MCC is at the ballot box. Two crucial elections will be held over the Spring and Summer, and both of them have a direct impact on faculty at MCC.

The first election, as you will read in the Ed-PAC report from Paul Rozycki, is the contest of the MCC Board of Trustees that will be held on Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Three candidates are running for two seats on the MCC Board. Ed-PAC conducted interviews and analyzed questionnaires, and the MCCEA strongly encourage you to vote on May 8 for our endorsed candidates:

Vote on May 8

Dr. John L. SNELL

Ehren J. GONZALES

The second election, which concerns the renewal of MCC’s millage, will take place on August 7, 2007. Every presidential election season, we hear the media make the overblown claim that “this is the most important election of our lifetime.” While the millage renewal may not be the most important election of your lifetime, it could be the most important election of your career as an MCC faculty member. Failure to renew MCC’s operating millage would have a devastating impact on our ability to serve our students and fulfill our mission to the community. In addition, a lack of millage renewal would almost certainly result in reduction of course offerings, closure of programs, and layoffs. This is not an administrative doomsday scenario--this is my personal projection based on 10 years of bargaining, analyzing MCC finances, and working on bond and millage campaigns.

Because of the huge stakes involved in the upcoming millage renewal, the MCC Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in support of a “YES” vote on the August 7 millage question. You will be hearing more from the MCCEA and the “Say Yes to MCC” committee as we get closer to the election, but mark your calendars now:

Vote “YES” for MCC’s millage renewal

August 7, 2007

The MCC Board of Trustees is expected to consider the issue to place the millage renewal on the August ballot next month. If you are interested in helping on the “Say Yes to MCC” campaign, please contact me directly.

 

- Steve Robinson

 

From the Forward Editor

Heard in the Halls: A Response on the Distance Learning Issue

I read a short piece in the Forward submitted by Caitlin Rollins regarding the distance learning proposed policy. I think it is time to simply publish the draft because apparently Caitlin thought somehow that the 50% applies to a class(es)/instructor when all distance learning sections show less than a 50% pass at 2.0. Not quite true.

Also the NS count does figure into the final calculation because technically the student is still enrolled in the class versus a W (withdrawn from class).

 

-Phyllis Watts

An abbreviated part of the memo follows:

“Faculty teaching courses found to have a consistent success rate of less than 50% over a period of 4 semesters (2 year period) will be contacted and asked to do the following:” [a list of actions that might be recommended after talking with the DLAS Chairperson follows].

 

From the Ed-Pac Chair

The Ed-Pac committee will have completed the interviews of the three candidates for the MCC Board of Trustees and will have made recommendations. After interviewing and receiving responses from the three candidates the Ed-Pac committee has endorsed incumbents Ehren Gonzales and John Snell for reelection to the MCC Board of Trustees. We urge your support for them in the May 8 th election. The top two candidates will be elected. Challenger Sally Shaheen Joseph was unable to attend the interviews and sent a written response to our questions. The committee members this year are Paul Rozycki, Lillie McCain, Janet Westhoff, Brian Ivory and Terrence Stewart.

-Paul Rozycki