Tricoli out as Perimeter president; college faces a $16 million shortfall
Last week, a reader sent me and other AJC reporters a tip that the president of Georgia Perimeter College was out due to an audit that revealed a shortfall in the millions of dollars. Our higher ed reporter has been chasing down the lead ever since.
Today, the chancellor released a letter confirming that Anthony Tricoli was stepping down, but Hank Huckaby offers no details of what led to the $16 million shortfall and why it was not caught until now.
Clearly, Tricoli is not a candidate for the UGA presidency, as several blog posters suggested last week after the news broke that Michael Adams was retiring next year.
We have several Georgia Perimeter College employees who sometimes comment on the blog. Folks, can you enlighten us on this mess?
Here is the AJC.com story by reporter Laura Diamond.
Georgia Perimeter College President Anthony Tricoli has stepped down after officials disclosed that the college has a $16 million budget shortfall, Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced in a letter sent to staff Monday.
The shortfall is for the 2012 fiscal year that ends June 30. The college received about $50.2 million in state allocations for the year, according to university system figures.
Tuition and fees will not be increased to cover the shortfall, Huckaby wrote in the letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Instead, the college has suspended contracts, cut travel, delayed hiring and implemented other steps, Huckaby wrote.
The college and system staff are preparing a plan to balance the 2013 fiscal year budget since the underlying shortfall will continue, he said. “We do not know at this time precisely the impact in every budget area, but it will be significant and will likely impact personnel,” Huckaby wrote. “These actions are necessary to address a shortfall of this magnitude.”
Tricoli stepped down because “of the need for a fresh approach,” Huckaby wrote.
Alan Jackson, the vice president of academic affairs, will serve as acting president until Huckaby appoints in interim president.
Tricoli started has been with GPC since 2006. Since then enrollment has grown by about 7,000 students with more than 26,000 students taking classes at sites in Alpharetta, Clarkston, Covington, Decatur and Dunwoody. It is the state’s third-largest public college, behind University of Georgia and Georgia State University.
From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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188 comments Add your comment
Bill Bixby
May 8th, 2012
11:34 am
Dr. T was not escorted by cops. I was with him. RELAX
IC it here
May 8th, 2012
11:48 am
Positions are created out of thin air to provide friends, family and HOA members positions. Jobs are created for things like hiring someone for facebooking, not for the whole college but for one small department. Jobs are created at a whim, so much so that people are hired without even so much as a cubicle to sit in. Cronyism & Nepotism by any means. Cafe, bookstore that hyphens money from the school and a deliberate blind eye to it all. Each pet project has “new employees” and favorites of VPs are allowed to create jobs.
Bill Bixby
May 8th, 2012
11:51 am
I cannot speak to much for the academic side of the house on a day to day basis, but I can speak big picture. I loved working with Anthony and I appreciated his toughness. There are far to many people at the college who do not contribute and simply sit and an office o r cubicle or read from a PowerPoint and say they are teaching. We are adults. If you are up in arms because he wasn’t “nice” to you or said a n”naughty word” then that’s just sad. Some one mention too much ambition. The fact that many people think you can be TOO AMBITIOUS is why we needed him as President. I do agree the buck stops whit him and he should have been dismissed, but it will hurt our college in the long run. No other college president fought as hard for our students and that’s why many did not like him. Because he wanted people to work hard, and working hard in higher ed or government for that matter is not common. …as for the professor who claims that all non-teaching stff are in- essential to the college ….c’mon son!
gpcfollower
May 8th, 2012
12:08 pm
Yes, the buck stops with the President. However, where is the BOR in all of this? What controls and processes did they have in place…they are so far removed from what is actually happening on the campuses. And this extends out to other units, someone needs to review the expeditures in the Office of Information Technology under the CIO, Reid Christenberry, a boondoggle to Apple??? $$$ thrown at consultants likes it going out of style
Candora
May 8th, 2012
1:25 pm
Bill Bixby, I don’t believe that anyone faults Anthony for fighting for our students. We fault him for his belief that looking good is more important than being good, for spending our money on fabulous projects that would be acceptable in times of plenty but not now, and for showing nearly complete disregard for the faculty and their opinions.
Faculty 1987
May 8th, 2012
1:52 pm
The only stable areas of the college are student affairs and institutional advancement. Both these VP’s include their staff in decision making, trainings, etc. Work well with faculty, staff, and students and are willing to deal with the president head on to protect and advocate for their areas.
Student @ GPC
May 8th, 2012
1:59 pm
As a student at GPC I would like to know what’s happening behind the scene. Com’on guys lets get a little more dirt out. Where my tuition and fee really going!
Btw GPC is truly a great school and cheaper alternative. Thank you faculty and staff!
IC it here
May 8th, 2012
2:03 pm
I notice that there are many comments from faculty. We Staff also see the corruption. Why are there people still in high ranking positions that have already caused the college to be sued, due to unfair hiring practices. this is not just a financial issue it has become a legal issue and nothing has been done. there is no resolution or accountability.
GPC Worker
May 8th, 2012
2:25 pm
Whoever said that non-teaching staff aren’t important…there would be no classes if it weren’t for non-teaching staff members. I speak from experience!
Prof
May 8th, 2012
2:49 pm
Question to GPC insiders: how will your branch campuses likely be affected? I know faculty and administrators at your Clarkston campus. What’s likely to happen there?
Those of us on the outside just read these posts and shake our heads. I have to say that I have heard some of the complaints before at recent scholarly conferences.
GPC Worker
May 8th, 2012
2:55 pm
@Prof: Well, we can’t buy supplies/materials we need. So I know the science department at Dunwoody will have to pull some crazy stunts to get through the next semesters, that’s for sure.
BillyBobby
May 8th, 2012
3:15 pm
I have continually complained that the budget process was wrong. When I first arrived I could not believe how no one cared when I tried to get someone to notice this. The budget director never returned any calls. This, I am told, has been going on for at least three years before I arrived. There are administrators in the college that complained in meetings and with top officials that something was wrong. Nothing was done.
Old GPC Staff Member
May 8th, 2012
3:27 pm
The cronyism and poor budgeting is older than Tricoli and happens in ALL the segments of GPC. Logic never plays a role in decisions and the mental stress put on staff members by cronyism has demoralized the entire staff in our dept. They have “meetings” with us telling us that we lie and steal and that is why the college budget is having problems and then they go on golf trips during work and tell us not to call them. We always joke that you can’t get fired if you work for the state (because yes we are aware of people that have stayed on after lawsuits and such)…well maybe the idiots have finally run the ship into the ground and something will be forced to get looked at. But really I doubt it, this is just another story that will be old news in a few days and everything will be swept under the rug.
One Cool Guy
May 8th, 2012
3:41 pm
Prof, many rumors are afloat, but not much has been confirmed yet. There is a current hiring and spending freeze enacted just a couple of weeks ago. We were informed of this via surprising and unexpected email. What happens at Clarkston campus will likely happen at the other campuses. As for me, the most plausible short-term scenarios are reduced summer pay and increased teaching load, but lots more is and should be on the table in the weeks to come. As Huckaby said in the WABE article, next fiscal year will be a trying one.
adminsec
May 8th, 2012
3:51 pm
To the students who think Tricoli was the greatest thing in the world: Wait until you find out what your student fees have been used for – a “call center” where misinformation is disseminated, a civic engagement staff (headed by Brumfeld, another crony of Tricoli’s), an assistant for his personal assistant! And to all of you tax paying citizens like me, did you know that HOPE pays for remedial classes? Yup. Found that out last semester. It’s disgusting on two fronts: First that students are passed through K-12, and second they are coddled even more at the college level. Get a grip people. Tricoli still has a state job. Carruth still gets his retirement check. The worker-bees are going to be the ones who suffer for all this mess, not the students and certainly not the executive staff.
theTruth
May 8th, 2012
5:00 pm
Damn republicans
PissedProf
May 8th, 2012
5:00 pm
I agree that the worker bees will be the ones to suffer. We always do. It’s a shame. Reduced summer pay seems likely and it’s worrisome for me and my household and for some colleagues that I know who are already struggling. No raises in 5 years. Heavier workload. Expectations to serve on God knows how many committees.
It pisses me off that faculty and staff will be the ones to pay for these idiots’ mistakes. I’m so livid about this, but what does it matter? No one listens to the faculty and it seems that no one really cares. As long as they continue to collect their big paycheck…..
Candora
May 8th, 2012
5:32 pm
This is not about republicans. This is about a man whose decisions at GPC were all designed to make his resume look good. What he has done to this college is appalling. He should be arrested, not handed a job in another part of the USG.
Maeve
May 8th, 2012
5:41 pm
Speaking as a GPC Staff member, I can’t say that I am sorry to see the back of Dr. Tricoli. The good things that he set up at the college will stay good because the people who have made them work will continue to do so. The students will still benefit – there are too many people who are here for the students for anything else to happen.
Dr. Tricoli was, on several occasions in my presence, rude, disrespectful and completely dismissive of ideas that did not march with his own. He gave the impression of a self-centered man who cared more about his own appearance than the morale of those people he was to lead. A joke that talks of a person who approaches a stranger and states “I am their leader – which way did they go?” has accompanied my sightings of him for a long time now. He had a vision, but it was his values and his voice that were most important.
He did do some good. He did have the students at mind. He just didn’t make many friends with his methods and he pushed and pulled too many people who weren’t qualified (or any better at dealing with people) in around him to get his agenda completed – all of it, not just the parts that other people actually agreed with. And he let them have free reign for their own petty reactionary decisions. And good people got caught in the firing range.
I do not believe, nor do I hold him responsible for the financial mess. Neither do I believe or hold responsible the others that are being made to pay. Did they miss it? Yes. Should they have caught it several years ago when it began? Yes. Would it have been easy? Probably not, if it had been, they would have done so.
That is the real problem that I see prevalent in many areas of GPC. People are missing things because they are busy trying to keep their heads down (this I do blame Tricoli for), make themselves look good or make others look bad so that no one will look at them anyway. And the people, who do their jobs, with the little that is available and even try to clean up some of the little messes as they go along, will suffer in the coming years as this big mess is cleaned up. And some of the people who are coasting through and not doing their jobs will still be around, still not doing their jobs.
But I also believe that GPC, or GPSC as we will be – due to changes already approved by the BOR, will survive. And will thrive. Will we have 40,000 students by 2015? No. But we shouldn’t have been pushing for that anyway – we need to get really good at handling the 27,000 students we have now and grow as we are able to and as resources become available. Will we lose 2,500 students because of the learning support changes? Who knows? We will find out in August once classes begin. Will we have new direction? Yes. But we should always be moving in the direction of educating students, preparing them to be productive – that is the mission of a two-year college, and that is what GPC is – a couple Bachelor’s degrees does not change that in any way.
Maybe if we all could focus on that and let the facts come out when they will and not invent rumors, charge into pointing fingers at folks who probably had nothing to do with this current mess either and maybe, just maybe, things really will all work out in the end. Of course, then people wouldn’t get to vent so much, and where would the fun be then?
GPCStudent01
May 8th, 2012
6:06 pm
As a student I feel betrayed! How can there be at least 16 million dollars missing? I don’t think it is a short fall by any-means; the college has a spending problem. The solution to that problem is to start over at square one, re-evaluate all positions from top to bottom, and trim the fat. Though the problem is much deeper than it appears on the surface, I would agree there is a lot of wasteful spending that occurs by student organizations, and such. Those issues are just a small slice of the pie compared to the real problem. I suppose we will find out more as this story develops kudos to the whistle blower! I can only hope we get to the root of the problem, my guess is it will all tie up nicely to the good ol’ boy network here in Georgia. And nothing will ever come of it.
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
6:42 pm
@ Prof / what will happen at Clarkston
the educated guess -nobody’s talking, and to be fair I suspect nobody knows yet – based on the Chancellors letter is layoffs, and a fair amount of them.
the most probably senarios are:
-most of the part time F/S will not be returning after June
-things like the Atlanta Center and the Southern Academy for Literature (whatever its name is) will quietly fold and go away.
-things like International Education will go away, or scale back so far they don’t really exist.
-another year of no raises
-furloughs
-there is alot of talk about a 4 day work week. the tech school next door does it and they seem to be functioning fine
-skyrocketing benefit costs
-any prestige programs like sign language will go away unless they can find a way to show a profit
-longer hours
-even more of a workload
-large departments like OIT & PR will take big hits
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
6:47 pm
@ student 01
we spend like you can’t believe. I keep waiting for Collegian to do
a investigative story on it.
many of us have tried for some time to raise flags, only to find ourselves in the crosshairs of HR. GPC has a sweet policies and proceedures manual the IRS would envy. none of us are capable of
being in complete compliance of the rules
which, of course, allow HR and the political wonks to do as they wish.
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
6:53 pm
@ maeve,
you should hold Tricoli responsible.
it is-was- his job.
he stacked the deck so no one could stand against him, used HR like his personal hit squad, and established the culture of intimidation guarenteed to create abuses of power.
as somebody pointed out earlier, this concept of favorites and gift jobs goes back to DeKalb College days. Tricoli promised to reign it in, and instead put it on steriods.
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
6:55 pm
people, you keep forgetting SACS in just around the corner.
we’re in serious trouble.
the school will survive, but we probably won’t recognise it.
GSU_Insider
May 8th, 2012
7:59 pm
Sorry to hear this about GPC. Sounds like there were a lot of folks involved and now the students and the rank-n-file are going to pay for it while the VP’s get richer. The BOR should also be held accountable for letting it go on for so long. – just my two cents.
Here’s a Tip for you AJC: There’s something fishy going on at Georgia State University… check it out you might be the first to break that story. While you’re there, check in on IS&T (IT unit) something fishy with how they hire people too. I’m sure staff and faculty will give you some nice information.
GPCer
May 8th, 2012
8:44 pm
Some people have referred to the Vice President for Academic Affairs in these comments. He almost certainly isn’t responsible for and probably not connected to the financial mismanagement, but as several have stated, he’s been enabling many of the current problems. One commenter said that he/she didn’t “respect some of the current administration (The VPAA excluded . . . ).” The current VPAA isn’t worthy of much respect. He is lazy, communicates poorly, doesn’t take action when he should, takes action when he shouldn’t, and relies on sarcasm as a stand-in for thoughtful deliberation. He has good points: he isn’t usually malicious in his actions, and he leaves others alone to do their work as they see fit. However, if he goes down in this mess, GPC won’t lose out on much.
GPCer
May 8th, 2012
8:56 pm
Maeve and Redweather Foster both hit bullseyes.
JacketFan
May 8th, 2012
9:04 pm
I spent the whole day trying not to get dragged down into this mess, but all of these comments about things NOT RELATED to the budget issue are driving my batty. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. You think this is constructive? Publicly slandering your institution? For those of you who haven’t been through the sort of house cleaning many on here are mentioning, let me tell you, it isn’t fun for anyone. You think things are bad now … you haven’t seen bad. You’ve all got your pitchforks out for this person or that. Well, ask yourself this question: how will I fair when my performance gets scrutinized by a state agency? Knowing many of you (and, I do know, with near certainty, who many of you posting on here are – it’s not too hard to figure out), I would say that you wouldn’t fair too well. Lot of strict nine-to-fivers on here. Lots of folks who shirk things like professional development, service to the college, and service to the community. Many of you in departments with ABYSMAL pass rates and who point fingers at department chairs or blame the students (if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard a faculty member blame the students). Keep up the conspiracy theories and the corruption talk and the USG will clean house, from top to bottom, and I doubt many of you will like what that work environment is like. I’ve gone through it. It’s Hell.
Watching the mayhem
May 8th, 2012
9:12 pm
Everyone, good or bad has supporters. Students feel they received an education and therefore feel Tricoli was good. Those who experienced his foul, unprofessional and hostile behavior were beaten into submission or fired. As for the TAG program, it was only useful for transfers out of state or to private colleges. The truth is USG doesn’t have community colleges, it has two year colleges within the university system. This allows seamless transfer to all USG four year schools. So there was no need for TAG for transfer to other USG colleges. However, Tricoli used it to intimidate and terrorize academic advisers. One student told him “advisement sucks” and the man went on a complete and utterly unnecessary warpath against advisement. So now academic advisement and new student orientation really do suck because of Tricoli and his minions.
When Tricoli came to GPC he called meetings to tell staff that he wanted to increase enrollment in order to be the LARGEST college within the USG. He even strategized that the GA State president was leaving the following semester, which he stated should reduce that institution’s enrollment.
Tricoli was able to carry on this madness for all of these years because he hired and/or promoted incompetent puppets. Look at his VP’s and Assistant VP’s. GPC became way too top heavy with administrators. These people were either just as crazy as he with foul attitudes or they did not have the academic background and experience for the jobs they were promoted to and therefore had to do what Tricoli said. Or they didn’t know enough to help him do something constructive and meaningful. Let’s see how far some of these people get now. A competent new president will get rid of all of them. However, the BOR will be wise to begin the process now. I am sure the $16 million is going to six figure salaries for several VP’s and AVP’s who don’t know high education from a whole in the wall. Check closer and you will see that some of the people he hired were publicly run out of their former institutions.
Whoever said it was power hungriness and egomania that led to all of this is correct. Tricoli took on roles in human resources that were inappropriate. He micro managed and yelled and screamed when he didn’t get his way.
A Proud GPC Employee
May 8th, 2012
9:46 pm
I have been proud to work at GPC. As several of our students have mentioned in their comments on this blog, the college has fulfilled its mission in them and helped them to achieve their goals. GPC is filled with very hardworking professionals, who strive to contribute to the lives of our students, our employees, and the community. It sickens me to think of anyone who is not responsible for the funding problem suffering injury to their livelihood, including our many dedicated adjunct faculty and part-time staff who are often hoping for a full-time gig with the college.
Given the shortfall, GPC obviously spent $16 million that it shouldn’t have. Let’s act like a family and find a solution that causes the least harm to the fulfillment of our mission, the well-being of our employees, and the culture of the college. We may not be responsible for the shortfall, but it is the cards we have been dealt.
I don’t want to see new initiatives like the Atlanta Center or Sustainability be shut down. Can they go into some sort of hibernation for a year running on a shoestring budget? Can we institute the four-day work-week for the summer? Can we halt all technology purchases except those that are central and necessary? Can we halt all new projects for the coming year? Can all employees agree to not receive college funding for conferences for a year? I know a lot of people have ideas about where we can make cuts. So why don’t we put our heads together and make it happen, because let’s face it, we have to anyway. And let’s do it with class and dignity. I believe in our institution, and I believe we can get through this.
TenuredConsultants?
May 8th, 2012
9:54 pm
Hum…….where is the Assistant VP of Financial and Administrative Affairs in all of this? She’s been missing in action and it’s her area of responsibility!
Where are those consultants? Too bad we paid them boo-coo’s of $$$ and look what mess they’ve left! They got away with murder and they owe us big-time! Then again, they were given free reign (by “them”) to work as long as they pleased. The best job ever:(
niecey
May 8th, 2012
9:57 pm
@adminsec, if you work at gpc, then you know that it is not only kids straight out of high school that require “remedial” subjects. i bet a bunch even you would find it difficult to test into college level math!
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
9:59 pm
@ GPCer
I actually feel bad for Alan. he’s in over his head.
and I agree he’s probably not at fault for the money mess
but he could have and should have headed off the whole Beth Jensen mess. and in its own way that mess will be worse than the money mess.
bootney farnsworth
May 8th, 2012
10:08 pm
I have zero problem “slandering” my own institution when my institution acts as if its above the law, lacks the most basic human decency, and has allowed the out of control arrogance of 1 man & his lapdogs essentially destroy said institution and the jobs/careers of good people.
we’ve been out of control and acted absymally. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. I’m not gonna deny it.
JacketFan
May 8th, 2012
10:19 pm
@bootney – then you will reap what you sow, friend.
Alex
May 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
GPC will be merged with Atlanta Metro and Gainesville’s Oconee campus! Bank on it! Lots of employees administrative and faculty will be terminated in the merger. Plans are already underway.
drjd@gpc
May 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
There’s just no good place to start. Under Tricoli, rules were changed so that if if you published anything, you were not allowed to mention your association with GPC, unlike a columnist member of the Regents. Such a policy has to be illegal.
SACS will do little and is far too easily fooled.SACS is a toothless rodent only able to go after local school systems. Sue it and it will back off with apologies. A SACS review is the equivalent of buying a car by driving past a dealership. A superficial glance, with deals to be made afterward. I’ve seen it, done it, been there, but didn’t buy the t-shirt. The process is as transparent as GPC’s financials.
Today the Regents approved the name change to GA Perimeter State College. This should cost at least half as much as the GPC deficit. Please send your protests to the Regents and the Governor.
All of this is a black eye for GPC. I agree that taxpaying teacher should look at the big picture instead of a taking narrow focus on small-minded issues. There are many jobs at stake, and even worse, the reputation of a GPC education may suffer. Say what you like, but the TAG agreements were a great accomplishment, although some of the out of state agreements were odd.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs, Alan Jackson, is one the the best and most fair people at GPC. Many campus chairs are unqualified and have no idea of personnel management, and you shouldn’t even ask about racial prejudice.
I have read the comments about various GPC departments. I don’t know about OIT, but would certainly recommend that Human Resources first, and then the tutoring centers, the libraries and the computer lab operations be looked into. There is something badly wrong in the operation and management of these at some campuses according to student and faculty comments I’ve heard.
All things considered, Georgia got what it deserved when Tricoli was hired. The Regents wanted a good-looking figurehead, someone who looked presidential who would appeal to parents. Help me, but he and Romney are twins. Their wives and mothers wouldn’t notice a switch. Tricoli’s PhD dissertation should have given a clue. “IDENTIFICATION AND RATING OF CRITERIA RELEVANT TO THE SELECTION OF CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENTS AS USED BY BOARD OF TRUSTEE CHAIRPERSONS”, basically how to look like a community college president. At least he refrained from bad language in it, unlike on the job. Having looked him up, some of us laughed when he was hired, but aren’t laughing now. Style but little substance.
Why has GPC not hired and groomed people who can be moved up to stay with GPC? Once, faculty members moved up and eventually became the leaders in their colleges. Now we have immigrant college presidents and vice-presidents who move on every few years, Alan Jackson being the GPC exception. Charm may not be his strength, but he has the character and substance to be college president. GPC could do and has done so much worse, thank you Virginia Michelich (former GPC VP) now at the Board of Regents, who must share complicity with Tricoli and any others. I wonder how much this has to do with Tricoli staying on at the home office to save the Regents’ equally complicit faces.
GPCer
May 8th, 2012
11:09 pm
@ A Proud GPC Employee, Nicely stated.
@ Alex, I doubt it. Check on the school’s name-change status to Georgia Perimeter State College.
Old Person
May 8th, 2012
11:16 pm
Look at the career programs for more mismanagement. A few months ago the Department Chair of Nursing packed her bags and walked out on a Friday. Why? An amazing attrition rate has occured in Dental Hygiene over the last several years but does anyone take notice? Doubtful. There is a pervasive mistrust of the Dental Hygiene Department Chair and the Dean of Health Sciences and calls for assistance from the previous VPAA and the Omnsbudsman fell on deaf ears. A tenured faculty member retired under duress without the due-process that should have happened because the chair wanted her gone. The administration folded under the pressure. There has been a huge increase in the amount of money that has gone to paying part time adjunct faculty when the work load of the full time faculty was under the load required of others. Work from home rather than reporting for work 5 days a week like others do is frequent. Department Chairs are expected to teach one course a year but comments have been made that the Dean requires the Chair to not teach at all. Spending in the Dental Hygiene Department is without hesitation and morally corrupt. Students are an inconvenience and laugh at the Department Chair; I have seen this. Lots to look into. Clean house at lower levels too.
Sunny D
May 8th, 2012
11:26 pm
@ A Proud GPC Employee – sounds good, but it’s not up to GPC employees to make those decisions at this point – too late. When we should have spoken up and raised the roof, we didn’t raise it high enough. Seems like everybody has a comment, but there was no concerted effort to march on the 3rd floor at Decatur until something happened or change occurred! So, you’re right – these are the cards we have been dealt and we have to play the hand! Now everyone is concerned about the students, but if we really cared, we have taken care of business years ago. Unfortunate, but true.
GPCer
May 8th, 2012
11:30 pm
@ Watching the mayhem, Well stated. Tricoli seemed to base some major policy shifts or initiatives on the random comment or complaint of a student, parent, employee, or community member. Not to say that the original point he would hear was meaningless or worthless, but he seems too easily influenced by random comments or encounters without applying the necessary analysis or planning to implement some of the suggestions he would hear. Also, as all of us are prone to do, he seemed to hear only what he wanted to hear, but in his case this selective listening seemed especially pronounced, further contributing to the tunnel vision at the the top of the administration.
A Proud GPC Employee
May 9th, 2012
12:14 am
@Sunny D It’s true that the BOR may step in and make unilaterally decisions about cuts. Unfortunately, outsiders who are not intimately familiar with what makes GPC tick are likely to make cuts in the easiest and most obvious places, such as by eliminating personnel.
I may be a desperate Polyana, but i’m hoping they are willing to look to those who know the inner workings of the institution best and those who are putting constructive ideas forward. Personnel cuts most likely won’t be avoided completely, but perhaps they can be minimized and very strategically done.
bootney farnsworth
May 9th, 2012
4:54 am
@ proud,
with this kind of shortfall, and with SACS looming, personnel cuts are impossible to avoid.
while there’s a chance the BOR will take our input, I doubt it. we-GPC- got ourselves into this mess, and I can’t see why the BOR will trust us to get out of it.
bootney farnsworth
May 9th, 2012
4:57 am
reaping what’s been sown…
yeah, I’d say that’s pretty accurate. pity AT didn’t consider that before he went on his path of personal destruction
bootney farnsworth
May 9th, 2012
5:08 am
@ sunny
I know some of us tried. most of the humanites faculty tried, and they just got it worse. Debbie Davis tried-she’s effectively out. Phil Smith tried-tossed to Lakeside. Virginia M. tried-exiled to the BOR.
and then there’s the middle managment tier who tried and got Truesdale sicked on them
alot of good people tried.
but a lot more sat on their hands and choose not to get involved. they cried, they moaned, but when it was time to stand up and be counted..?
bootney farnsworth
May 9th, 2012
7:26 am
@ old person,
calling on the Ombudsman is the most self destructive thing a person can do. our Omb. is little more than administrations muscle. remember the old saw about knowing its a snake when you pick it up..?
Maeve
May 9th, 2012
10:07 am
The name change was a done deal as soon as the Bachelor’s programs were approved. There was no way around it. It may have been presented to the faculty/staff as a possibility, but it wasn’t. GPC became GPSC when the programs were approved. The BOR just had to have a vote on record.
SACS will pick up on this. The changes in the college structure, setup, personnel and condition will be obvious to the visiting team given that the written report was complete before all this became public. GPC will not escape unscathed.
taxpaying teacher
May 9th, 2012
10:58 am
I think I have been misrepresented here. With all due respect to drjd@gpc, I don’t accept the characterization that I’ve been “taking narrow focus on small-minded issues.” My primary concern is and has been the instruction provided to GPC students. Toward that end, I’ve made two suggestions: 1) that until the budget is balanced in FY 2014, the many coordinators and directors around the college temporarily be put back into the classroom full time (and I endorse the recommendation by another commentator that their initiatives operate on a shoestring budget for this brief time only); 2) that every administrator at the college, up to and including the VPAA, teach at least three courses per semester until the deficit is repaid. I don’t see how, in good conscience, any administrator can say that being asked to serve our students directly during this unprecedented budget crisis is unreasonable. If tine constraints are a major problem, some could choose to help out by teaching at the most rapidly growing “campus,” GPC Online.
I lack the qualifications and knowledge to comment on how best to protect our overworked and underpaid staff during this time. Maybe the Staff Senate can provide some input, and maybe the administration will listen. If, however, anything I have said has been misconstrued as being less than 100% supportive of our staff, I want to set the record straight: the faculty can’t do their jobs without admissions, enrollment, student support, the libraries, and tutoring and testing center, and (probably most of all) the department secretaries doing theirs.
I want nothing more than to see GPC not only survive but thrive, and I am willing to do my share. The terseness of some of my earlier comments came while defending myself against vicious, ad hominem attacks by two other posters. I stand more than ready to discuss — and disagree — civilly with those who share with my an abiding love for the institution.
taxpaying teacher
May 9th, 2012
11:02 am
P.S. My reference to GPC Online and time constraints does not at all mean that I think teaching online is less work that teaching face to face. In fact, it’s more. What I mean is that the schedule is flexible for people who have meetings and other time constraints that might make a 10:00 a.m. class impossible. I apologize if I have been less than clear.
Voice of Reason
May 9th, 2012
11:32 am
@taxpaying teacher, you seem oddly obssessed with attacking the DC. How do you even know he/she doesn’t teach a full workload, and why are you so concerned with this particular person when there are FAR more positions that you could be attacking. Furthermore, not all people have to physically be in the classroom to make a difference. Some of these programs, including diversity, are formed to IMPROVE the quality of the academic curriculum. Grow up.
How about we all focus on the issue at hand instead of attacking our colleagues?