Was It Not About Orientation & Who Dr. Gustavo Valadez Ortiz Held Hands With?

Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CALLED MEETING OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE DEL MAR COLLEGE DISTRICT July 28, 2003 The Called Meeting of the Board of Regents of the Del Mar College District opened in the Isensee Board Room, Harvin Student Center, Del Mar College East Campus, 101 Baldwin, Corpus Christi, Texas, at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2003, with the following present: From the Board: Mrs. Chris Adler, Mrs. Minnie Arriaga; Dr. Haysam Dawod, Mrs. Olga Gonzales, Mr. Bill Martin; Mr. Gabe Rivas, Mrs. Dorothy Spann, Mr. Guy Watts, and Ms. Beverly Winters. From the College: Dr. Gustavo Valadez Ortiz, President; Mr. Jose Alaniz, Vice President, Business and Finance; Mr. Jose Rivera, Vice President of Student Development and Community Learning; Ms. Claudia Jackson, Assistant to the President for Community Relations; Ms. Barbara Riley, Executive Administrative Assistant to Vice President of Business and Finance; and other administrators, faculty, and staff. From the Attorney's Office: Mr. Stephen Hilmy. Others: Other interested citizens. Mrs. Olga Gonzales, president of the Board, presided and called the meeting to order. With a quorum present, she requested a moment of silence. The meeting opened with public comments. Mrs. Gonzales announced that, because of the number of people who signed up to address the Board, public comments would be limited to three minutes. Ms. Laura Parr asked the Board to remember the comments she had made at the last meeting, and stated that those comments were made by her as a taxpayer and as an employee of the College. Mr. Justin Shirley, a student at the College, expressed his support for Dr. Valadez and the activities he has been involved in with students. Mr. Raul Saenz addressed the Board as a taxpayer in support of Dr. Valadez and his accomplishments. Ms. Angela Garcia, deputy director for the elderly at the state level for LULAC, expressed her support for Dr. Valadez for the things that she had heard he had done at the College. Page 2 Ms. Rosa Rosales, national vice president of Southwest for LULAC, gave her support for Dr. Valadez as a Latino, and expressed the need to have more Latinos in higher positions. Ms. Ann Thorn, faculty member in the Computer Science department, asked that the Board give due consideration to the resolutions presented by the Faculty Council and Council of Chairs. She admonished those who were labeling the issue as “racism.” Mr. Mike Anzaldua, faculty member in the English department and speaking for himself, expressed his anger for those who stated that there was racism at the College. He reviewed the many administrative positions at the College held by Hispanics or minorities. Ms. Dolores Huerta, faculty member in Business Administration and speaking for herself, informed the Board that she was hired 20 years ago based on her credentials, not race, and that she has earned her rank as Professor. She asked that the Board omit the issue of ethnicity and race in any decision they make. Mr. Ruben Lopez Rodriguez, an employee of the College for 31 years and speaking for himself, commented on the effect the issue is having at the College and in the community. He also asked that the issue of race not be a factor. Ms. Nancy Vera, president of LULAC Council #4444, voiced her support for Dr. Valadez and the initiatives he had taken during his tenure at the College. Because Ms. Vera continuously addressed the audience, and addressed her comments to individual Board members, Mrs. Spann requested that Ms. Vera be told to follow the rules of decorum. Mr. Howard Karsh, auditorium supervisor, expressed his appreciation for Dr. Valadez’ assistance in making progress with auditorium issues. Mr. Ray Madrigal, 1113 18 th Street and speaking as a citizen, expressed his concerns for the financial impact on the College, and thus, the taxpayer, if the College has to pay off the remainder of the College president’s contract. Mr. Willie Perez, speaking on behalf of LULAC Council #4444 and Griselda Leal, commented on the issue of racism. He read a note from Ms. Leal in which she expressed her support for Dr. Valadez. Several speakers were exceeding the three-minute time limit, and Mrs. Arriaga requested that the Board president adhere to the limit and the comments appropriately. Mr. Joe Ortiz, member of the Felix Longoria Chapter of the G. I. Forum, insinuated that there was a “witch-hunt” and asked that the Board provide Dr. Valadez due process. Page 3 Ms. Lula Hinton, an employee of the College and speaking for herself, reminded the Board that they needed to make a responsible decision, and pointed out that the majority of speakers were not employees of the College. She asked that the Board give attention to the resolutions presented by two major factions of the College. Mr. Jose Rivera announced that he was asked to read a letter addressed to Dr. Valadez. The letter, from Mr. Mike Roberts, superintendent of Sinton ISD, expressed support for Dr. Valadez. Mr. Rivera asked that the Board consider that Dr. Valadez may not have been given the opportunity to address the issues presented in the resolutions. Mr. Pete Rivera stated that, although he did not know Dr. Valadez, he knew of him from the media, and asked that the Board make any decisions based on facts. Mr. Albert Benitez, instructor in the Criminal Justice program, reported that he felt there was racism within the Criminal Justice program. Mr. Benitez expressed his support for Dr. Valadez because the president had introduced himself to Mr. Benitez’s class. Ms. Mary Kay, faculty member at the College and speaking for herself, stressed that racism was not a factor with the issue of the College president, and reminded everyone that Dr. Valadez was selected as College president because he is a Hispanic. She assured those present that all students are being taught on an equal basis and not based on their skin color. Mr. John Crisp, faculty member in the English department and assistant chairperson of the Faculty Council, clarified that the resolution made by the Faculty Council was not based on racism or a witch-hunt, but made by professionals at the College who did not take the issue lightly. Mr. Ben Morin, faculty member and chairperson of the Business Technology department, pointed out that a previous president of the College was also dismissed, and being that the president was not Hispanic, questioned the direction of racism, if it was evident. No one else signed up ore requested to address the Board. Mrs. Gonzales announced that the Board would enter into closed session in accordance with Government Code Sections 551.071 and 551.074 beginning at 12:37 p.m. The Board ended closed session and reconvened at 2:45 p.m. Mrs. Gonzales announced that the Board had approved, effective today, a settlement and release agreement with College president Dr. Valadez, and that the Board and Dr. Valadez felt that the disengagement was in the best interest of the College and students. Mrs. Gonzales expressed the Board’s appreciation to Dr. Valadez for his service, and their best wishes for his future endeavors. Dr. Dawod made a motion to approve the final settlement agreement and full release between Dr. Gustavo Valadez Ortiz and Del Mar College. Mrs. Spann seconded, and the motion carried with Adler, Arriaga, Dawod, Martin, Rivas, Spann, Watts, and Winters voting in favor; Gonzales opposing; and none Page 4 abstaining. (This Settlement Agreement will recorded as Document #03-12 in the document section of the Official Minutes of the Board.) Mrs. Arriaga made a motion, seconded by Mr. Rivas, that the Board appoint, as acting president of Del Mar College effective at 5:00 p.m. today, July 28, 2003, Joe Alaniz, vice president of Business and Finance, who has strong support from his administrative staff, pending deliberations and action by the Board of Regents to appoint an interim president. The motion carried by unanimous vote. Mr. Alaniz expressed his appreciation for the Board’s confidence. Under Calendaring, the Board was reminded of the called meeting scheduled for the next day at 9:00 a.m. With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m