Guess you haven't heard of the Albert Benitez/John Graham/Linda Garcia/Chris Adler/Carlos Garcia/Shari Parker Do some homework before U hurt yourself

Guess you have not heard of the Albert Benitez/John Graham/Linda Garcia/Chris Adler/Carlos Garcia/Shari Parker//Port Royal/Student Government Association/Mike Westergren/Theresa Cox/Ben Blanco/Cohen/Gabe Rivas/Attorney General/Guadalupe Rangel Report/Baker Botts half a million dollar report/Howard Karsh/ Asbestos Debacle







Restraining order meant to prevent the policy changes

By Israel Saenz (Contact)
Originally published 10:17 a.m., November 9, 2007
Updated 11:49 a.m., November 9, 2007



CORPUS CHRISTI — A judge Friday denied Del Mar College professors’ request for a temporary restraining order meant to prevent the college from implementing policy changes proposed by its interim president.

Judge Jose Longoria with the 214th District court told Robert Heil — an attorney representing faculty members Ann Thorn, Loyd Poplin, Nancy Bednar and Dana De La Plaine — that he did not present a basis for the filing and denied the request.

Longoria set another hearing for Nov. 19.

The professors, as well as the college’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to prevent interim President Travis Kirkland from implementing changes to tenure policy, as well as other administrative changes.

Tenure is a contractual arrangement that gives faculty due process before possible termination.

Kirkland seeks to separate tenure from promotion at the college — current policy dictates that when faculty members are promoted, they also receive tenure. The college’s board of regents will consider that and other proposals Tuesday.

View latest stories with comments »
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: We've changed the way comments appear on the site. Click here for more information.



Post 1 November 9, 2007 at 11:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good

Post 2 November 9, 2007 at 11:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Clearly the circus is back in town. Tenure should be earned and not some goody type of reward for passing a probationary term of employment.

On the other hand if mediocrity is the goal, go on and maintain the current standard.

Post 3 November 9, 2007 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is a travesty. Without tenure it will be impossible to recruit and retain quality faculty. Del Mar students will be denied the opportunity to have quality education.

Education is expensive, and Del Mar offers one of the best opportunities for that education for the money in the area. It has a high reputation nationally, something that will change if we can no longer recruit quality faculty (because they don't even look at jobs that don't offer tenure).

Post 4 November 9, 2007 at 11:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Post 3... they are not eliminating tenure... they are simply making it to where the instructors have to actually work for it... just like a normal person would have to work to secure thier job in the marketplace... by making it too easy for the instructors to get tenure actually drops the level of education... The instructors that are worried about this are probably not doing thier jobs and have sub-standard scores for the college and are worried about thier jobs... if you are doing your job, then why are you worried... I am glad the judge denied this...

Post 5 November 9, 2007 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

what is tenure referring to? a pay raise? someone fill me in please.

Post 6 November 9, 2007 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

post 5... tenure is a status that an instructor achieves after years of dedication and excellent scores to secure thier job there... it makes it litterally impossible for them to get fired... even if layoffs are required because the program they teach is no longer in demand... and keeping these programs and teachers around when there is no demand only drives up the cost of education... I know that if my job was no longer in demand, they would not bat a lash before canning me (no matter how good my reviews are) because it is simple "demand" in the education field... I am not a teacher though therefore I can not get tenure...

Post 7 November 9, 2007 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

dccortez

Welcome to the real world. Staying current and doing your job is key to staying employed.

Post 8 November 9, 2007 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

At present, promotion and tenure go hand in hand. In order to get both, you have to prove that you deserve it through a variety of methods. (I have a friend who is going through that preparation right now.) In other words, post #4, they have to show that they have worked for and earned their promotion and tenure. It doesn't make sense to tell someone, you're good enough to be promoted, but we want to be able to fire you without cause anyway.

Under the proposed plan, you would have to go through the entire process to get the promotion in one year, then the next year go through the same process to get tenure. Talk about a waste of time.

Does the tenure situation need to be fixed? Perhaps. My beef with the whole process right now is that we have a temporary person seeking to make permanent changes by fiat; completely ignoring the input of those people who will be most affected by the decision. I think that's presumptuous of the INTERIM president and I hope the Del Mar Board shows some uncharacteristic common sense for a governmental agency and turns this plan down. It's bad enough when they're a rubber stamp for a permanent person...but to rubber stamp the actions of a temporary person? Ridiculous!

Post 9 November 9, 2007 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Way to go Judge Longoria! You are truly serving the citizens of Corpus Christi in an honest and ethical manner!

I hope you do the same when you weigh the decision on whether or not to grant Hannah Overton a new trial. She should have to pay for her crime, one way or another. Hannah is the one that didn't want to plead down the charges. She's the one that gambled the chance to be convicted of Negligent homicide.

Why should we let the taxpayers have to go through this all over again.

And if you do grant her a new trial, I hope you keep it right here in Corpus Christi.

And post 4, I agree with you. The professors should have to earn their tenure.

Post 10 November 9, 2007 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tenure protects a faculty member from termination without cause. The DMC method prevents much of the internal politics that can corrupt an internal tenure system. As I understand it at the DMC if you can keep your job for three years you recieve tenure. That seems fair to me. Just consider what the current Board under Chris Adlers direction want do do. A faculty member would have to work at the DMC for many years and say that faculty member believes in freedom of speech and offends Chris Adler and most of the administration who do not believe in freedom of speech? Than you don't get tenure. Perhaps Ms Adler decides that evolution is out and inteligent design is in. As faculty if you beleive one or the other you don't get tenure? May be your Jewish and the rest of your department are christians? Maybe you don't get tenure? The fact is that any employee that can keep their job at the DMC for three years deserves what the State of Texas denies them. If an employee is not doing their job in that amount of time it is the college that is at fault if that employee was incompetent. Tenure protects a proven employee from the political tyrany and insider corruption of Ms Adlers Board and administrators and their incompetence.

Post 11 November 9, 2007 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Without tenure, SOME professors will be required to actually teach something useful in class as opposed to just going through the motions while wallowing in their brain dead position of mediocrity.
Tenure protects SOME professors from being held accountable for their current inability or unwillingness to effectively teach anymore.

Post 12 November 9, 2007 at 1:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

In response to Post 11. Don't believe it. You will just end up with a professor who is afraid to offend the powers that be. That does not make a better teacher. This is not about the students. This is about the corruption of the administration and the power of those that support them. Students are the last thing on their minds. This is all about internal politics, power and who gets the biggest piece of the taxpayer’s money for the least amount of effort. This is about a faculty that will be afraid to stand up for the best interests of the students. If your professor is in the "in" group and he is the biggest jerk in the world to students he/she will get tenure and you will still suffer, maybe even worse. There will be nothing you can do.

Post 13 November 9, 2007 at 1:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you, post 8, for a good explanation of the tenure process. I also agree that it is foolish to allow an interim president to make such a huge change in current policy. What if the decisions of the interim president result in an exodus of highly qualified professors and an adverse impact upon the quality of education at Del Mar? Kirkland will be long gone by then--but the Board of Regents will still have to face the voters. Ms. Adler and the rest of the Board should be aware that they will be held responsible, should the actions of the interim president have a negative impact upon the educational quality at Del Mar.

By the way, I know a few of the professors at Del Mar, and the tenure issue is only part of the problem. The "other administrative changes" have also caused morale to be at the lowest point I can recall. Unhappy professors tend to look elsewhere for employment; the best ones can find other positions. Who does that leave at Del Mar?

Post 14 November 9, 2007 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I want to tell a story here that might help students understand that this is not about the student. I spoke with an ex English instructor who did not have tenure. He told me that the English Learning Lab was in essence a scam to get more money from the government by forcing students to go to the learning lab to pick up assignments that could be handed out in class. They would have to sign in and the college used that to inflate statistics to the state. He questioned this and other practices that he thought hurt the students. Guess what? He does not work for the DMC anymore. My son who attended the DMC complained about wasting his time in the Learning Lab and I thought he just didn’t want to do the work. I owe him an apology. Why tenured faculty have not spoken out, I don’t know. Maybe if this instructor had made it to tenure he would have. As I understand it, he was a good instructor and he was for the student, and he is gone.

Post 15 November 9, 2007 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

One of the biggest misconceptions about tenure is that it prevents the college from being able to dismiss a faculty member. This is simply not true. What it does do is require that due process steps be followed before a faculty member is dismissed AND guarantees a faculty member academic freedom to be able to disagree with administrators, be able to teach and discuss controversial topics, and be able make decisions about their courses without interference. There are a number of situations and conditions under which a tenured faculty member can be dismissed.

There are also a number of other policy proposals being put forth by the Interim President, most of which are attempts to reduce faculty control over those areas that faculty are closest to, including the issue of academic freedom and job security, selection of our faculty representatives, and departmental Chairs.

Post 16 November 9, 2007 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Make teaching at Del Mar like being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. You must re-apply and qualify every year. You must compete for your job and you must be the best.

At Del Mar, quality has never been job #1.

Post 17 November 9, 2007 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Post # 5:

Are you a regent? McCampbell or Adler? Or are you an interim president? Kirkland? If not, you have a lot in common with them.

Post 18 November 9, 2007 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Those who can DO, those who can't TEACH.

Post 19 November 9, 2007 at 5:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

And those who are ELECTED serve their constituents, the TAXPAYERS, not their special interests.

Can we get a big HOO-HA for Chris and Trey?

Post 20 November 9, 2007 at 6:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You people are funny. Everyone here knows the truth. This is all Adler trying to have a power trip. Actually Im glad she is doing this because she has lost 3/4's of her allies.

Its just a matter of time before Adler is removed.

Trey is a big disgrace to the community. Boycott American Bank!

Post 21 November 9, 2007 at 6:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have the following question. What if anything connects the following dots? Taypayers funds, Del Mar College construction projects, Chris Adler, Fulton Construction and Atlas Iron & Metal?

Post 22 November 9, 2007 at 7:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Those who can do, those who can't teach?....... What an idiot!
How did you learn to read, write, calculate?? By someone who can't?
Can't make a living in the real world? Can't show up to work for 8 hours? Try teaching a difficult concept to 25 adolescents. Come on in to our classrooms and maintain focus and discipline.....what are you waiting for? Step up..... or shut up....the face that is connected to the brain that obviously cannot see past his own immature catch phrase.
I am proud to be a part of a profession that gives up our love, devotion, true patriatism, accepting low pay, and the spittle from idoitic ramblings like yours. Idiot.

Post 23 November 9, 2007 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

patriatism?

Got on a rant and forgot to use spell check?

Post 24 November 9, 2007 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

yea, guess i did!

Post 25 November 9, 2007 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Got to hate it when that happens. Good rant though.

Post 26 November 9, 2007 at 10:28 p.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Post 27 November 10, 2007 at 1:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Post 4: "They are not eliminating tenure... they are simply making it to where the instructors have to actually work for it... just like a normal person would have to work to secure thier job in the marketplace."

Well, I hope your not in the English Dept.

Do you not have "tenure"?

Do not presume to know what this change in policy will or will not accomplish.

The fact is Travis Kirkland nor the Board of Regents have the power to "modify" the policy when it obviously contrary to EEOC.

The are using Kirkland to do this power play , DMC BOR are the BOSS not the DMC President (who should be a Professor).

Travis Kirkland he is INTERIM.... that means TEMPORARY.

And you keep being their cheerleader but you are deluded when they do not need you don't come crying.

~D1~

Post 28 November 10, 2007 at 1:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Guess you have not heard of the Albert Benitez/John Graham/Linda Garcia/Chris Adler/Carlos Garcia/Shari Parker//Port Royal/Student Government Association/Mike Westergren/Theresa Cox/Ben Blanco/Cohen/Gabe Rivas/Attorney General/Guadalupe Rangel Report/Baker Botts half a million dollar report/Howard Karsh/ Asbestos Debacle?

Do some homework before you hurt yourself.