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As of December 1, 2009, Dr. Richard Rose stepped down as the president of Modesto Junior College. Students and some faculty members describe Rose’s departure as a mystery and many want answers. It is unlikely that the college will get them.
“Dr. Rose and the YCCD Board of Trustees came to an agreement that the reason for the departure would not be discussed,” said YCCD Chancellor Roe Darnell. According to Darnell, the binding agreement is to remain confidential.
Dr. Rose has served as president since 2006. His involuntary departure goes back to November 2007 when the MJC Faculty Senate Executive Board voted ‘no confidence’ in the president. The complaint was that Dr. Rose failed to rely primarily on, or mutually agree with, shared governance representative bodies in decisions relating to budget, enrollment management and faculty scheduling where they impact academic programs, according to the Academic Senate.
Shared governance is a system and the set of practices under which college faculty and staff participates in significant decisions concerning the operation of their institutions. According to the American Federation of Teachers, a union of professional teachers, these are some factors of shared governance: recognizes that academic decision-making should be largely independent of short-term managerial and political considerations;faculty and professional staff are in the best position to shape and implement curriculum and research policy, to select academic colleagues and judge their work; andthe perspective of all front-line personnel is invaluable in making sound decisions about allocating resources, setting goals, choosing top officers and guiding student life.
The MJC Academic Senate presented the ‘no confidence’ case to the YCCD Board of Trustees on December 11, 2007 with concerns that the president’s decisions had presided over an alarming erosion of the “consultative checks and balances” necessary to protect the interests of students, faculty, staff, academic programs and the community in the mission of the campus. Also, the Academic Senate claimed that Dr. Rose continued to result in damage to the mission of the college due to the lack of shared governance with his decision making.
At the meeting where the vote of no confidence was taken, Dr. Rose said: “I am changing the culture at MJC to match my leadership style”.
The result after the board meeting led to identifying a mentor for Dr. Rose. The purpose of the mentor was to sit down with the president and go over different practices and strategies of how to be a better leader. The mentor worked closely with Dr. Rose and the YCCD Board of Trustees to ensure an arrangement of understanding.
According to Darnell, Dr. Rose was “very affable and dedicated to community colleges,” he told the Log in a phone interview on Tuesday.
During Dr. Rose’s term of office, there were a few areas in which he presided over positive results: restoring MJC’s accreditation in a timely fashion, enrollment management was good. Measure E was jump started; and there were a lot of good standing committees, according to Wendy Byrd, Director of Student Development and Campus Life— all of which took place in the last three years.
“If a person was doing so bad, then how come [MJC] is producing such great results?” asked Byrd. “These actions are typical, like Modesto City Schools and CSU Stanislaus that when tough decisions have to be made that are unpopular, there is a tendency to shoot the messenger. This is what is happening everywhere with harsh budget cuts. People are unhappy with their leaders.”
The YCCD district will buy out Dr. Rose’s remaining seven month contract at $100,000. Dr. Rose was being paid $175,000 per year. Ken White, who serves as the Instructional Dean of Business and Social Science, will serve as the interim president until the board appoints a new one. The district increased White’s salary to approximately $3400 more per month than he was paid as dean, according to Darnell.
Many students are not aware of what has taken place, but those in student government do.
“I, along with many other students, do not feel that our best interest was taken into consideration,” said Yashlee Nazi, new ASMJC President. “We don't believe that even the best interest of the college was considered as Rose was paid $100,000 to end his contract and the interim administrator's salary has been increased. How can an increase in any salary be justified in these times of fiscal crisis?”
Nazi feels outraged by the way Dr. Rose was treated --in her own words, “quite harshly” -- by so-called professionals, and feels that this treatment has been unfair.
“The administrators, faculty and staff, community and, most importantly, the students deserve an explanation of the actions by the YCCD board.” said Nazi.
Although Dr. Rose’ departure is a mystery, he left with a final message to the college:
“I regret to inform you that I will be leaving the college effective December 1, 2009. This was not a decision I made. I was informed by the Chancellor that the Board had determined it was not in the best interest of the District for me to continue as College President.
“I regret to inform you that I will be leaving the college effective December 1, 2009. This was not a decision I made. I was informed by the Chancellor that the Board had determined it was not in the best interest of the District for me to continue as College President.
“Modesto Junior College is doing an excellent job meeting the educational needs of our community. We addressed the enrollment pressures this fall and met our workload targets. Enrollment planning for summer, fall and next spring is well under way. We are navigating ourselves through the budget shortfall, the uncertainties of mid-year cuts, and the anticipated $12 million district reduction. The College is fully engaged in accreditation planning and preparing for work on the Self Study. Measure E projects are steadily moving forward, project committees are hard at work under the guidance of the Facilities & Capital Equipment Committee. The Board’s decision appears to be inconsistent with the leadership occurring on the campus.
“I had anticipated serving as President through my contract with the District. I am saddened to leave abruptly. I would encourage the College to continue the fine work you are doing. I would hope college leadership continues to set MJC’s priorities, identify what is in the best interest for the institution and provide effective leadership, and together with faculty and staff continue to offer an excellent educational program and necessary support services for students to be successful. I have enjoyed the challenges and opportunities of the past three and a half years. I believe we made a difference. I wish you well as the MJC forges ahead.”
-Rich Rose
YCCD is currently seeking a new president and the application deadline is no later than January 8, 2010. “We will successfully identify a leader for the college for years to come,” said Darnell.
The questions that have engaged the campus are whether YCCD will let the college know why Dr. Rose was let go two weeks before the end of the semester and how their decision benefits the campus. However, since Dr. Rose and the district came to a mutual agreement of silence, we may never know.
“I believe that the college deserves a clear explanation and how [YCCD] feels that by dismissing him is in the best interest of the college, especially when we are functioning well,” said Byrd.
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