A mix of emotions has dawned over Fresno City College as long-time employees of the college and State Center Community College District take their talents elsewhere. Meanwhile, several key positions remain either unfilled or occupied on interim basis.
Currently at FCC, the positions for president, the vice president for instruction, and dean of instruction, applied technology are held on interim bases, and the offices of the vice president for Administrative Services and director of financial aid are unfilled.
Many are expressing concern about the departures and whether they could signal instability in the college or district, adversely impact FCC’s accreditation.
Tony Cantu, interim president of the FCC says the college is stable. He is not concerned about perceptions of instability even with the amount of changes taking place in such a short time.
“It’s part of the process. People make changes for a variety of reasons,” said Cantu, who has now held the president’s position since April 1 when Cynthia Azari departed to Riverside Community College. “People come and go. It just happens that this time, it’s one after another.”
A trend that began with the departure of Dr. Azari last spring has continued with other prominent members such as Rick Christl, dean of applied technology; Sonny Silva, interim financial aid director, and the latest, Michael Guerra, VP of administrative services.
“We’re doing well. The Applied Technology division is doing well. The position of the Director of Financial Aid will be filled,” Cantu said. “Michael Guerra left. However, he has a wonderful staff. Any information we need will be available because Michael has worked very closely with his staff.”
Cantu explained that there is no need to worry about accreditation. “We have processes in place, so we know the positions will be filled,” said Cantu. ”There is no discussion about combining positions because the positions will be filled. For any information they [accreditation team members] ask that have to do with financial resources, there will be staff who can assist and answer questions, so it should not be an issue.”
Rick Santos, linguistics instructor and member of the FCC Strategic Planning Council, said there is always a chance of instability when there is change in leadership, but that the college has not experienced that yet.
“You can look up and down the state and find colleges that are on warning,” said Santos. “We have interims here, but they have been around for a long time. Our current president has been with the district for over 20 years. If all our interims were from the outside, there would have been a possibility to develop some instability, but that is not how we have done it here.”
And in this tough economy, Santos says the new leaders will be faced with the challenge of keeping an eye on the budget. “We don’t know what the budget will be like. We’re going to face mid-year cuts because the state is not getting as much revenue as they anticipated,” Santos said. “We have to develop contingency plans, and we are going to need the help of as many people as possible.”
Santos said that while it’s always a challenge to have a change in administration, it’s a matter of doing enough research and making the right decisions. He has been with the district since 1994 but cannot recall witnessing these many changes in such a short amount of time within the district.
Lacy Barnes, psychology instructor at Reedley College and president of the State Center Federation of Teachers, Local 1533, said the district needs unusual and creative leadership in these unusual times.
Barnes used Chancellor Deborah Blue, who became leader of the district in the summer of 2010, as an example. “The chancellor was hired because her credentials are in order. We will have to depend on that and hope for the best,” she said. “In a couple of years, we will know the answer. Only time will tell.”
Barnes explained the importance of making decisions with students in mind as they are usually most impacted by changes. “Students are always the recipients of decisions made,” and the district must never forget that, Barnes said.
She said students must hold the administration accountable, just as students are held accountable for what they are supposed to do in the classroom.
“We are here to serve students. The institution exists to educate future members of society and leaders in the Central Valley,” Barnes said. “That’s the reason students are engaged in the committee structure, and in the decision making structures, not just at the college level, but also at the district level.”