Academic Senate votes in new leader

Former president supports new direction

SHARLA SMITH Roundup Reporter @sharlamsmith

Change is in the forecast for Pierce with new officers elected to both the Academic Senate and the Associated Students Organization, interviews underway to fill open positions of employment, and a plan to preserve all Pierce farmlands.

The senate announced the winners of its election at a meeting on April 27.

Anna Bruzzese was defeated incumbent Kathy Oborn in the race for Senate president. Oborn held the position for two years.

“I’m very excited and I look forward to working with the faculty.

I hope to emphasize an inclusive, inviting spirit, and focus on collective goals,” Bruzzese said. “I see myself as a representative of the senate. I’m not here to serve my own interests. My goal is to represent people, not myself.”

Oborn said she supports the decision that the faculty made.

“The faculty has spoken, and this is what they want, so I’m all in,” Oborn said. “I support the process 100 percent.”

Denise Robb, chair of the Foundation for Pierce College, said a lack of protection of the campus’ farmland led her to ask the senate for support on a feasibility study.

“We’ve lost 35 acres of the farm already in the last 40 years, and it almost became a golf course a few years ago,” Robb said. “The farm is not protected, there is no deed restriction, and there is no agricultural conservation easement.”

The senate approved support of Robb in her efforts to preserve the farm, and the use of the land for agricultural and educational purposes, but the approval

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