VOLUME 46, ISSUE 31
JUNE 3, 2011
A year in review pages 2, 6 & 7
Uncertainty looms as librarians appeal layoff decision By Jordan Tichenor The Advocate
Top left: The softball team celebrates after winning its third NWAACC championship in a row. (Contributed photo by Jeff Hinds) Top right: Full-time faculty, classified employees and students march on the MHCC District board meeting in November in response to contract negotiations. Bottom left: The band Neural Sturgeon plays in the Main Mall courtyard in September. Bottom right: James Sharinghousen sings as Dr. Frank Furter during the MHCC production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (All other photos by Devin Courtright/The Advocate)
While students celebrate the end of the year and faculty celebrate the resolution of the year-long contract negotiations, the three fulltime faculty librarians are not so chipper. As of July 1, they will no longer have a job, as layoff notices issued at the beginning of April are honored. The three faculty librarians are Anna Johnson (who has been at MHCC for six years), Julia Longbrake (nine years) and Teresa Hazen (11 years). The library also has four part-time librarians. “A lot of people think that when the contract negotiations were settled, the notices went away,” said Johnson. Layoff notices were given to seven faculty members, including all three faculty librarians, on April 1. The notices were one in a series of actions by the administration in order to close what is projected to be over a $5 million budget shortfall. Of the seven faculty members who received notices, four are being laid off, one is retiring at the end of spring term, and two are being reassigned. Sue Boulden, medical assisting program director, is the fourth faculty member being laid off. “It’s so personally difficult,” said Hazen. Asked if they (the librarians) were taking any action in response to the layoff notices, Hazen said, “We’re limited to a narrow grievance procedure.” The librarians began a grievance procedure April 4. They are waiting for MHCC President John Sygielski to review it, which should take place next week, Johnson said. If action is not taken at that step, the librarians and the administration will make their case to an outside arbitrator, who will ultimately make a decision. MHCC Faculty Association President Sara Williams has said that the librarians being laid off is of great concern to the faculty. Some in the faculty view it as the next big point of contention, following the resolution of the full-time contract. There has been concern with whether the layoffs are actually due to budget cuts. “I have concerns about how accurate that is,” said Longbrake, pointing out that the Learning Commons Division, which includes the library, has had its budget increased by $187,000. Jeff Ring, the director of library services, said in a Wednesday email that this was due to increased funding for tutoring. Asked whether the librarians would be replaced, Ring said, “The plan is to hire two professional librarians for 12-month contracts at about half the cost. In all cases, we are confident that the library will be adequately staffed to support the college community.” While the librarians could not answer whether the loss of three full-time librarians would affect college accreditation, all three said it is likely the accreditation agency would make some note of the change. On the other hand, Ring said, “Accrediting agencies take no stance on the faculty/staff status of librarians. Accrediting agencies look for evidence of having professionally trained staff employed to support student success.” While it is hard to find a definitive answer on the importance of staffing in accreditation, it was suggested during a 1997 accreditation visit that the library should “increase its staff.” The last accreditation visit was in 2007, during which there were no suggestions of change given to the library, according to the report from the accreditors. “The three of us are not giving up,” said Johnson. “We are concerned about the future of the library, but also we built this place.”
parking fee for fall page 11 ///sports in review page 7 /// last issue of the year /// Living arts review page 6 ///