NIC faculty blast lack of input on reorganization

A proposed reorganization at North Idaho College drew the ire of faculty members Thursday. The assembly that represents all NIC faculty voted 93-10 in favor of a resolution condemning the lack of faculty input in the plan. Six members abstained.

The resolution criticizes “the present attack on NIC’s culture and collaborative decision-making process” and says the process was “unilateral and exclusive.”

The reorganization plan, drafted by NIC Vice President for Instruction Barbara Hanson, creates new dean positions and could split the division of math and general science. Faculty members are concerned the added positions will take money away from classroom instruction.

“We’re terribly concerned about the shifting of money to the administration,” said political science instructor Tony Stewart, who helped draft the resolution. “We don’t believe that we need that layer of bureaucracy at the expense of the taxpayers and our instructional funding.”

Hanson said she appreciates the feedback and is confident she and Interim President Priscilla Bell will work through the problems with the faculty and address their concerns.

“I’m absolutely open to reviewing,” she said.

Parts of the plan, like the addition of a dean of general studies and a dean of professional education, were implemented in January for a trial run and are still in place.

Stewart said the assembly estimates the reorganization could shift at least $200,000 away from instruction to the deanships and administrative assistant position that would be needed if the division of math and general science were split.

The dean positions are filled by division chairs, and senior faculty members move up to fill the division chair seats. Splitting the division of math and general studies would mean a new division chair seat, to be filled by a senior faculty member.

“You lose three full-time faculty positions,” Stewart said. “We don’t believe that much of the money should be taken out of instruction at a small college and put into administration.”

Hanson emphasized that division chairs are still considered faculty and can teach classes, though most teach only one per semester.

The plan is to redirect resources to “try to provide better services for students,” Hanson said.

The resolution also questions the legality of creating the positions without the approval of the college’s Board of Trustees and filling the positions without advertising or interviewing candidates.

“I think if we’re going to be doing these kinds of things, you take it to the board and they decide,” Stewart added.

Stewart said the resolution is not a personal attack on the administration or the promoted faculty members.

“It’s a wonderful institution, and it’s a wonderful institution because of the culture that’s been created. We are a family,” he said. “We think that it’s really a mistake to start making some unilateral decisions.”

Stewart said attendance at Thursday’s faculty meeting was much higher than usual – 118 of 144 members attended, rather than the usual 40 or so.

“The issues addressed have been in the making for more than a few months,” said Bill Richards, chairman of the faculty assembly and a geology instructor. “I think most of the faculty is very aware of the situation.”

Richards met with Bell after the assembly meeting and said he’s happy with how things went.

“Our culture and climate here on this campus has not been honored and we needed to bring it to the administration’s attention,” Richards said. “We feel confident now, with this statement, that the concerns will be addressed.”

Bell will be away for a week beginning today, attending a conference and the state board of education meeting, but said she’ll address the faculty concerns.

“It’s completely premature for me to tell you how I’m going to address the concerns. I just got the resolution today,” she said in a phone interview. “These are issues that we’ll be reviewing.”