Allegations Of Problems At Nic Merit Investigation Interim President Agrees With Some Calls For Reform, Disputes Others

Allegations raised by a North Idaho College faculty member are credible enough to warrant an internal investigation, Interim President Ron Bell told trustees Wednesday.

English professor Fran Bahr wrote a letter in July calling for reforms addressing a perceived boom in part-time faculty, mushrooming administrative costs and gender discrimination and harassment.

In response to Bahr’s letter, Bell announced the creation of an ad hoc committee to study NIC’s climate and culture.

But the administrator also pointed out some statistical inaccuracies.

“If you look at this data you might see there’s a little extremism …,” Bell said. “Some of the allegations are documented and some aren’t.”

The college’s official records show a 10.5 percent decrease in the number of part-time faculty since 1986, which Bahr claims has more than doubled over the same period.

In a report to the board Wednesday, Dean of Instruction Jerry Gee said only 32 percent of NIC’s credits are being taught by part-time faculty. There are 112 full-time faculty members, and 123 part-timers, he said.

While Bahr said too many (55 percent) faculty members are male, administrators said records show only 49 percent are male.

Bahr’s statistics showing significant growth in administrative costs are fairly accurate, according to college officials.

The number of instructional and administrative secretaries on the payroll has grown even more dramatically than Bahr suspected, increasing by 50 percent and 133 percent, respectively, in the past decade.

Bell’s suggestion that one allegation be dropped altogether met significant resistance, however. Bell said the phrase “the tit patrol,” used to describe several female faculty members who were demanding that administrators look into health problems at a campus building, should be forgotten, not dredged up again.

NIC Board Chairwoman Jeanne Givens disagreed.

“Here’s the hot rock, and I’m going to touch it,” Givens said. “This comment is still in the community. It’s troubling to me, and I don’t favor saying let’s drop it, and put it behind us.”

Her concern was echoed by Faculty Senate representative Rhena Cooper and faculty member Tom Flint, who suggested sensitivity training is warranted.

“I do worry about the problem of people having an attitude or a bias along these lines who keep their mouths shut and heads down low, but that doesn’t mean their minds have changed,” Flint said.

Also Wednesday, trustees discussed plans for spending the college’s $1.1 million cash carry-over.

On the priority list: boosting part-time faculty salaries and benefits; expanding on-campus child care; improving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Concerned Businesses of North Idaho spokesman Ray Bradley suggested the board use the $1.1 million to give taxpayers a break.

In other news, NIC student Josh Buehner announced he will be organizing opposition to a trustee recall effort started by his fellow student government leaders.

“I’m a little disappointed because I feel it was been one-sided. Not all NIC students support the recall,” Buehner said.

, DataTimes