New college leaders enter system in flux

As a plan to combine 12 state community colleges into one marches forward under mounting faculty opposition, new campus leaders coming into the fray vow to represent local interests even as they work toward unifying the system.

“There’s always going to be a little bit of struggle between meeting the needs of or fulfilling a statewide mandate and also fulfilling the needs and fulfilling what we do at the local level,” said William “Terry” Brown, named Thursday as CEO of Gateway Community College in New Haven. “I make no apologies for advocating for the needs of the college.”

Dwayne Smith, who will become Chief Executive Officer at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, concurred.

“I think the goal is to have one voice and one vision which is for student success,” Smith said. “That is what I will bring to Housatonic as CEO.”

In all, the Board of Regents for Higher Education on Thursday named five CEOs and an interim president for what is to be called the Connecticut State Community College. They also appointed several top administrators and approved a general education curriculum for the prospective

college, which is at least three years away from opening.

The aim is to save the state money and improve outcomes for the 80,000 students enrolled in the two-year colleges.

Since proposed in 2017 by Mark Ojakian, the system president, the idea has sparked concern and some opposition from faculty who fear the plan will do the opposite of its “Students First” name.

When asked this spring to weigh in on the proposed general education curriculum to be shared by the 12 separately accredited institutions, faculty at only two of the institutions endorsed the idea.

Nine colleges — among them Gateway, Housatonic, Naugatuck and Middlesex — declined to vote on the proposal. Norwalk Community College rejected it.

Several of the faculty resolutions included noconfidence votes in the Students First proposal, Ojakian and/or the Board of Regents. Most withdrew their support from consolidation working groups.

Lois Aime, director of Education Technology and president of the Norwalk Community College Senate, said it was a travesty that the system was pushing forward with the plan in the midst of a pandemic.

“They are spending all this money on people for a system that doesn’t exist,” Aime said. “This should be put on hold.”

On Friday a meeting of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents was held to plan next strategies.

David Blitz, chair of philosophy at Central Connecticut State University

and chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents, said an eight-page letter was being drafted to the New England Commission of Higher Education outlining the many problems it continues to see with the plan.

One fear is that all 12 campuses would be stripped of department chairs, deans and most administrators.

“It is an extreme centralization,” Blitz said.

In addition to the accrediting body, faculty intend to appeal to the state legislature and governor’s office.

Colena Sesanker, an assistant professor of philosophy at Gateway and vice-chair of the advisory committee, said she remains strongly against consolidation.

“We approved comments to our accreditors opposing Students First,” Sesanker said.

As for the planned consolidation, Sesanker said: “Not sure if we can stop the train, but it’s headed off a cliff.”

Sesanker said she served on the Students First steering committee for two years and was also a member of the Shared Governance Work Group.

Recommendations made by faculty, she said were ignored. As such, she is no longer participating.

“While plans are being made for this imaginary college of the future, our current colleges’ and students’ needs go unmet,” she said.

Ojakian, in response to the faculty actions, said his focus remains on improving student success, reducing the equity gap, and ensuring community college remains financially viable in Connecticut’s future.

A day earlier, at a virtual

meeting of the Board of Regents, every step taken was described as necessary for the future college’s eventual accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education.

An update on the planning is being presented to NECHE on June 25. NECHE President Barbara Brittingham said Friday the June meeting is not open to the public but that the body may put out a statement afterward.

Regents Chair Matt Fleury called the actions to name and staff the new college marquee moments. Fleury said the savings aspect of the plan is more important than ever given what the COVID-19 shutdown has done to institutional budgets.

The savings are not apparent to faculty, who wonder what all the new administrators will be doing in the short term. Richard Levinson, who stepped down in July 2019 as president of Norwalk Community College, is interim president of the future college.

“There is so much about this that excites me,” Levinson said of his new role.

The proposed college’s cabinet includes: Northwestern Connecticut Community College President Michael Rooke, as interim provost of Connecticut State Community College; Kerry Kelley, the college’s interim chief financial officer; Tanya Millner, interim associate vice president for teaching and learning; Francine Rosselli-Navarra, interim associate vice president of programs and curriculum; and Michael Stefanowicz, interim associate vice president of higher education transition.

Salaries are to range from $134,430 to $182,388.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck