Community Members Speak out in Support
Clark Hilden who has been a member of the Pendleton Community for over 50 years writes to the EO urging that now is the time to promote growth. Highlighting that the faculty members identified by the cuts are integral members of our community, who support the local economy and programs. He highlights the accomplishments and many of the faculty facing these cut offs and calls out current BMCC President cautioning that rather than seek ways to bring more students to college, he is giving students more reasons not to attend BMCC. His words are moving and speak from experience. Read Clark’s letter to the editor here.
On 4/25/2020 at a presumably public meeting to approve the BMCC budget for next year, 13 faculty members requested time in advance to speak out on the issue. Yet when faculty arrived in matching SAVE BMCC shirts, seats had not been laid out to accommodate the selected speakers. In fact the door was closed on the BMFAs vice president's face as she was directed to zoom. A zoom meeting is not equitable or accessible by all, it does not provide opportunity to share handouts and was further complicated by the fact that the boardroom meeting mic was muted. Several chats and verbal requests were ignored leaving any online viewers in the dark. That is not a public meeting.
But faculty were not deterred. One by one they entered, to stand alone before the board and administration and plead their case. Some spoke to avoid the past mistakes of BMCC history while others spoke to the data that is being misinterpreted. Read the EO story here.
Regina Braker, a former educational administrator, also reached out for public comment. She was taken aback by the order of operations being undertaken by this administration. She notes Browning claimed a complete institutional review would be undertaken to make decisions, yet these decisions are preempting such a review. She goes on to note that his vague plan, and lack of understanding regarding timeline is tantamount to malfeasance.
Read Regina’s letter in its entirety here.
During the BMCC budget meeting it became public that Amazon’s gift of $627K would no longer go to BMCC, due to the proposed cuts including the Integrated Systems Technology Program run out of Boardman. President Browning didn’t seem phased, but considering he has remarked on more than one occasion knowing this community and serving the local workforce, it seems he is out of touch. Read the EO story here.
