Professors at Gavilan Community College are beginning to fret
about
”
surprising
”
turnover as the college looks to hire a sixth vice president in
five years.
Gilroy – Professors at Gavilan Community College are beginning to fret about “surprising” turnover as the college looks to hire a sixth vice president in five years.
Last Tuesday, the college’s board of trustees approved Victor Krimsley as interim vice president of instruction, making him the fifth person to hold the job in as many years. In addition, Gavilan staff plan to replace him with a permanent vice president in January.
The regular administrative shifts and mysterious circumstances surrounding the last vice president’s departure have some professors doubting that stability is in their future.
“Every time you have somebody come in, they have their own focus and experience in instruction,” fine arts professor Marilyn Abad-Cardinalli said. “As instructors we need to be assured that instruction is our No. 1 goal. For us as a faculty, it’s always a wait and see.”
The Revolving Door
Gavilan’s turnover in instruction began spring 2004 when long-time professor and administrator Martin Johnson retired from the vice presidency. Sherrean Carr, who did not return multiple phone calls, briefly served as interim vice president for the 2004-2005 school year before returning to her old position as dean of technical and public services. Her departure made way for Jane Harmon to fill the expanded position of vice president of instruction and student services, starting in fall 2005.
Harmon lasted one year before leaving for interim positions at other colleges. Trustee Mark Dover said Harmon departed due to plans to split her job in two, with separate vice presidents for instruction and student services.
Harmon, who did not return multiple phone calls, was replaced in fall 2006 by former Evergreen Valley College dean Adrienne Akinsete, but did not last an entire year.
Professors said she was fired and asked to go on leave during her last two weeks of her contract. College trustees and staff, including college President Steve Kinsella, refused comment on the leave or contract termination, claiming they are confidential personnel matters.
At different colleges “there’s different levels of participation,” said Kinsella, who is responsible for vice presidential personnel decisions. “This is a very cooperative group to work with. You really want to make sure that folks spend some time to bring people along with them.”
The Dispatch could not locate contact information for Akinsete.
Who’s to Blame?
Some professors said the problem lay not with Akinsete or the past vice presidents, but with Kinsella and his strong-handed style of governance.
“The college is moving steadily toward a military bureaucracy,” fine arts professor Art Juncker said. “Check the administrative hires, particularly male, and you should come up with a roster which would not be out of place in Iraq.”
Kinsella denied that administrative hires had that much impact on the daily lives of professors.
“I can see folks being concerned about the change but I don’t see it changing at their immediate level,” he said. “Their immediate supervisors have not changed.”
Math professor Ken Wagman, a member of Gavilan faculty for 18 years, agreed.
“For most of the day-to-day stuff, who the vice president of instruction is doesn’t have that much of an impact on what we do in the classroom,” he said.
The turnover, while worrying, is not yet at a crisis point, Wagman added.
“There has been a question of why,” he said, but “I think what’s more important to me as an instructor and to my students is that we get somebody good now.”
The school plans to hire a search firm in September to find a permanent vice president for instruction. Gavilan trustees and staff agreed they want the next hire to live in South County and get involved in the community.
