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6Wingspancampus newsMay 2, 2011wingspan.lccc.wy.eduCampus voices morale concernsEmployees, administration address retaliation issuesBy Will HebertCo-EditorAt the campusmorale forum onApril 27, anonymouscomments were readthat spoke out againstthe Laramie CountyCommunity CollegeBoard of Trustees,especially trustee Dr.Kevin Kilty.Also, LCCCinstructor of mathematicsFuji Adachisaid a hostile environmenthas beencultivated at thecollege because ofa closed system ofinformation.The April discussion,which had beenpostponed severaltimes but attractedabout 30 people, wasdesigned to solicitsolutions to LCCC’slow employee morale.Several employeesurveys had outlinedissues, and a forumhad been held onNov. 11 by the trusteesto determine theextent of the problem.Dave Gaer, instructorof theaterand communication,read feedback garneredfrom administratorswho wished toremain anonymous atthe discussion. Manyof the commentsexpressed dissatisfactionwith the trustees,especially Kilty.One commentstated that one of theweaknesses at LCCCwas “the feeling thatKevin Kilty, (Dr.) RichLaidlaw, (Dr.) MarkElliott and the threeto four members oftheir group have a ‘hitlist.’”Laidlaw teacheschemistry and math.Elliot retired in 2010after teaching historysince 1986.Kilty respondedthat people areentitled to expresswhatever opinionsthey may have.“People have anabsolute right to expresstheir opinions,and if they’re extremelyunhappy withme, that’s fine,” Kiltysaid. “I listen to staff.I listen to students. Ilisten to communitymembers. I listen tofaculty, and I listento even the occasionaladministrator,although not the onewho is talking aboutme there, apparently.I think I’m trying todo my job as honestlyas I can.”Another criticismmade against Kiltywas his marriage toinstructional designerof distributed learningand outreach,Trina Kilty, who isaffiliated with theLCCC-EducationAssociation, achapter of theWyoming EducationAssociation.“Real conflict ofinterest with TrinaKilty being in WEAand married toKevin Kilty—encouragesfear—peopleare scared to talk inmeetings and expresstheir true feelingsbecause they knowTrina will take ithome to Kevin andfear he will take action,”said an anonymouscomment froman administrator.Kilty said he hasopenly supportedfaculty since the 2010election in November.“I make mistakesof judgment likeeveryone else, butmy issues at presentare the same issuesI talked about in theelection,” Kilty said.“They are trying to increasetransparency,trying to find resourcesfor faculty, and Ithink I mentionedthat in the election,and so if people arevery unhappy I seemto be looking out forfaculty, well I am atthe present time.”Other commentsexpressed fear towardthe board and newlyselected interimpresident, Dr. MilesLaRowe, who washired after presidentDr. Darrel Hammonresigned in December2010.Board treasurerEd Mosher said hewas concerned by theexpressions of fear atthe college.“There is a concernon the board’spart for educationand quality educationand what we’re doingfor the students,”Mosher said chokingback tears. “When Irun into a commentthat says the board isagainst the college,that’s frustrating tome. My concern iswhat is the boarddoing that seems tonot support educationthat doesn’t supportthe college?”Also at theforum, mathematicsinstructor Adachisaid morale is notthe biggest issue oncampus. Adachi saidadministrators areusing policies to retaliateagainst facultymembers with whomthey have personal issues.Adachi said thisproblem contributesto low morale, whichwill not improve bychanging policies.He said the college’scivility statement,which statesLCCC employeesmust create a campusenvironment of mutualrespect and highethical standards,especially contributesto retaliation againstfaculty members whospeak out againstadministrators.“The civility stuffis being used byadministrators to shutpeople up,” Adachisaid.Adachi said he hasreceived threats ofcriminal prosecutionand other attempts atintimidation againstfaculty. He said hepossessed documentationof these threats.Also, many of thecomplaints filed donot reach the trustees,Adachi said.“You put thesecomplaints forward.The people that arethe perpetrators arethe ones that aremaking the judgmentwhether it shouldgo forward or not,”Adachi said. “Webelieve this is a closedsystem.”Adachi said hehas been told twicethat spies report whatpeople say.“Who the helldo I trust if this isbeing condoned byadministration?”Adachi asked. “I can’tspeak about thingsbecause somebody’sgoing to be telling onme. I don’t know whoto trust, and this isbeing promoted bymy supervisor.”Adachi said thebehavior he has encounteredis childishand passive aggressive.“We’ve gatheredtogether, talked aboutthis stuff, and we’reangry. OK, we’re veryangry,” he said. “It’skind of a resistance, Ithink, in the war here.We’re not going to goaway. We are not. Weare tired of this stufffrom the administration.”Adachi said thedirect involvement ofLaRowe could helpalleviate the situationbecause those whowish to speak out areblocked by procedure.Photos by Mark SchaferLoud and clear:Fuji Adachi, above, and BobbyMarcum, bottom right, were amongthose who spoke at the moralediscussion on April 27. Adachi is amath instructor at the college, andMarcum is a former adjunct instructor.Adachi voiced administrationconcerns, and Marcum said he wasinterested in seeing the collegebecome as strong as it could be.Cover designby Will HebertFor video of thediscussion, seeWingspan Online.
May 2, 2011wingspan.lccc.wy.educampus newsBy HannahWheelerCo-EditorEmployees atLaramie CountyCommunityCollege provided theBoard of Trustees withthe qualities they wantin a new president at adiscussion on April 27.In a Faculty Senatesurvey, 61 facultymembers said a presidentwho uses ethicalbehavior topped theirchart with 96.7 percentof the responding facultysaying the trait wasessential. The runner-upwas a president witheffective communicationskills, and the thirdhighest importance wasa president who valuesthe LCCC community.Also high on the listwere a team builderand someone who istransparent in sharinginformation.On Nov. 29, 2010,LCCC’s previouspresident, Dr. DarrelHammon, resignedfrom his position aftera discussion on Nov.11 pinpointed moraleproblems on campus.Candidates for aninterim president wereselected by the board;open interviews of thesix candidates and twoclosed meetings of thefinalists then furnishedthe college with aninterim president, MilesLaRowe. Currently, thecollege is in the processof looking for a permanentpresident andTrustee Dr. Kevin Kiltysaid the board hopedto have a permanentpresident by the end ofthe year.Jodi Weppner,coordinator of justicestudies and chair of theCollege Council, said thecouncil fully supportedthe request for proposal(RFP) that the boardplans to send out to hirea firm to aid in finding anew president.Faculty membersalso spoke about theirneeds in a new president.One such facultymember, Roz Schliske,mass media/ multimediainstructor, saidshe thought the collegeneeded to have a presidentwho could be theface of the college anddeal well with the governor,the Legislature,local businesses andthe college’s donors.She also said the collegeneeds a president whocan heal the college.Also, the program assistantfor the disabilityresource center, KevinYarbrough, includedsome comments gatheredfrom the college’seducational supportstaff.These commentsincluded:• A president who isforward thinking andvalues technology asa growing field thatthe college shouldtake part in;Wingspan 7We want a president who is_________________Board of Trustees accepts comments on what employees want in a new president.Mark SchaferMicrophone tone:LCCC theatre instructor Dave Gaer moderates thediscussion of morale and presidential qualities April 27.• A president who issafety and securityconscious;• A president whois flexible and canhandle changes well;• A president who is“youngish,” in his 40sor 50s;• A president who cancommunicate valuesto the college soeveryone knows whatthe college’s goals areand where it is going;• A president who valuesthe support staff.Also included in themeeting were suggestionsfrom the AlbanyCounty Campus. Thesesuggestions includedhiring a president who“didn’t get fired fromhis last job” and willvisit the Albany CountyCampus in Laramie.Administrators at themeeting did not haveany comments to add tothose already given, andno representative fromthe LCCC AssociatedStudent Governmentwas present.Othercomments:Faculty Senate:• Need for transparency indecisions making. Suggestedthe board share rationale behinddecisions. Felt improvementshave been made, butcan continue to improve.• Unequal representationof faculty on President’sCabinet. Suggested employeegroups attend cabinet meetings,and cabinet membersrespond to faculty recommendations.• Faculty and student valuenot apparent. No studentswere recommended by theLaramie County CommunityCollege Associated StudentGovernment for the WyomingAssociation of CommunityCollege Trustees award. Onetrustee questioned the wayfaculty teaching awards ineach division relates to thenumber of teachers in thedivision.• Felt resources misallocated.Suggested the organizationalaudit would tell where fundsshould and should not beallocated.• Felt college leadership leanstoward authoritarian style.Suggested former presidentDr. Darrel Hammon resigningmade morale much betterand the new president shouldbe a team player.LCCC-EducationAssociation:• Felt faculty divisions made illogically.Suggested the organizationalaudit would reveala need for reorganization.• Suggested a science andmathematics division thatwould include laboratorycourses and instructors inastronomy, physics, engineering,chemistry, biology,microbiology zoology(anatomy and physiology),geology, geography, anthropology,mathematics anddevelopmental mathematics.• Suggested a health, educationand wellness divisionthat would include healthoccupations programs andcourses, education coursesand instructors, physicaleducation courses andinstructors, and psychologycourses and instructors.• Suggested a fine arts and humanitiesdivision that wouldadd history and politicalscience.• Suggested the business,agriculture and mechanicaltrades divisions to includewind energy technology andany other associate of appliedsciences degree programsor others scattered aroundcampus.• Suggested that all certificateand degree programs atLCCC should be in one ofthese four academic divisionsand under the vice presidentof instruction to ensure academicrigor.• Felt division deans must havean Ed.D, Ph.D or LL.D foracademic rigor.• Felt services such asDisability Support Services,SAGE TRiO, DistanceEducation, Testing Center,Career Services and StudentSuccess Center be under thevice president of instruction.• Suggested a very clear delineationbe made betweenwhat the CARE Team’s responsibilityand boundariesare and what is in the humanresources area.• Felt having six to eightpolicies to be reviewed at onetime was too much as once.Suggested the responses notonly be through EaglesEye,but also through discussiongroups and the policies comeone at a time.• Suggested the hiring ofnew faculty to decrease thenumber of teachers beingoverloaded with classes.SAGE TRiO:• Felt SAGE TRiO was the lastto know of any changes madethat would affect students.Suggested it be included inplanning process for thosetypes of changes and bebrought directly under thevice president of instruction.Educationalsupport staff:• Felt the trustees shouldparticipate in training onthe role as a board memberand the board felt superior.Trustee Bill Dubois said hehad never felt that the boardwas superior.• Felt some of the President’sCabinet members “still hadthe stale smell of the oldregime” and the support staffdid not know whom to trust.
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