Angry EvCC faculty rise up

EVERETT – Some Everett Community College faculty, angered by the reassignment of their instructional leader, are urging President Charlie Earl to resign.

Earl met Wednesday with the college’s academic deans, who relayed faculty complaints – some verbally, some in writing.

At the heart of the unrest is Earl’s recent decision to reassign Stu Barger, the college’s vice president of instruction. Barger will become an assistant to Earl after his replacement is chosen.

“In the minds of some of the faculty, this is on the order of the last straw. But this is not all of the faculty,” said Richard Davis, an English instructor and president of the college’s American Federation of Teachers chapter. “I have no sense of how widespread (the push) to remove him is.”

Roughly two-thirds of the instructors from the college’s math, science and occupations division agreed to endorse a letter calling for Earl’s resignation. Many nontenured faculty did not participate.

The math and science instructors’ letter was written at a faculty meeting, said Al Friedman, dean of the division, who did not participate in the vote.

In it, instructors criticized several administrative decisions, including a reorganization that cost former vice president of college relations Pat McClain and foundation director Chuck Morrison their jobs; the hiring of an associate dean of diversity and vice president for technology without a search; and Barger’s reassignment.

The instructors also found shortcomings in Earl’s communication with them.

“We … regret to inform you that we feel you are no longer able to provide effective leadership at Everett Community College, and request that you resign as president,” the letter says.

They said they are prepared to work with faculty from other divisions to initiate an all-campus vote of no confidence in Earl that would be submitted to the college board of trustees, which oversees the president.

Earl, who became president in 1999, said Wednesday’s meeting was tough.

“The difficult part of it is, I hold the faculty here in such high regard,” he said afterward. “The quality of our instructional programs, their good work, is just the foundation of this place.

“I will listen to the input, the advice, the reaction, and then obviously I have to consult with my board,” Earl said. “But we are about further building this institution after having come a long way over the last few years.”

Sanford Kinzer, chairman of the board of trustees, agreed that good things have been happening at EvCC.

“In light of the many positive changes at the college – 40 percent growth in student body over five years and our largest graduating class ever this June – I am not surprised to hear of rumblings about personnel changes.

“The board of trustees will give full and fair hearing to concerns voiced by anyone,” he said.

Daylene Mills, 19, a sophomore and officer with EvCC’s Phi Theta Kappa national honor society chapter, defended Earl. “He acts on behalf of the students,” she said. “I don’t think he would be making any decisions that would affect us in a bad way.”

Earl said Barger would continue to serve the college in an important position in his new assignment.

“Stu and I intend to work together even more closely for a lot of years,” he said.

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