The Word from CSEA

Columbus State Education Association Newsletter of January 11, 2007

WHY WERE THE BASEBALL COACHES DISMISSED?

Many student athletes and their parents have expressed concern to the administration following the non-renewal of contracts for a significant number of Columbus State's athletic coaches.

CSEA has received reports that, when the baseball coaches received their Spring Quarter contracts in December, they requested a meeting with the Provost to discuss their contract salaries. (The considerable travel, scouting and recruiting duties of the jobs put coaches' salaries below the hourly minimum-wage range, and the issue has been emerging in community colleges for several years.) The following day, the coaches received certified letters stating that their contracts had been sent to them "in error" and informing them that their Spring contracts with the College would not be renewed.

Simply put, all four of our baseball coaches were dismissed after they requested a meeting with the Provost to discuss their pay. Under these coaches, Columbus State's baseball teams in recent years have been nationally ranked and have made several appearances in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series.

Student athletes have told THE WORD that families of student athletes have met with Dean Jan Rogers and Athletic Coordinator Mary Ferguson to discuss their concerns, particularly the potential impact the administration's action will have on student athletes' eligibility to play in the coming season. According to a student athlete who attended the meeting, many parents and students left the meeting believing that their questions were not sufficiently addressed.

These developments are part of a larger issue that has gone unaddressed for years: a top-down management style that fails to make use of the College's single greatest resource-its employees, particularly faculty. The administration and the Board continue to ignore-or not even seek-input from faculty and staff who could contribute expertise to the discussion and creative resolution of issues affecting CSCC's departments and programs. There is expertise on campus that can help address many of these issues, but the administration refuses to recognize, acknowledge, or employ that expertise in meaningful ways.

CSEA COMMUNITY SERVICE AT WOSU-TV

Ten full-time faculty, three adjunct faculty, and one manager teamed up with WOSU-TV by staffing the phone bank for the station's December pledge drive on Tuesday, December 5.

Thanks to full-time faculty Dr. Charlie Gallucci, Nancy Ziminski, Alesa Mansfield, Rita Rice, Gil Feiertag, Darrell Minor, Leslie Smith, Mary Morgan, Phil MacLean and Steve Abbott; adjunct faculty Barbara Schwartz, Thelma Wurzelbacher and Amy DiBlasi; and department chair Lisa Schneider.

Participation in the event was coordinated by the Columbus State Education Association. CSEA volunteers took calls that helped raise over $11,000 for the central Ohio public television station.

CSEA CONSTITUTION AMENDED

Members voted to amend the CSEA Constitution at the November 29 meeting.

The following amendment, now Article VI, Section 2.3, will set in motion processes that will allow members whose schedules don't permit them to be present for balloting on union issues:

"The Nominating Committee shall make provisions for members of the Association to vote by absentee ballot. Absentee ballots will be issued to those members of the Association who are unable to attend a meeting during which elections of officers and Association Representatives will be conducted, and who request such absentee ballot in accordance with timelines established by the Nominating Committee. All absentee ballots shall remain unopened and uncounted until after the regularly-scheduled meeting at which elections of officers and Association Representatives occurs."

RESOURCES FOR WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Eric Neubauer, assistant professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences, offered THE WORD these insights:

One of the central missions of Columbus State Community College is to serve the needs of the local community. In our fast-paced, technologically driven society, this local community is more diverse and has expanded to literally encompass the entire world. Every year, Columbus State welcomes more and more immigrant and international students to its campus. This is a positive development, as it strengthens Columbus State's commitment toward diversity, and it affords faculty, staff, and administrators the unique opportunity to deal with the challenges of a rich and vibrant student body, one now increasingly international in scope.

The latest issue of The Advocate, the NEA higher education publication, addresses some important challenges that faculty face when meeting the needs of immigrant and international students. The issue also provides helpful advice that faculty can use to assess and address the needs of these students. While the needs of all of our students are important, special consideration for the needs of our immigrant and international students are vital. Their achievements and successes will not only reflect positively on us as faculty and as an institution, but also strengthen and expand our now "global" Columbus State community. It's a small world, after all.

I urge all faculty members to take a few minutes to read the latest issue of The Advocate.

CSEA MEMBERS ELECTED TO LEADERSHIP ROLES

Congratulations to Luis Latoja, professor of Spanish, and Gilberto Serrano, associate professor of Spanish and French. They were elected chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the Community College Special Interest Group at the national convention of the American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACFTL) in November.

The Word is produced by the Communications Committee of the Columbus State Education Association. We welcome your comments, news, and insights.

Darrell Minor, President and President-elect/ x5310
Amy Brubaker, Vice-President / x5068
Susan Moran, Secretary / x5453
Phil MacLean, Treasurer / x5308
Mary Morgan, Parliamentarian-elect / x5768

Steve Abbott, Senior Association Representative / x5096
Gil Feiertag, Senior Association Representative / x5861
Judy Anderson, Association Representative / x5822
Liz Betzel, Association Representative / x5329
Mark Bocija, Association Representative / x5049
Dave Busch, Association Representative / x5079
T.J. Duda, Association Representative / x5309
Dr. Charlie Gallucci, Association Representative / x5499
Cindy Evans, Association Representative / x2435
Bob Mergel, Association Representative / x5034
Dona Reaser, Association Representative / x5475
Gilberto Serrano, Association Representative / x3863
Leslie Smith, Association Representative / x5302
Kathy Struve, Association Representative / x5330
Dr. Wendy McCullen-Vermillion, Association Representative / x2693