Rep Council Votes to Cancel Vote of No Confidence

APSCUF-KU Representative Council met for its regular meeting today. The Provost, Dr. Carlos Vargas, attended today's meeting to provide the administration's perspective on the pre-spring break meetings with APSCUF-KU Exec and to answer questions. Dr. Vargas reiterated the administration's commitment to change the way things are done at KU and to work more collaboratively with APSCUF-KU. Dr. Vargas talked with Rep Council for about 40-45 minutes (President Cevallos was also invited to Rep Council, but due to previous travel commitments, he was unable to attend).

After Dr. Vargas left, Rep Council members discussed what they wanted to do with vote of no confidence. After substantial discussion, Representative Council voted unanimously to cancel the vote of no confidence as a show of good faith. Rep Council will review progress on the bill of particulars and the summary of initiatives at the October 2008 meeting to ensure there is follow through.

We hope this show of good faith will reinforce our commitment to solve problems collaboratively and proactively.

St. Patrick's Day Email from Gambone to Faculty: Summary of Meetings with Adminstration

Colleagues,

Attached is a summary of initiatives discussed during meetings between the APSCUF-KU leadership, Dr. Cevallos, and Dr. Vargas prior to Spring break.

Overall, the proposals represent a series of important and tangible commitments by the administration to Kutztown University and its future.

More importantly, both sides have embraced the principle of a collaborative process that will reform the culture of faculty-administrative relations.

Dr. Vargas has agreed to attend the APSCUF-KU Representative Council this week to address the faculty.

Please address comments and questions to my office or your department representatives.

Dr. Michael D. Gambone
Professor of History
APSCUF-KU

To see the summary of initiatives, click HERE.

Friday, March 7th Meeting with President and Provost

Dear colleagues,

Today nine members of APSCUF-KU Exec met for just over an hour with Dr. Cevallos and Dr. Vargas. Like Tuesday's meeting, the discussion was substantive, positive, and productive. A significant part of today's meeting was spent discussing the Early Learning Center, office space, and the need to build a new culture of governance and collaboration. I think it is fair to say that all parties left the meeting feeling we had made significant progress both in terms of tangible solutions and a renewed spirit of collaboration and frank discussion.

While it appears at this point that a joint statement will not be issued, we will email faculty sometime next week with the details of the discussion for their consideration. I want to be clear, the only reason that we are not sending out the details at this point is that we want both the President and Provost to review our notes to make sure that we are in agreement about the content of our discussions.

Overall, I think everyone at the table left today on a positive note, ready for spring break!

Best,

Kevin Mahoney
APSCUF-KU Exec

Notes from 3/4/08 Meeting with President and Provost

Dear colleagues,

This afternoon members of APSCUF-KU Executive Committee met with the President and the Provost. As you know, we postponed the Vote of No Confidence following President Cevallos's letter to the faculty last Thursday expressing a commitment to work with APSCUF-KU in addressing the problems raised in the bill of particulars.

We had hoped to come out of today's meeting with some concrete solutions to some of the problems posited in the bill of particulars and offer a joint statement of shared commitments. However, after two hours of discussion, we had not yet finished discussing all the elements of the bill of particulars. In order to ensure we could have sufficient time to discuss the remaining issues, everyone at the table agreed to a second meeting. Due to the President's schedule (he has commitments over spring break) the meeting will take place later this week if at all possible. At the conclusion of that meeting, we hope to have a better sense of whether or not a vote of no confidence will proceed.

Having said that, I wanted to provide you with a very general sense of the meeting.

Eight members of Exec met with the President and the Provost for a full two hours. The bill of particulars provided an outline for the meeting. Some issues such as mitigating the impact of large classrooms, the culture of decision-making at Kutztown, and budgetary issues (performance funding and funding formulas for example), took up substantial time. Other issues such as office space, hot classrooms, hiring policy, long term planning, and fund raising were also discussed. I think it is fair to say that the dominant themes of the meeting were academic quality, the budget, and the need for a new culture of how problems and planning are addressed.

I should stress that NO AGREEMENTS have been reached at this point. We are looking forward to the second meeting later this week. At that meeting we hope to finish our discussions of the bill of particulars. In the event that we are able to come to some concrete agreements that will move toward resolving problems laid out in the bill of particulars, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Best,

Kevin Mahoney
APSCUF-KU Exec

Postponement of the Vote of No Confidence

Colleagues,

These are hard times for Kutztown University. Vocal minorities on both sides of the vote have assailed the campus with their arguments. Sadly, in some cases, we have refined character assassination into a fine art.

There exists as witnesses to the debate, the majority of faculty who embrace the extremes of neither side. I believe that a majority would support a vote of no confidence if there was no viable option.

Dr. Cevallos’ letter last week poses an important dichotomy. It may be an honest and heartfelt effort to repair our campus and move Kutztown into a constructive future. It may be a calculated last-minute effort to disrupt an impending vote of no confidence that will irrevocably define Kutztown and the president’s future.

Both principle and pragmatism are compelling reasons to delay the vote. As a result of a delay, we may solve a critical majority of the problems we have cited in our bill of particulars. Conversely, during the course of a delay, we may expose the fundamental problem of leadership that has led to this crisis. In the former case, a vote will be rendered moot. In the latter, it will provide further evidence to proceed.

With these factors in mind, I have decided to postpone the vote of no confidence for a period of no more than thirty days.

This decision places a premium on Dr. Cevallos’ ability to lead. If we accept the overwhelming confidence vested in the president by both the Kutztown Board of Trustees and the PASSHE Board of Governors, he is well prepared for the task that is before him. Moreover, with the support of these two formidable bodies, there is no question that he will have the resources necessary to resolve the many matters affecting our campus.

APSCUF-KU is prepared to sign binding agreements that the president’s leadership will produce. It is important to consider that the bargaining unit will have the authority to hold the administration to its proposed solutions. The University Senate lacks that authority. Small groups of faculty and town hall meetings also lack any legal standing. If Dr. Cevallos sincerely wants to provide concrete solutions to our many problems, the union is at the end of his path.

With these thoughts in mind, I look forward to our meeting on Tuesday.

Dr. Michael D. Gambone
Professor of History
APSCUF-KU

Mike Gambone Responds to President Cevallos's Email to Faculty

Dr. Cevallos,

We appreciate your letter and the evolution that it reflects.

We are ready to meet and address the problems cited in our bill of particulars. It is unfortunate that the snow storm last Friday prevented our monthly breakfast with you and the University Senate leadership. Although I have to attend a meeting of all APSCUF chapter presidents today and tomorrow, the local leadership will be available from Monday onwards.

What will restore faith is substance. If the administration is willing to address each of the items the faculty cited in concrete terms and with distinct deadlines, we will make progress.

We can begin this process as early as Monday.

Until then, the vote of no confidence will proceed.

We will contact your office for an appointment and look forward to our first meeting.

Dr. Michael D. Gambone

Professor of History

APSCUF-KU

VOTE--March 3-5, Beekey 118, 9-4pm

Board of Governors Vote

Colleagues,

Last week, we learned that the PASSHE Board of Governors wanted to meet with the APSCUF-KU leadership to discuss the vote of no confidence. According to Pat Heilman, such a meeting was unprecedented. It marked an opportunity to discuss faculty concerns in a candid and professional manner. As late as Monday, we were very hopeful about a potential resolution to the many problems we face here at Kutztown.

Unfortunately, the meeting never happened.

Yesterday, during a conference call, the PASSHE Board of Governors unanimously passed a resolution that:

“President F. Javier Cevallos continues to demonstrate strong leadership in his development of Kutztown University, its faculty and academic programs to ensure student success…”

Pat Heilman, who was present at the meeting, provided a full text of the resolution. It is attached. A portion of the resolution is also included on the PASSHE website.

Like the Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors has closed ranks. Rather than acknowledge the systemic problems that we have raised, they have chosen to attribute them to a small group of dissidents within the union leadership.

The votes at Representative Council two weeks ago belie that notion. We are not isolated, nor are we small in numbers. We do not lack support.

Last week, Kutztown students started a Facebook site called “Kutztown University Needs to Change” to address their own particular concerns. As of this writing, it has 1,129 members. A student town hall meeting is planned for next Monday so that faculty and students can talk.

We are not isolated. We do not lack support.

Why?

Clever manipulation? A campaign of “shock and awe,” as my one colleagues has suggested?

Or, is it the simple proposition that people understand the need to face facts and fix things? That or the vacuum offered by management from top to bottom.

Think about it.

And vote.

Mike Gambone

APSCUF-KU

Vote of No Confidence Procedures and Information

APSCUF-KU President, Mike Gambone's 2/20/08 email to faculty:

Colleagues,

The vote of no confidence will be held from 3-5 March 2008. Hours for voting will be from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. The polling place will be the APSCUF-KU office in 117 Beekey.

All faculty, both union members and fair share members, are eligible to vote.

We will need faculty to serve one-hour shifts to oversee the vote in the Beekey office. Please contact Karen Epting immediately if you wish to volunteer. In order to address the issue of a fair voting process, I would encourage faculty who are opposed to this measure to participate as poll watchers.

Faculty who are on leaves of absence, on sabbatical, or off campus will be sent absentee ballots. They may either return these directly to the APSCUF-KU office or, at their own discretion, vote via email to the APSCUF-KU office.

Faculty whose schedules do not permit them to vote during designated times will be provided absentee ballots upon request.

A meeting for faculty to discuss the vote will be held on Wednesday, 27 February in the Alumni Auditorium (MSU 183) from 3:00 to 5:00.

Mike Gambone

APSCUF-KU Rep. Council Authorizes Vote of No Confidence

APSCUF-KU President Mike Gambone sent the following email to faculty this morning:

Colleagues,

Yesterday, the APSCUF-KU Representative Council addressed two motions relevant to our current discussion on the quality of education, working conditions, and governance at Kutztown University.

The motion to authorize a vote of no confidence passed. The final vote was:

45 yeas
15 nays
4 abstentions

A motion for a vote of no confidence in the APSCUF-KU Executive Committee failed. The final vote was:

49 nays
7 yeas
2 abstentions

The vote of no confidence will be held during the first week of March. Specific details will be made available next week. We will also be asking for volunteers to man the polling place. I will be contacting the University Senate and AFSCME to solicit their help in counting ballots.

We will also be scheduling additional public meetings to discuss the substance of the bill of particulars. Specific times and locations will be forthcoming as soon as they are available.

In the meantime, APSCUF-KU invites the president and the board of trustees to recognize and constructively resolve the many problems affecting our campus.

Mike Gambone
APSCUF-KU

APSCUF-KU Representative Council Has Spoken

By a vote of 45 to 15 (with 4 abstentions) APSCUF-KU Representative Council has authorized a vote of no confidence in President Cevallos.

Over the next two weeks APSCUF-KU will hold several faculty meetings to discuss the bill of particulars in even more detail. Links to the bill of particulars and other supporting documents can be found on the right-hand sidebar and the APSCUF-KU web site.

Further details about the voting dates and upcoming meetings will be posted here as soon as they become available.

Why We Need a Vote

Many faculty have asked me about the purpose of the vote. In emails and in person, they want to know what end may come of all this. I can offer two thoughts and a list of specific recommendations in response.

Recognize Our Problems

We have a host of systemic problems here at Kutztown University. The claims are not “fiction” as the administration would have local media believe. Classes are too large. Office space is too limited. We know these problems are real. We see them every day.

Our process is broken. In Meet & Discuss, in the array of committees that inhabit our campus, in the endless meetings that we hold, the process does not work. We must recognize this as well.

Stonewalling is not recognition. Avoiding responsibility is not recognition. If the president, the trustees, and the PASSHE are not willing to take responsibility, it is up to the faculty to do so. A vote will recognize that we have a problem at KU.

Provide Solutions

A vote is a clear statement that we want concrete solutions to the many problems affecting Kutztown University. It is a statement that we will not be satisfied with another ad hoc committee or outside consultant. It is a statement to the powers that be on campus, to PASSHE, to the many outside entities watching Kutztown that what matters most are tangible commitments and not just words.

The attached list is a collection of solutions posited by the faculty. I have asked the representatives to contribute more. This list will grow in the future.

The APSCUF-KU Executive Committee began a debate. It left to the faculty the responsibility to authorize a vote.

On 14 February 2008, the faculty will be asked to provide permission to vote. It will be a hard decision. However, as I said when I started my term in office, sometimes the hardest decisions are the best ones to make.

Let the faculty vote

An Apology, An Opportunity, and Some Ground Rules

APSCUF-KU President, Mike Gambone's January 30th email to faculty:

*************************************************************

Colleagues,

An Apology

Recent emails from faculty have expressed shock and dismay at the process we have used to begin a discussion of a vote of no confidence. A number of members have focused specifically on being bypassed by both the APSCUF-KU Executive Committee and myself.

My intent in making the announcement to the faculty as a whole was not to bypass Representative Council, but rather to put relevant issues before the faculty as a whole so that, when the time comes for that body to authorize a vote, their decision will reflect a campus-wide discussion by a membership that is fully informed about all the issues at stake.

There is precedent for this approach. On many occasions in the past, local leadership has communicated directly with the membership on matters of significant importance. This was true with respect to large classes, the Commonalities Document, the straw poll on the tentative agreement, and many other issues. The intent was to provide as much information to as many faculty as possible, and ensure that a wide range of opinions was taken into account before making decisions

At the same time, I have tried to encourage Representative Council to serve its purpose as the link between the senior leadership and the faculty at large. Quite frankly, this process, while successful in many instances, has been problematic during my tenure. I agree that we need to improve an important part of the way the local functions.

Information is the key. I am not sure, for example, how many faculty know that department chairs passed their own vote of no confidence on hiring policy in February 2006. It was not the only matter Chair-net considered. I was not in country at the time, but I have to imagine that the faculty discussed the vote at length. A record of the vote is on our local website at http://www.apscuf.com/kutztown.

To those faculty who believe that I overstepped my authority and violated good practices within the local, I take full responsibility and offer an unqualified apology. For members unhappy with this statement, I offer our own union bylaws as another source of remediation

An Opportunity

Representative David Argall has contacted APSCUF with an offer to help us. He is specifically interested in how legislation might help us solve our current problems at Kutztown University.

I am encouraged by this response. I am glad that someone in authority is willing to recognize the situation on our campus and offer tangible assistance. It is an opportunity to mount a campaign for our school. I have also contacted Senator Mike O’Pake for the same purpose.

We need to articulate these problems and forward them to Harrisburg. To that end, I am asking the APSCUF-KU department representatives to survey their faculty and forward suggestions to the local office. With these in hand, we can make an argument for the additional resources necessary for improved academic programs and working conditions.

Some Ground Rules

A number of faculty have expressed concerns about the meeting on Thursday, 31 January 2008, in the Alumni Auditorium from 3:30 to 5:30.

We informed the local media last week at the Trustees meeting that our discussion will be closed to the press. It is important that faculty be able to express themselves in an open environment. If anyone chooses to speak to reporters afterwards, that is their right.

A number of people have also requested that we alter the format of the meeting so that the faculty can speak in closed session. In order to strike a balance between the offer of a community forum and the needs of the faculty, we are going to compromise. The time period between 3:30 and 4:30 will be set aside for a town meeting. The time period from 4:30 to 5:30 will serve as a closed meeting for faculty only.

During both meetings, we will also be soliciting written comments or questions for those individuals unable to speak during the time allotted.

Mike Gambone
APSCUF-KU

Is It Time for A Vote of No Confidence in President Cevallos?

“When are we going to have a vote of no confidence in president Cevallos?”

Over the last two years, I have been asked this question more times than I can remember. It has come from faculty, staff members, and, surprisingly, the off-campus community.

I have avoided this question for almost two years.

Instead, I have made it a point to help fix the many problems that we experience here at Kutztown University. Work is better than complaining.

We have written position papers. We have held public meetings. We have made new policy proposals. We have participated in task forces with the Senate, the faculty, the administration, and parents groups. We have met with the trustees, with Middle States, and with consultants. We have had breakfasts and lunches to talk with management. We have taken dozens of issues to local Meet & Discuss. As a last resort, we have filed many policy grievances. In 2006 and 2007, a half dozen were reviewed by the State Grievance Committee and our legal staff and approved to arbitration.

We have made marginal progress on far too many issues. While I believe that the Provost is attempting to address Kutztown’s many needs in good faith, he is overwhelmed by the accumulated backlog of problems created by years of mismanagement at the top.

There are many serious consequences to the bad decisions, poor leadership, and misapplied priorities of this administration.

We are now a Tier Four school. We are now a university where the distance between faculty and students has grown in proliferating large classrooms, where the basic needs of students are not met, where at-risk students and those with disabilities fall behind.

We are a university where working conditions have deteriorated, where faculty and coaches share offices in former lounges, conference rooms, closets, and a shower stall.

We are a university where contractual rights are under siege. In too many cases, fundamental parts of the collective bargaining agreement have been bypassed, ignored, or subverted.

We are a university that has grown too fast and too far, where the strain on the people who work on our campus and live in our community has become overwhelming.

The attached bill of particulars elaborates upon these points in greater detail.

We live with the consequences of these problems every day.

What do we do about it?

A vote of no confidence will make it abundantly clear what we want:

ACOUNTABILITY

There needs to be accountability for the current state of Kutztown University. Not only for the mistakes, but for the impact that they have had on our friends, our colleagues, our students, our community, and ourselves.

It is also time for the faculty to be accountable for what they believe. If we have a vote, the faculty will have to decide if they support the status quo or are willing to invest in the future of our university.

REFORM

Our university needs drastic changes in the way it works. A vote of no confidence will serve notice that the time has come to fix problems in meaningful ways. Promises, blandishments, and appeals can no longer suffice.

CHANGE

Kutztown University faculty must make it clear to the administration, the board of trustees, and the new chancellor that the system is broken and it needs to change. We must change policy and basic practices for our institution to prosper. We may also require a change in leadership as well.

Before we began our semester, I brought the issue of a vote to my APSCUF-KU Executive Committee. After a long and substantive discussion, all available to vote did so unanimously [12-0] to proceed with a vote of no confidence. Two members of Exec. have not yet voted.

Now the responsibility for this decision passes to the faculty and APSCUF-KU. Today, I ask everyone to consider this proposal and decide what course of action you will support.

We will be holding a town meeting on 31 January 2008 in the Alumni Auditorium (MSU 183) at 3:30. The faculty, other campus locals, and the community are invited to discuss the matter of a vote of no confidence.

On 14 February 2008, at our first Representative Council of the year, I will ask all department representatives to report on where their departments stand on the issue. If we receive a positive recommendation to authorize a vote, we will hold it during the first week of March.

Mike Gambone
President, APSCUF-KU

Considering No Confidence

In 2002, President Javier Cevallos became the 11th President of Kutztown University. Many faculty, staff, and students thought he was going to help increase the quality of education at Kutztown and help transition into a 21st Century university.

Instead, in his tenure as president, we have seen the erosion of the quality of education, shared governance, and our status as a university. His administration has presided over the dramatic increase in class size, a breakdown in the process of shared governance, and the university's fall to a fourth tier school in U.S. News and World Report's 2007 college rankings. Overcrowding has become the norm for both students and faculty as student housing and office space has not kept up with the university's expansion. The university's relationship with the Borough of Kutztown is at an all-time low. In Spring 2007, President Cevallos even tried to unilaterally close the Early Learning Center without consultation with teachers, parents, and faculty.

We need accountability. We cannot rely on more of the same to save our university. Time does not heal all wounds. We need to hold the leader of Kutztown University accountable for a pattern of decisions that has had a detrimental effect upon the quality of education and our university community.

We believe that the time has come to have a serious conversation about President Cevallos's effectiveness as the leader of the Kutztown University community. All of us have been part of hallway, breakroom, and boardroom conversations voicing these concerns. The question then becomes: what do we do with all of our individual concerns? Do we simply continue to complain while we "grin and bear it?" Or do we follow through and bring this conversation out in the public where we can carefully and critically assess President Cevallos and his administration. As this blog attests, many of us have already think this conversation should be public, transparent, and open.

As you can see, the right-hand sidebar contains a series of links with documents, news stories, and other supporting information. We want to post as much as we can. While there are many concerns not everyone knows the concerns of everyone else. This is a place where we can share information and stories.

Please feel free to comment on any of the post here. We look forward to the conversation.