No Confidence in Chopra from Department Chairs

SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE COUNCIL OF CHAIRS
RESOLUTION

Date: 07 May 2009
Authored by: The Council of Chairs

Title: Vote of No Confidence in Superintendent/President Raj K. Chopra

WHEREAS, The Council of Chairs, as the faculty leaders of departments and programs within the academic schools and centers at Southwestern College in all academic matters, fundamentally disagrees with many of the decisions and priorities of the current Superintendent/President, and

WHEREAS, due to recent actions taken by the Superintendent/President to reorganize the Southwestern College campus with a total lack of regard or consideration for the immediate and long term effect on academic programs and services and the students that they serve, and

WHEREAS, the Council of Chairs takes exception to the decision to eliminate institutional capability to pursue and maintain grant and other critical outside funding sources for present and future innovative and relevant programs, and

WHEREAS, there has been a lack of transparency in the budget process and a public misrepresentation of the budget, and

WHEREAS, the Council of Chairs takes great exception to the process by which the Superintendent/President makes decisions without adhering to the tenets of shared governance and with an apparent lack of understanding of academics, and thus expressed in a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Superintendent/President Raj K. Chopra, now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Southwestern College Council of Chairs solemnly votes no confidence in Superintendent/President Raj K. Chopra, and

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Southwestern College Council of Chairs urges the Southwestern College District Governing Board to take swift, direct and deliberate action to address concerns of the chairs and their departments as expressed clearly by the vote of no confidence at the April 30, 2009 Council of Chairs meeting, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Southwestern College Council of Chairs urges the Southwestern Community College District Governing Board to investigate the process by which decisions directly affecting academic programs and their students are made, and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Southwestern College Council of Chairs respectfully requests that the Southwestern Community College District Governing Board provide a written response to this resolution by June 15, 2009 detailing the Governing Board’s plan to provide direction to Superintendent/President Chopra to ensure that shared governance be adhered to and funding for innovative and relevant programs that provide opportunities for our college and students are actively pursued.