WEST BARNSTABLE – A majority of tenured faculty at Cape Cod Community College have signed a petition which supports a vote of no confidence in President John Cox.
The petition alleges an environment of fear, bullying and sexual harassment.
The president of the college’s chapter of the Massachusetts Community College Council union and history and government professor Claudine Barnes said concerns have been expressed about procedures, process, lack of transparency and decision making for quite some time.
“Over the last year to a year and half things started to build much more significantly and we started to hear more and more stories about problems and not just within our own union, but with other people working on campus,” Barnes said.
Earlier this year issues reached a boiling point and faculty members not actively involved in the union spoke out and said something needed to be done, according to Barnes.
A petition was written and signed by over 60 percent of the tenured and full-time professional staff at the college.
The majority of the issues and concerns deal with four administrators on campus. Barnes said concerns with the actions of three of those administrators were specifically brought before Cox.
“The fact that he done, despite our sharing those concerns, nothing about it made many people come to conclusion that really the problems stem from the top,” Barnes said.
According to Barnes, Cox said that he was “generally aware” of what the administrators were doing.
The college’s board of trustees will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the concerns raised by the staff.
Barnes said the union will continue to be honest and bring forward concerns and evidence to the board.
“[We] hope that they hear us, they understand and that they help us to push for change,” she said.
The removal of Cox would need to come from a decision by the board of trustees.
Barnes said that she is not asking for Cox to resign, but that is a feeling among many in the union.
“What I want is for things to change. I would think to think that can happen. That people can make progress and listen and make improvements,” Barnes said. “I don’t know how many times you can share your concerns and have them fall on deaf ears before you can start thinking that people need to move on.”
The following statement was released by Cape Cod Community College Spokesman Michael Gross:
“Regarding issues raised by the Cape Cod Community College’s Faculty Union President before the Board of Trustees last night, and in the media, the Board will meet this coming Thursday, June 23rd at 2 p.m. to hear specific concerns. No further comment will be made on at this time.
It is important to note that at last night’s Board meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously accepted the report of its Presidential Evaluation Committee: that after an exhaustive review of the President’s performance based on the goals and objectives in the College’s Strategic Plan and the Massachusetts’ Dept. of Higher Education’s Vision Project to which the College is a partner, that President John Cox had met or exceeded expectations, and that he receive the maximum increase allowed by the Commissioner of Higher Education, once merit salary adjustments are established by the Commissioner for the coming budget year.”
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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Hmmm! I can think of one of the faculty that needs to be gone for bullying and not doing her job. But I will take the high road and not mention Kathy Bents name.