Compton College - Vote of No Confidence - Support Your Fellow Faculty

[Minodora M Moldoveanu]

Dear Senate Presidents,

 

I am reaching out to you today to ask for your support to help the Academic Senate, Faculty Union, and Classified Union at Compton College to demand that the Board of Trustees and Special Trustee at Compton College terminate the current contracts for the President/CEO Dr. Keith Curry, and Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Berger.

 

Over the last decade, CEO Curry has failed to satisfactorily perform the normal and reasonable duties of his position, resulting in a decade of consistent enrollment declines that imperil the financial security and future of Compton College. Since 2011, when Dr. Curry became CEO, the College has lost 50% of our FTES, and this trend is likely to continue unless he is replaced. While watching our enrollment plummet, Dr. Curry did nothing differently. He did not hire an expert recruiter, he did not allocate additional resources, he did not change the strategy. Instead, he continued doing the same thing, year after year, while expecting different results.

 

This is not a COVID-19 problem. This is a decade-long leadership problem of mismanagement that has put Compton College in peril. We have not had such low FTES numbers since the loss of accreditation in 2005.

Although some might suggest that enrollment is down across the state, we look at the colleges surrounding ours, and NONE of them have experienced enrollment declines such as ours. Yet our CEO did nothing differently.

 

In addition, DR. Curry’s dictatorial leadership style has led to severely decreased morale across the campus. Dr. Curry micromanages employees at every level, he ignores expert opinions from the specialists at the different layers of the campus, only for him to make poor decisions. In addition, he fails to provide appropriate resources in key areas of our campus, which has led to the haphazard implementation of almost any major plan or initiative on our campus.

 

Working in tandem with the President/CEO, VP Berger has created and perpetuated a toxic and hostile working environment at Compton College. Her overt abuse of Compton employees has led to all three stakeholders at Compton College (Academic Senate, Faculty Union, and Classified Union) overwhelmingly agreeing to a Vote of No Confidence in her leadership abilities. In just one year of her working at Compton College, VP Berger has had several grievances filed against her and currently has a Title IX discrimination complaint investigating her abusive behavior. VP Berger is a liability to the District. Her behavior cannot be tolerated and her employment at Compton College should be terminated immediately.

 

On September 10, 2021, the Compton College Faculty Union approved the Vote of No Confidence Resolution against CEO Curry and VP Berger with a 93.4% approval. On September 27, the Classified Union at Compton College also approved the Resolution with a 77% approval, and on October 7, 2021, the Compton College Academic Senate ratified the Resolution with an approval of 80%.

 

It is worth noting that the voter turnout during the Faculty Union was the highest we have had for anything in the last several years. This symbolizes the beginning of a movement for a change in leadership that we must have in order to save the College from financial insolvency. Our campus employees have lost faith in the ability of CEO Curry and VP Berger to successfully lead our College.

 

This vote is also a cry for help and we need your support to ensure that the Compton College Board of Trustees, Special Trustee, and the Chancellor’s Office hear our plea loudly and clearly!

 

We ask you to join our movement! Click on the Action Alert petition link and provide your name, email address, zip code, and any comments you would like the Board of Trustees and Special Trustee Gene Farrell to know. Then please pass the petition to your colleagues, your Unions, students, and members of the community you know who could stand with the Faculty, Classified, and Academic Senate at Compton College. We need New Leadership Now!

 

In Unity,

 

Minodora Moldoveanu Ed. D.

Academic Senate President

Communication Studies Faculty

Compton College