Thanks, Jack

Can’t think of a better example for the need to privatize a taxpayer-funded organization. What a nightmare. Well-done.

Frank, at 7:20 am EDT on July 7, 2008

Checks and balances...

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of working in a dysfunctional university department in which the top person was permitted her reign of terror for years. Finally she hung herself by berating the wrong person. But without that incident she’d still be there intimidating and tongue lashing people.

Cruelty is not a leadership tool. Why wouldn’t a workplace install a checking mechanism to evaluate a situation whenever an inordinate number of people resign, whenever there appears to be chronic turnover?

By the way, plenty of people make disparaging, stereotypical remarks about members of their own race or gender.

tmcdonal, at 9:40 am EDT on July 7, 2008

This is case of a President gone off track. While one of two dectractors might be making these sorts claims, the fact they are now coming from various sectors—it is time for the Board to do the responsible thing and remove the President.

Admn in PA, at 9:50 am EDT on July 7, 2008

Does Anyone Care About The Students?

Interesting article. Can someone in authority please comment on the effectiveness of Mass Bay Community College to enroll and graduate its students? It is clear problems exist within the administration and perhaps to some extend with the Board of Trustees and maybe in the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. However, as the infighting continues, who is taking responsibility for educating and graduating the students?What are the total number of courses enrolled per semester by full time and part time students? At the completion of the fall and spring semester how many students have less than a 2.0 GPA? What classes are the students not making satisfactory academic performance? What is the campus strategy to address this problem? How many of the entering cohort of students graduate with an AA degree in three years? What are the socioeconomic and ethnicity/race of the graduates? How many graduates continue to pursue a bachelors degree? How does MASS Bay contribute to the economic welfare of the state of Massachuestts?

Are students suffering because of the internal strife?

mike, at 10:25 am EDT on July 7, 2008

does anyone care about the consumer?

So, as the article so clearly points out there’s alot of workplace yapp going on but is the college serving its purpose of properly educating its students? Is anyone reaching out to the consumer, the purpose of the educational system, or is this some bitter workplace grievance? I believe the word student is mentioned once in the article and it was in a quote by the ‘terrorist’ herself does anyone else in that institution care about those kids; I mean, one mention of the word student in an educational piece; Will anyone find out how they’re doing; or does it even matter? Who is the system out to serve, and who is to blame when a professional isn’t capable of putting aside personal feuds and get the job done? ‘Reign of terror’ does the woman bite? First the economy and now our schools, Good lord help us all; WILL YOU PEOPLE JUST DO YOUR JOBS!

Larry, What about the students?, at 2:15 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

Only people cloistered in academic comfort could somehow confuse even the worst workplace dispute with a “reign of terror.” Expressing objections in such overwrought hyperbole does nothing but undercut the complainants’ credibility.

JBM, at 2:50 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

Give Me A Break

What exactly is the President accused of doing other than reshuffling her own cabinet? Seems to be a case of a whining wanna-be provost who did not get the job along with a disgruntled handful of others. Who is the terrorist here, my vote is for the muckrakers who print thisstuff.

mjm, at 3:35 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

MJM, Alumna and others

First, to Prof Parsons. Not sure where he is getting his information but I believe there are at least 10 additional administrative positions created in the past 3 years.

To MJM. Yes it is just a reshuffle. But then again, there have already been reshuffles, and reshuffles and reshuffles. At what point is the president going to stop reshuffling and get to work. And to the babysitting issue. Her special assistant brought her child to the college on a regular basis and various assistants were expected to watch her. This child was well known around the college.And to the alumna. How dare you discount the many dedicated faculty and staff who have questioned what has been happening at the college over the past 3 years. Did it ever occur to you that maybe it is this one person who is causing the instability — not the faculty and staff? A very important tenet of our founding fathers (the guys who wrote the constitution) — not only do citizens have a right to question, they have a responsibility. This is a basis of democracy and certainly should be part of the philosophy of any academic institution. I do not believe that the dedicated faculty did not encourage you to ask questions rather than just blindly believe what you are told.

Confused, at 5:35 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

Reshuffling?

To “re-shuffle” a cabinet implies that some are shuffled out, some are shuffled in and others are shuffled around. At this point, the cabinet at MassBay consists of the president and...wait, that’s right, no one else. This isn’t “re-shuffling” as far as I can read.

If you consider all the information it notes that this college has had 5 provosts in 3 years and 74 people have left the college (voluntary or otherwise)in that same time (77 actually, as the last 4 came after the interim provost’s letter). Even if you don’t want to believe anything else, this type of instability indicates a lack of vision at the top, and an inability to create an environment in which people are able to work together. A climate of fear and reprisal can only be created and maintained by leadership neglect or the wilful creation of such an environment. In either case, it’s the president’s responsibility. And, it’s the Board of Trustee’s responsibility to do something about it.

I’ve worked in community colleges and in my experience most faculty and staff are very committted to the mission and to student success. It would be difficult, however, to do good work and to serve students in the atmosphere that the president has created (or allowed to be created) at this college.

MassBay is the new Lord of the Flies Community College. The trustees need to act before any more “piggies” are sent to the slaughter.

Lord of the Flies, at 9:25 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

Bellinger must go

I am neither a fan of the President’s nor of Eunice Bellinger. Bellinger is not loyal, has a temper herself that few see, and derides the faculty in private. She is not provost material and the board should send her packing back out of Massachusetts.

Betsy, at 11:25 pm EDT on July 7, 2008

A Current Employee

As the old saying goes... “the fish rots from the head". It is time to rid the college “community” from the “terror” from the Princess of Dutchess via Haiti. CBJ is the worst leader the campus has seen in years. I just wish that Bowers and the rest of the “Board” would grow some b***s and send her packing out of Wellesley “Hills".She can take her new logo,slogans and branding elsewhere.

Cool Hand Luke, at 12:05 pm EDT on July 8, 2008

re

Like I stated “the fish rots from the head". I learned the “cheap shot” trade from our “leader". “when fired upon return the fire"Enjoy your “daze"!

Cool Hand Luke, at 2:25 pm EDT on July 8, 2008

Rehtoric vs Reality

I am also one of the 74 (or 77) employees who left MassBay since President Berotte Joseph came to the college. I left “voluntarily,” having seen the writing on the wall. In the President’s view, anyone who was at the college when she came was, by definition, incompetent. In considering the amount of turnover at MassBay in the past few years there a number of points that it’s important to remember.

77 people have left the college, mostly administrators or staff – the college only employs 155 full-time administrators and staff (at least according to the college Fact Book).

There are only 76 full-time faculty members at the college (again, according to the college’s Fact Book). The president has claimed that she has hired more full-time faculty, using the savings from administrative restructuring. When the president came to the college, there were 83 full-time faculty members. Now there are 76 full-time faculty. This is not an increase. During the same time she created a number of new administrative positions, positions which, if you believe the rhetoric about “cost savings,” either cost the college nothing or less than nothing.One of the structural changes at the college was the “restructuring” of the dean’s positions. According to the President, this restructuring provided a cost savings for the College. On the face of it, replacing 3 deans and 3 associate deans with 6 deans doesn’t appear to be a great cost savings. There are still as many “deans” as there were before, but now they are all full deans, which, I presume would mean that all 6 are now receiving the level of salary commensurate with a full deanship, rather than half receiving an associate dean’s salary. Again, I’m not sure how this creates a cost saving.

This article and some other commenters on the story have noted the President’s abusive style. In my time at the college I experienced this abuse personally, but more unsettling saw it used in public in a carte blanche way, such as when the President used a college-wide professional day to berate the entire faculty and staff because everyone didn’t have the positive view of her that she had of herself. There were a number of consultants at that meeting, one of whom noted that she wanted to “crawl under her chair” when the president was speaking. These same consultants, who had been retained by the President to support the college’s strategic planning process, had noted on numerous occasions that they had never seen a community college with so much talent – which brings me to the question of competence and accountability.

The President has claimed many times that those who left or were asked to leave the college did so because they were afraid of the new level of accountability. This is true to an extent, but not in the way the President means. Under the previous president, administrators set yearly performance goals related to their responsibilities and the college mission. These goals were developed in consultation with their supervisors. These goals were revisited at mid-year and adjusted if necessary. At the end of the year, the employee’s performance was gauged against their performance consistent with those goals. Once the current President came on board she got rid of this system, and instead put in place “institutional goals” for which different departments and sections of the college were responsible. There was no mid-year check of these goals and no year-end discussion of goals. Perhaps there is now. It is difficult to argue that people left because they were afraid of accountability when under this president there is less structured accountability. There is, however, more accountability by whim. The President makes decisions (or over-turns decisions) that undermine the credibility and responsibility of those whose positions have the responsibility to make those decisions. This was generally done without consultation. She will publicly berate and belittle those who disagree with her or offer alternative approaches. This includes dressing down front line staff in front of the entire college because they asked questions that the President didn’t like. This is the “greater accountability” under which employees of the college work.

This President has a stated goal of inclusion and “excellence” and a track record of exclusion and personal whim. Does she have good ideas? Sometimes. Does she know how to motivate people to collaborate to put them into place? Absolutely not. Does she ask for input from others. Sometimes, yes. Does she listen to this input? Only if it agrees with her already formed opinion.

MassBay needs new leadership if for no other reason than that the current leader doesn’t have the capacity or the good will to move the college forward and to support a faculty and staff who truly want to support students. Carole Berotte Joseph is a “Divine Right College President,” and she is far from being an enlightened despot.

Another Former Employee, at 5:25 pm EDT on July 8, 2008

“‘Reign of Terror’ at MassBay?”

Pehaps in addition to the faculty vote of no confidence, which should have spoken volumes to the college’s Board of Trustees, the Unions, MCC & AFSME, should suggest work stoppages, work-to-rule or walk outs. Additionally, the combined staffs should conduct a letter writing campaign to Govenor Duvall Patrick, who appoints trustees. The letters should urge the disolution of the current board for endangering its employees, its students, and the college itself-it’s reputation and very future. The sheer volume of complaints, statistical information (no improvements, no clear betterment during the Terrorist in charges reign), anectodal material, and probably law suits suggest the time has come and is long overdue for drastic intervention from the highest level of state authority as the college’s board of trustees seems incapable of effecting such. Shame on them for allowing this situation, which became apparent during the first year of the terrorist’s reign to continue unchecked and unabated.

Daily Rx, at 9:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2008

Parallel Universe?

The day this story ran, I sent it to many current and former employees at a community college where I (and many of them) recently resigned. We have all decided the name of our college could be substituted for MassBay and everything else would be the same.

The atmosphere and morale of employees in the past 3 years has become toxic. The president controls everything, but changes her mind so frequently that faculty and staff are kept in a negative spin trying to fulfill her whims of that moment.

Does this have an affect on the students? You bet it does. When teaching become secondary to trying to please the president, the time usually spent on improving course content decreases.

Every decision must be run through this woman, regardless of how large or small. This seriously slows down any partnerships with external constituents and is having an affect on fundraising and advisory board recruitment.

Why isn’t the Board of Trustees doing anything? They’s split, like at MassBay, and those who oppose her are fearful of a lawsuit based upon racial discrimination, which she has hinted at. That’s why many of us have already left. We saw the “big picture". This woman has the job for as long as she wants it because nobody can cross her. And isn’t it sad that we were excited about a person of color leading our institution? I can almost guarantee that when she does leave, it will be a long time before we trust another minority candidate.

Focused on the Big Picture, at 9:05 am EDT on July 10, 2008

New Provost at MassBay

MassBay announced the appointment of its new Provost? Thoughts on this?

John R. Donnelly, dean of instruction at Germanna Community College, in Virginia, has been chosen as provost/vice president for academic & student affairs at Massachusetts Bay Community College.

MassBay Observer, at 7:45 am EDT on August 6, 2008