Tension between faculty and the administration has risen following the layoffs of two employees for budgetary reasons and the departure of Executive Vice President April Jensen, who officially retired but is believed by many to have been pushed out.
A flier signed "The Undercurrent" (no relation to The Current) was spread around campus on Monday, May 23, five days after President Eileen Ely announced Jensen's retirement.
The author accused Ely of having "created and fostered a climate of fear and mistrust among GRCC faculty and staff," and of firing "long-standing employees - good people, with many more years of service [than you] - with no publicly stated rationale."
Speaking on behalf of the administration, John Ramsey, director of public information, said the college suspects it was written by a select few, most likely faculty members, who want to keep the campus in permanent upheaval.
"It's a cheap shot," said Ramsey. "Let's just call it what it is - it's a cheap shot."
He said the flier does exactly what its author is criticizing: promoting a climate of mistrust in a secretive fashion.
Others see it differently.
"I think, unfortunately, [that] it's probably indicative of a lot of people's feelings around here," said Mark Millbauer, president of the United Faculty Coalition, the college's faculty union.
"There's an old saying, ‘Where there's smoke, there's fire.' A lot of folks obviously have concerns and felt strongly enough about those concerns to generate those fliers and put them up."
To the union, said Millbauer, it's important that the college promote free speech, regardless of whether the message is positive or negative.
He added that the union itself had nothing to do with the flier, but did not rule out the possibility that a member acting independently was responsible for it since the UFC represents all of the faculty.
There are currently several potential sources of frustration for faculty.
Jensen was seen by many as an advocate for faculty and instruction within the administration, having previously been an instructor herself. As a result, some faculty members now fear they have lost a voice in the policy process.
"We know historically those who are in power employ fear tactics to divide people," wrote Brad Johnson, English instructor, in an email sent out to instructional departments.
"Sadly, we have been experiencing these tactics first hand on this campus, recently with the dismissal of faculty's most important advocate within the administration. What's next? Who's next?"
Additionally, the contract between the college and the UFC has not been extended yet, something Ramsey thinks might have more to do with the flier than the recent layoffs.
This is the result of a dispute over the exclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which obliges the colleges to create and fill two full-time, tenure-track positions each year. The Board of Trustees recently voted to remove the MOU from the contract, despite a reported tentative agreement between college and faculty negotiators that included it. Union negotiators refused to sign it, and on June 2 filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint.
Unlike several other community colleges in the state, Green River's proposed budget cuts don't include faculty layoffs or the elimination of any instructional programs. In addition, Ely's budget plan includes the hiring of six new full-time instructors.
Both the administration and the union expressed a desire to move on from the current situation.
"We're not going to try and trace whose computer [the flier] came from or what copy machine it was printed on," said Ramsey.
"We're going to continue moving forward and working to improve the college."
Millbauer echoed that sentiment. "We do not want an atmosphere...in which employees are motivated to do that," he said.
"Change is always stressful, and it's the way it's done that makes a difference. Maybe in time this will be in our past and everybody will have forgotten about fliers and people who have abruptly lost their jobs, and we'll get that relationship."
With nobody involved offering a clear solution to the problems, however, it does not seem likely the tension will diffuse anytime soon.
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