Green River College is losing its focus on our community. The college recently removed “community” from its name. Faculty and staff learned of this decision over winter break from local television news.
This past week, President Eileen Ely announced her decision to propose eliminating carpentry, auto body, parent-child education and geographic information systems. The faculty responsible for these programs learned of the decision via a letter from Ely, attached to an email from the Office of Human Resources and Legal Affairs.
Just like the decision to remove the “community” from the college’s name, this decision to eliminate traditional community college programs came as a complete surprise. And the cold method of delivery left faculty and staff speechless, and some in tears. Ely gave the faculty 30 days to defend their programs, as is required in their contract.
The administration’s decision to change the name of the college is final. While I do understand the reasons behind that decision, I opposed it and still do. In an all-campus email this past January, Ely stated, “Although the name is changing, the mission of the college will remain the same.” But her latest decision to terminate traditional community college programs proves to me that she is not being transparent.
One of the primary justifications for the name change was that Green River was adding new four-year applied degrees. Much of the momentum lately has been on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. Believe me, I support these programs. As a mathematics teacher, I am the “M” in STEM. But not all students need or want STEM careers.
Targeting carpentry, auto body, parent education and geographic information systems is targeting the heart of the community college. I should also mention that the administration also decided to place our dance program on hiatus next year. One must wonder what community college program will be terminated next.
The programs that are being proposed for elimination are truly community programs. Many of the students who graduate from these programs are hired by local businesses. Business and community leaders serve on advisory committees that inform the programs, making sure the curriculum is current and meets local needs.
At the very least, the community and these advisory committees should have been consulted before a decision was made to eliminate them. With the 30-day clock ticking, the community is now left with very little time to react. I hope it is not too late.
Dr. Stephan Kinholt has been teaching mathematics and teacher education courses for the past 33 years. For the past 23 years, he has taught at Green River College. He has been involved in several NSF-sponsored STEM grants and was the lead investigator for Project TEACH, a program that prepares future teachers.
