AWC faculty take complaints, support to board

Almost 100 people packed the Arizona Western College governing board meeting Tuesday, using it as a forum to voice both support and opposition for the college's administration and a controversial redesign of faculty leadership.

The meeting centered around grievances between a group of full-time faculty members and Beatriz Espinoza, the vice president of learning services. On Sept. 26, 82 of AWC's 111 full-time faculty met and cast a vote of no-confidence in Espinoza's leadership and a redesign of the college power structure.

In a session that lasted nearly four hours, more than 20 teachers and members of the general public spoke out to the board. No action was taken but Steve Shadle, board president, said they would schedule a special meeting at a later date to address the issue.

"We're trying to do the right thing for both sides," Shadle said. "Unfortunately, perception is reality in these things. Some faculty have suggested having an independent consultant look at the restructure. That makes the most sense."

"The faculty formally request new leadership," said Professor Liz Renaud, spokeswoman for the faculty involved in the no-confidence vote.

A total of 65 were in favor of no-confidence against Espinoza and 66 for no-confidence in the learning services reorganization. The part-time faculty members, including about 300 associate faculty, were not eligible to participate.

The matter of Espinoza's employment was originally scheduled to take place in a closed-door executive session, as is standard policy with personnel matters. However, Espinoza requested all discussion occur publicly during the open meeting.

She said the redesign process was done in collaboration with a 25-member group, including faculty over a 10-month process, at the behest of the executive committee of AWC. She apologized for coming off "firm" or "unfeeling" but said she followed procedure in everything she did.

"Absolutely no malice at any time was intended and I'm very sorry that some people are hurt by this," Espinoza said.

A 10-page list of grievances submitted to the administration by the faculty detailed objections in four main categories:

As a result of the redesign, the leadership structure within the college departments shifted from five divisions to three large schools, which it termed "unwieldy."

The restructure resulted in some redesign team members being promoted and, in some cases, given pay raises. The declaration objects to the selection process of these promotions.

The declaration states the administration asked for comment on the redesign but did not give those comments against it due consideration.

A general deterioration in the work environment at AWC since Espinoza's arrival in the summer of 2006 is cited. "Collegiality is diminished and trust is critically eroded," the document states.

One of the complaints listed by the faculty was the way the expansion of the nursing program was carried out. In a list of grievances, it stated the nursing teachers were given more work without input.

Professor Anna Page, a member of the nursing faculty, resigned in the wake of the reorganization. She spoke at Tuesday's meeting, before her letter of resignation was presented to the board.

"The workload became too heavy," said Page, who had been with AWC since 2005.

Not all comments from the faculty were negative. April Tisby, a professor of physical and wellness education, represented a group of professors supporting Espinoza.

Also among Espinoza's supporters were representatives from the Arizona Association of Chicanos for Higher Education, an organization aimed at promoting Latino student success. Jose Colchado, an AACHE representative from Tucson, praised the dual enrollment programs with the high schools, the expansion of tutoring at the AWC writing center and the revised faculty job descriptions that stressed more interaction with students.

"The limited information the AACHE state board has suggests that the reorganization has had and is having a positive effect on students," Colchado said.

Members of the public also appeared at the meeting. Officials from Yuma Proving Ground spoke in favor of Espinoza and the work she's done to form a partnership of engineering internships with the base. Luis Heredia, president of the Somerton Elementary School Board, said he'd seen increased support for AWC programs in the south county area since she came on board.

Most board members said they needed to review the material and statements they'd received before they made any decisions. No follow-up session has been scheduled at this time but Shadle said a special meeting would probably be called sometime before the end of the month.

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Sarah Reynolds can be reached at

sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.