Howdy all, Chris Carter here.
Before I begin my post on an interesting story that comes out of Vancouver, I want to share something with our blog readers, a sneak-peak if you will. I will be stepping down as Editor of The Olympian effective spring quarter and will hand over the role to Alex Vincent. I will continue to work as Managing Editor and be an integral part of the staff.
And now to the story which you can read here and here. Apparently, the newspaper adviser at Clark College was denied tenure and the reason(s) have not yet come to light. The story is interesting because it mentions that the faculty member, Christina Kopinski, had a spotless tenure record and was recommended the much coveted job security award unanimously by her review board. The board of the college however saw it a different way.
The president of the college has said that the articles written in the newspaper, The Independent, had nothing to do with the board's decision to deny tenure. Ever since Kopinski got on board at Clark, things have been rocky. Her "hard-nosed" approach and a series of stories shedding not-so-great a light on the administration made her an easy target for the Board of Trustees. As I said before, the college is denying that anything The Independent published persuaded the board to make the decision they did, but something still seems fishy.
Naturally, the decision to deny tenure is going to be called a personnel issue and likely not discussed openly so we may or may not get to ever see why the board made their choice. Either way, the college can expect to face some tough scrutiny as Kopinski and her staff (and others around the state) prepare to challenge the ruling. Kopinski has already filed for a grievence stating that she believed her contract was violated. On what grounds? That's unclear but I am eager to see what happens.
On a note closer to home, but oddly related, Michael Prince, the Journalism professor and adviser to The Olympian was recently granted tenure along with 12 other Olympic College faculty. Congratulations Mike!
I will be sure to keep you folks apprised on the Clark College situation. I plan on making a few phone calls up there and stirring a few hornets nests all the while. Until next time!
-Chris Carter
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Well done, Chris.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks! I'm proud and grateful to be a member of the Olympic College community. As I see it, academic freedom and the First Amendment are alive and well here. I wish the same for all.
Kudos on your outstanding tenure as editor of The Olympian!
Mike
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Here are the facts: 1) Christina Kopinski was recommended for tenure unanimously and her denial of tenure was a total surprise not only to her but to her supervisor as well; 2) At no time was any article in the newspaper publicly repudiated by the Clark administration with any counter reasoning or counter facts; 3) Ms Kopinski met more than the minimum qualifications to apply for the position, was fully vetted and hired through a process of free, fair and open competition and went through a vetting process that was standardized and transparent; none of these apply to the Clark College Trustees (political patronage appointments with no experience in education) and president Bob Knight who did not meet the minimum qualifications to even apply for the president position, who was placed into his position by summary appointment without open competition of a standardized or transparent process and who as former interim president should have been prevented from even being considered for the full-time position as a matter of policy that was applied to previous interim president David Beyer.
Bottom line? No need to cover-up what is clean only what is dirty. No need to pile-on and frame a guilty person only an innocent one. No need to refuse to answer non-problematic questions, only problematic ones. Clark College, has a long history of hired and fired presidents, grievances against administrators sustained and numerous settlements with public monies to prevent pending issues going to trial (hush money according to Gregg Herrington of The Columbian). It is an Agency of the government of the State of Washington being run like a cross between a country club, a feudal fiefdom and a pre-Civil-War plantation.
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