PCC Courier, February 18, 1983

Marsee: 'Problems More Serious Than Realized' By Sharon Ching Assistant News Editor “PCC’s problems are more serious than people generally realize,” said Dr. Stuart E. Marsee, new interim super¬ intendent-president since Feb. 3. Marsee, who took the job after only seven months retirement, said he ac¬ cepted because he knew the job would be “temporary and for no great amount of time.” Upon being asked to return to the first community college he had ever worked at, Marsee said, “I was rather pleased ... it was like a sort of homecoming.” Marsee said he knew of the un¬ popular decisions that had to be made before hand; nevertheless, he did not to hesitate to accept the offer. “There was no reluctance ... I thought it was something I might enjoy doing. I cer¬ tainly wasn’t coming back to a perma¬ nent job.” Even though he had some idea of the college’s problems, he said the job wasmaybe more than he expected. “I had not anticipated the extent of plan¬ ning that would be necessary in such short time.” Becoming more aware of PCC’s fis¬ cal problems, Marsee is even more conscious of his short term. “There are some things that can’t wait.” He be¬ lieves he will be involved heavily with “deficit financing” which has ac¬ cumulated over the last three years, and also trying to support the current budget. Although Marsee has no plans thus far to resolve the financial status, he said the upcoming budget will demand “serious cutbacks.” Marsee also believes that PCC will not be able to support next year’s budget with only the money presently available, due to “ongoing costs that escalate. “It’s very serious, more serious than people seem to be willing to accept. People should put their individual in¬ terests behind them and think about the total welfare and survival of the in¬ stitution. The problems are too serious for playing games.” Regardless of the current financial status of the college and his short term, Marsee said, “I’m going to try to do something while I’m here.” The Board Of Trustees are scheduled to select a new president by July 1, 1983. Marsee’s contract terminates Aug. 1,1983. " There are some things that can’t wait " — Marsee on PCC's fiscal problems. VOL. 55. NO. 1 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 18, 1983 TEXTBOOK OF TOMORROW— Mary Jane Cordon, assistant professor of math, has revolutionized math , instruction with her creation of video tapes that allow students to work at their own pace. The tapes have been marketed to other colleges, forcing PCC to adopt a copyright policy quick. Courier photo by Barrett Stinson Policy 'Promotes Faculty Creativity' District Proposes Copyright Policy By Leann Sumner Staff Writer The college district has proposed a policy on “Ownership and Disposition of Copyrightable Materials” which are produced by the combined efforts of faculty and administration members, according to Robert B. Miller, assist¬ ant dean for learning resources. The policy “promotes faculty creativity and provides clear op¬ portunity for constituting an arrange¬ ment for distribution of profits prior” to beginning work on a project, said Miller. ' The major influence on the district to propose such a policy is the instruc¬ tional video tapes being produced by Mary Jane Cordon, assistant professor of mathematics, utilizing college equip¬ ment. These video tapes correspond to texts written by Cordon which she uses in teaching Math 401ABC and 405. Cordon writes and memorizes the scripts for the tapes, designs the graphics before turning them over to a graphics artist, and uses her own props. The filming is done in the instructional services TV room with students operating the cameras.“We are becoming more professional, more efficient in production,” says Cordon. The video tapes enable students to learn at their own pace, says Cordon. The learning center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and students may view the tapes at their own conve¬ nience. There are 500 students partici¬ pating in the program, and there are waiting lists for both day and night classes. “The Instructional Servies is impor¬ tant to the future development of PCC. ’’said Miller. Cordon was one of four co-authors of the text Computational Mathematics used for Math 401, and she updated 17 tapes which were originally made by another co-author. That text has been rewritten by Cordon and one co-author and will be published in Sept., 1983. Cordon is making 15 new tapes to correspond with the updated text. The present text has been circulated nationally, but the tapes are used only on a borrowing basis by Santa Barbara and Mt. SAC. Essential Mathematics for Nurses, used in Math 405, will be published by Prentice-Hall in January, 1984. There are 12 video tapes corresponding with that text which will be distributed by Prentice-Hall if the company feels they are “marketable,” said Cordon. The circulation of the tapes, as well as the text could then be nationwide. If the proposed policy is not adopted at that time “it will not hinder her project, ’’said Miller. An agreement concerning the distribution of the prof¬ its will be drawn up before the tapes are marketed. That contract must be approved by the Board of Trustees. The policy was developed last sum¬ mer by Miller and the College Instruc¬ tional Staff, and was adopted by the Faculty Senate Board, March 8, 1982. It is now with the President’s cabinet who will determine the next step. Miller hopes it will be accepted “within a reasonable time period, but it depends on where the cabinet puts it on the priority list.” Miller also said “this policy or something like it will be adopted.” Only three out of twelve college districts have a policy similar to this and, said Miller, no policy is as “spe¬ cific and fair to the college and the faculty as this one is.” The policy also states “faculty and college may use outside agents to determine the value of the product and potential prof¬ its, ’’added Miller. Cordon and Miller agree the policy is “fair and equitable, and encourages faculty creativity.” Cordon intends to continue to produce instructional video tapes, and hopes they will gain a nationwide circulation. She also feels the adminis¬ tration has the right to their share of the profits. Board Still Searching Wanted: PCC President By Stephen Williams Editor-in-Chief We will hopefully have a permanent superintendent-president for the col¬ lege by July 1, in time to accept the final draft of next fiscal years budget, said Board of Trustees President Dr. Gary B. Adams. The Board approved a contract with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to assist in finding the school a president by July 1 for no more than $8,000, plus expenses. “If the cost goes higher than that, we can draw up a new one (contract),” said Dr. Bonnie R. James, vice presi¬ dent of business services. The amount equaled the original cost estimated by ACCT, however they al¬ lowed for a give and take of $1,000. The Board wanted a more concrete con¬ tract and did not feel secure about the estimate, “It could be $7,000 or $9,000, which makes a difference,” said Adams. ACCT will advertise the position, proccess the applications and give a list of applicants who best meet the needs of the college to a committee. The committee, composed of 11 members, will then go over the recommendations made by ACCT to put before the Board. First, the criteria of the next president will be drawn up by the committee and given to ACCT. Seven members of the committee will be picked by each Board member before Feb. 24. The other members include student trustee, Jerimiah Hand, one classified representative from Instructional Support Services Union (ISSU), one nominee from the Management Association, and one to represent certified from the Faculty Senate. Dr. Fredrick E. Holland, Faculty Senate president, expressed concern about only one certified person being on the committee. “We have to work with the president (on a daily basis), so we should have more representation on the committee who will nominate him. I just want the faculty to be considered more.” The seven members to be selected by the Board may consist of community citizens, employers or leaders from the seven districts. It would be fine to select from the community, but we must not overlook representatives from industry. We need to be open minded, because in¬ terest groups may have their axes to grind, said Roger Gertmenian, Board member. “We need to keep it as simply as possible,” said Adams. Marsee Addresses Faculty Meeting By Mark Blocker News Editor In a speech marked with introduc¬ tory goodwill and jokes, interim Super- intendent-Prt silent Dr. Stuart E. Marsee addressed the faculty for the first time in a Feb. Z meeting at noon in the Forum. ' “I don’t expect to do much in six months, perhaps introduce a different style of management you all might like, or through which realize that the old one wasn’t so bad,” Marsee told the faculty. Much of his speech discussed what makes an effective college president and board of trustees. “It has been said that presidents can no longer treat trustees like mushrooms— something you keep in the dark and pile manure on,” said Marsee. “The board of trustee-president rela¬ tionship must be based on mutual respect and confidence. While the board need not accept the president’s advice, it should listen carefully to what the president advises and to the reasons for such advice,” he added. Marsee then cited 23 attributes of an effective board. Some were: “Develope clearly stated policies that can be executed reasonably.” “Work with, rather than around, the president and administrative staff.” “Be aware of, and sensitive to, the cross-currents of community thinking pertaining to the basic concepts of public education and the operation of the college without being a lackey to any special interest group.” Marsee’s contract terminates in six months, with a 30-day cancellation clause for both parties. He said choos¬ ing a new permanent president “is the most important decision the board can make at this time.” Marsee also commented that his current relationship with the college is “a beautiful honeymoon, and I hope the honeymoon lasts longer than my tenure,” he joked. Faculty Welcomed Back In addition to hearing Marsee, the faculty welcomed back Francisca B. Neumann of Special Services, Karen P. Norris, English Department and John Reib, English Department, all return¬ ing from a year leave. English instructor Eileen V. Eckstrom, who replaces retiring Jerene Hewitt, was officially in¬ troduced to fellow faculty. 'Instructional Services Important' Miller Advises on Learning Materials By Denni Young Staff Writer “The instruction services depart¬ ment is a very significant aspect of this community college,” said Robert B. Miller, assitant dean of instruction/ learning Resources. The department advises teachers on new learning mate¬ rial, and develops programs to assist students. One aspect is the learning resources advisory committee. It recommends types of services and material to be purchased. The committee consists of faculty and management, and meets monthly. Subcommittees are formed to deal with specific problems. Some will be terminated when the specific problem is solved. This method pertains mainly to non-print material. To acquire textbooks, a teacher must have the approval of the department chairperson, the dean of instruction, and the Board of Trustees. “The fac¬ ulty has great freedom in choosing texts,” said Miller. “They are very rarely turned down.” The budget cuts have effected the library most of all, according to Miller. He fears further cuts will make it difficult for instructional departments to get involved in innovative ex¬ perimental projects. The ISD could become ‘gate keeper’, and allow tech¬ nological advances to pass the college by. So far this has not happened. The use of cable television has started this semester, and an auto¬ mated library circulation system will be installed in March. Miller hopes the ISD will be cen¬ tralized in the future. “It should be an entity under one roof, instead of scat¬ tered all over campus, ’’said Miller. He hopes the Board of Trustees will provide the funding. Associated Students Approve '83 Budget By Sharon Ching Assistant News Editor The AS government approved the new 1983 spring budget at the first two meetings of the spring semester. The board also discussed choosing new possible replacements for two of its members, hiring an AS secretary, granting the Child Development Center money for scholarships, and selecting a member of the board to go to Washing¬ ton. Some of the highlighting figures are as follows: president $500, executive vice president $400, coordinator of campus activities $1,500, banquet fund $1,000, AS government computer fund $2,500, discretionary fund $4,000, AS general $6,523. The total budget comes to $18,523. The possibility of creating a separate fund supporting Jeremiah Hand, student trustee, was also men¬ tioned. Due to the resignation of Doug Brown, former coordinator of student services, and the impeachment of Mike Sandoval, coordinator of external af¬ fairs, the board discussed potential replacements for these two positions. AS recently hired a secretary who will be working with things related to student government, according to Paul Kelly, AS president. The secretary, who will be responsible for weekly agendas and minutes, will be paid through the AS general fund. Also from the general fund, AS granted the Child Development Center $500 for the use of scholarship awards. The Child Development Center is a program constructed for children whose parents attend PCC. The schol¬ arships will be available to those needy student/parents enrolled with at least 12 units, according to Michael Orr, teacher /coordinator of the center. Lastly, the board selected two stu¬ dents to attend the Students Sym¬ posium at Washington D.C. While there the studentswill be analyzing the U.S. government system.