Faculty members earn tenure

During Wednesday’s board meeting, Mt. Hood’s district board of directors voted to grant tenure to six instructors, approve sabbatical for 11 others and approve the Head Start program operating budget for the 2017-18 school year.

There also was a lengthy presentation on MHCC’s Salmon Safe and rainwater runoff retrofitting plans, given by Mt. Hood’s director of facilities, Charles George, and partners from Metro and other organizations.

George noted that Mt. Hood is the nation’s first community college to achieve Salmon Safe certification, but much more work remains to be done on the campus.

Faculty members that were formerly given tenure at Mt. Hood (and were honored in a separate reception) were:

Aylin Bunk from the ESL-ENL/Adult Basic Skills Department;

Scott Plinski, ABE-GED/Adult Basic Skills;

Theatre Artistic Director Mace Archer from the Visual and Performing Arts Department;

English and composition instructor Andrew Gurevich from the Humanities Department;

Joshua Stratman from the P.E. Department; and

Keith Knight from the Machine Tool Technology/Applied Technology Department.

The faculty members were lauded for their “professional integrity and unwavering dedication to developing coursework that challenges and enlightens students,” and others were noted for their leadership roles, both at the college and in the community.

While not a guarantee of employment, tenure provides academic and due process protection for instructors and makes it markedly harder to terminate their employment. That can include protection against potential layoffs, a not-so-distant possibility given Oregon’s large budget deficit that could trim college budgets.

Also on Wednesday, part-time faculty association leader Marilyn Pitts took time to discuss Oregon Senate Bill 196, which would give part-time faculty benefits coverage based on hours worked.

Board member Jim Zordich announced that he has filed for re-election this spring for the Zone 2 position. He shared that he has secured endorsements from the classified employees association, the part-time faculty tutors association, Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis, Fairview Mayor Ted Tosterud, Troutdale Mayor Casey Ryan, State Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, State Rep. Carla Piluso, and MHCC instructor and state Rep. Chris Gorsek.

“I filed this Monday, and as they say at the asylum, I am fully committed,” he said.

Board members will meet again Saturday to hold a daylong retreat. The session begins at 9 a.m. in the boardroom with a discussion on the MHCC general obligation bond measure proposed for the May 16 special election.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 12. The board will first convene as Mt. Hood’s formal Budget Committee at 6 p.m.