Guest Opinion | Dr. Steve Gibson: Decision-Making at Pasadena City College by the Board of Trustees is Broken

Pasadena City College is governed by a Board of Trustees. The seven elected Trustees represent the communities of Pasadena, Arcadia, a portion of El Monte, La Cañada-Flintridge, Rosemead, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, and Temple City.

Board members have institutional responsibilities, like selecting the president/superintendent of PCC, who will be responsible for day-to-day administrative leadership decisions; approving budgets; adding or removing programs; setting visions and goals of the college; approving personnel decisions and legal contracts; and setting policies and procedures.

If the college is to serve students and the local community with the academic excellence that PCC is so well known for, urgent change in top-level decision-making is necessary:

• Communication with stakeholders should be opened up and expanded. For example, faculty, staff and students need to be heard more consistently, with time and openness.
• PCC must embrace dramatic changes in technology and how students learn.
• PCC’s governing board should demonstrate commitment to accountability and transparency.
• Full explanations, hard questions, and robust discussions must occur at board of trustee meetings prior to making major institutional decisions such as the December 8, 2021 gutting of ESL and the cancellation of a vocational program like Graphics Arts.
• Board member term limits should be enacted.

Communication with campus constituencies and responsiveness to all stakeholders in the college system are fundamental requisites to collegial participation in shared governance. However, we have seen with last month’s faculty vote of no confidence in PCC’s Superintendent/President that some decisions have failed their competency test, putting PCC’s accreditation in jeopardy once again.

Finally, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges reminds Boards that a college is not a for-profit business. Community colleges are best when they remain loyal to the tradition of constituent participation, which vastly differs from standard business practice. Board members’ decisions should prioritize student needs over profit to combat the commodification and corporatization of education.

Dr. Steve Gibson is a Pasadena City College alumnus and 20-year resident and community advocate in the Pasadena/Altadena area. He got his Ph.D. in education with his dissertation on job satisfaction of adjunct instructors at community colleges in California. He is running for PCC Board of Trustee, District 3. For more visit www.stevegibson4pcc.com.