PATRONAGE HIRING AT THE CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO

Chairman Cabrera and Members of the Board:

The City Colleges of Chicago is quickly becoming known for fiscal mismanagement, waste, and patronage hiring. In the past year positions have been created for District office staffers that have not existed in the one hundred year history of the City Colleges of Chicago. What’s worse is that these positions are being created by the Chancellor to provide jobs; very high paying jobs for her friends.

The hiring of Ms. Joyce Carson as Vice Chancellor-Business Enterprise at $150,000 a year raises some significant questions.  While we do not seek to question Ms. Carson’s abilities; we do question her appointment, as this position was clearly developed for her based on her friendship with Chancellor Hyman. As you are aware, Ms, Carson served as VP of Investor Relations for Exelon, the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, the Chancellor’s most recent employer.

In addition to Ms. Carson’s position, in the past year the Board has approved the hiring of a COO, a Chief of Staff, an Advisor to the Board of Trustees, and numerous other questionable positions. There seems to be no accountability for the hiring decisions that are being made at the District Office. There seems to be an atmosphere of job creation as needed for friends as opposed to developing positions to meet the needs of our students. Today the City Colleges website has a position posted for the hiring of a District Director of Branding and Marketing. Is not the over two million dollars already spent on consulting firms sufficient to cover the District’s branding and marketing needs? When will this wasteful spending end?  Is this what it means to be REINVENTED?  Please put an end to the fiscal mismanagement, waste and patronage hiring that has become synonymous with the City Colleges of Chicago.

CREDENTIAL REVIEW AT THE CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO

Dear CCC Board of Trustees:

Recently the City Colleges of Chicago began a major credential review for all faculty. In many instances faculty were told to resubmit transcripts and to prove that they were qualified to teach the classes that they have been teaching for years. Some faculty were informed that now, all of the sudden they are not qualified to teach a particular course as a result of this district-wide credential review.

While we agree that credentials are extremely important in maintaining the academic integrity of our institutions, we believe that this requirement holds true for those who are given leadership positions at the District Office.

On July 14, 2010 the Chancellor announced that the CCC Board of Trustees had approved a change of title for Mr. Michael A. Mutz from Vice-Chancellor of Development (fundraising) to Vice-Chancellor of Client Services & Student Engagement.

Board Chairman and Trustees our question is simple. Who is conducting the credential reviews for the leadership at the District Office? Recently campuses were informed that the Student Services Departments would now be required to report directly to Mr. Mutz. The Student Services Department is the most integral facet in each college for the success of our students. Board members, as you are aware the Student Services Departments at the colleges includes the areas ofacademic advising, tutoring, registration, financial aid, disability access, veteran’s affairs and student government.  

Why has the Board of Trustees made the decision to entrust such vital components for the success of our 120,000 students to Mr. Mutz? What in Mr. Mutz’s credential review demonstrates his ability to ensure student success in these critical areas? As a director of fundraising for the City Colleges of Chicago was Mr. Mutz involved with student success on any level? Prior to his employment with the City Colleges of Chicago Mr. Mutz’s career included stints with TiVo(the company that sold video recording equipment), US Cellular, and AT&T. How does this prior work history make Mr. Mutz qualified to make decisions on important issues like tutoring, academic advising, retention, and remediation for the students of the City Colleges of Chicago?

Our students are not products to be sold or marketed. Our students are PEOPLE! People who rely on those with the power to make decisions to do so using sound judgment. We call on the Board of Trustees City Colleges of Chicago Community College District 508 to articulate the rationale for placing Mr. Mutz in this most important role.

Is Mr. Mutz’s appointment to this critical position based on his relationship with a powerful person at City Hall?

It Pays to be an Hourly Support Staff at the City Colleges of Chicago District Office

It Pays To Be an Hourly Support Staff At The

City Colleges of Chicago District Office

Craig Lynch

Then: hourly support staff at $72.12/hour.

Now: Vice Chancellor Information Technology/CIO $150,000

Alvin Bisarya

 Then: hourly support staff at $64.90/hour.

Now: Vice Chancellor-Strategy& Institutional Intelligence $135,000

Michael Daigler

 Then: hourly support staff at $57.69/hour.

Now: Vice Chancellor Development $120,000

Jamie Guzman

Then: hourly support staff at $52.88/hour.

Now: Chief Advisor to the Board of Trustees $110,000

Gregory King

Then: hourly support staff at $50.34/hour.

Now: District Director-Marketing & Public Relations $104,700

Josephine Mancilla

Then: hourly support staff at $40.87/hour

Now: Director-Branding & Marketing (Communications) $85,000

Yes, it pays to be an hourly support staff at District Office. It pays to the tune of

SEVEN HUNDRED AND FOUR THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS

Over a half million dollars spent for six salaries. How many of our campus clerical support staff jobs could have been saved? Does our clerical staff have a signed contract yet? Are these six people going to have any direct contact with our students? Are these six people going to increase our student retention rates? Will our graduation rates be increased as a result of these six positions?

Our campus support staff is extremely valuable to our faculty and students; they impact our students on a daily basis. Our clerical support staff does not have fancy titles like the former hourly support staff at the District Office, but the service that they provide at the seven colleges is irreplaceable. Give them the respect that they deserve. Give them a living wage and return the ones you terminated. It is clear that the District has the money to do so.

Stop the De Invention of the City Colleges of Chicago

The De Invention Vision:

To transform the City Colleges of Chicago into an institution that looks like, runs like and thinks like a BUSINESS. To supply viable employment opportunities for as many displaced workers from CPS, City Hall and the Civic Consulting Alliance as the CCC Board of Trustees will approve for hire.

The Goals of De Invention:

To Deceive - To use data to make a case for massive changes within the City Colleges of Chicago when in actuality the outcomes for CCC are not vastly different from most open enrollment community colleges across the country. 

To tell our students that their voice matters and that their voice will be heard

when in reality the students are used as pawns to advance an agenda that is not

in the interest of their success.

To Divide – Pitting colleague against colleague, promoting an atmosphere of mistrust and a work environment where fear and intimidation are the rule.

To Devalue – Our union rights in an effort to set the stage for what is now happening in Wisconsin to happen here in Illinois. To support a notion that colleagues with decades of experience now have nothing of value to offer the City Colleges and that the only thing that will "save" CCC is to hire new Presidents, Administrators and Vice Chancellors to advance the goals of the "Reinvention". To treat City College employees with disrespect after many have given decades of dedicated service only to be notified without warning that there service is no longer needed, that they should pack a box and then be escorted by security out of the building like a common criminal.

To Destroy – Our colleges by implementing a complete change in the organizational structure. Change that will result in CCC resembling a fortune 500 company rather than an institution of higher education. To remove the COMMUNITY from the community colleges, diluting the spirit and ethos that is unique to each college. To heavily invest in banding, logo changes and messaging that will have no impact on student retention or graduation rates.

Left unchallenged under the current leadership of Ms. Cheryl Hyman, a product of the City Colleges of Chicago, the value of higher education, the individuals who provide it and the students we serve are all at great risk. It is the 100^th Anniversary of CCC. We all should be celebrating our commitment and dedication to our students and not treated as if we need non-educators at District office to run our campuses.

It's time to stand in solidarity and support for all students faculty and staff.

An Open Letter to the City Colleges of Chicago Community College District 508 Board of Trustees

An Open Letter to the City Colleges of Chicago Community College District 508

Board of Trustees

Dear Chairman Cabrera:

As chairman of the of the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees, we the concerned citizens of the City of Chicago want to know when you plan to address the questionable hiring practices and fiscal mismanagement that have been allowed to take place since the appointment of Chancellor Cheryl Hyman.

As trustees the members of the board not only have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpaying citizens of Chicago, they are also responsible to the students, faculty and staff of the City Colleges of Chicago.  As Board Chairman it is your responsibility to conduct the Board’s public and executive session meetings and serve as the final signatory for all District 508 contracts, hires and policies.

Now more than ever there is less transparency with the inner workings of the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees. Less transparency leads to less accountability. While email announcements are sent out to employees of the city colleges on a regular basis, they fail to address the questions below. Chairman Cabrera, we the citizens of Chicago respectfully ask that you address the following:

1.      FISCAL MISMANAGEMENT

a.       Each of the seven colleges was required to cut 2.5 million dollars from their operating budgets. Where and for what purpose has that money been reallocated?

b.      The “Reinvention” describes the need to better serve our students yet hundreds of staff that directly supported our students was terminated in an effort to comply with Chancellor Hyman’s mandatory budget cuts. How does this advance the goals of the “Reinvention”?

c.       Why was it necessary to hire a “Chief Advisor to the Board of Trustees” at an annual salary of $110,000? Is this person, Jamie Guzman a friend or relative of someone on the Board? What kind of advising is being offered? Prior Boards did not require such “advising”, why do you? Why is it necessary to do a complete gut renovation of the City Colleges of Chicago Board Room? How does a more lavish Board room improve student retention and graduation rates?

d.      Why is there suddenly a need for a COO for the City Colleges of Chicago? The City Colleges has a Chancellor, a Provost/Chief Academic Officer and a Board Chairman. Why did the Board feel the need to approve the hire of a COO, Mr. Jim Frankenbach at an annual salary of $130,000? What is most concerning about the hiring of Mr. Frankenbach is that he most recently served on the Reinvention’s Capital Planning Advisory Council. Do you now reward members of the Reinvention committees with high paying positions based on their service to the Reinvention Initiative? This seems at best improper.

e.       On February 20, 2011 Chancellor Hyman sent out an all CCC email indicating that she would recommend that Mr. Donald Laackman be appointed President of Harold Washington College. As you well know, Mr. Laackman is a member of the Civic Consulting Alliance. The Reinvention website states that the Civic Consulting Alliance is providing Pro Bono support to the Reinvention Initiative.  A position of President at an annual salary of $140, 000 is not pro bono support, but rather quid pro quo. Again this is highly unethical and highly improper. As Board Chairman why are you failing to address these conflicts of interest? Which Civic Alliance Consulting member will be given the next Presidential Post? Lincoln Chandler? Brian Fabes?

f.       Why was it necessary for the Chancellor to hire a Chief of Staff, Ronald Anderson at an annual salary of $120, 000? The mayor has a Chief of Staff; the President of the United States has a Chief of Staff, why does the Chancellor of a community college district need a Chief of Staff.

g.       Why was it necessary for the Board to approve the lease of an eight passenger sport utility vehicle for Ms. Hyman’s personal use at a monthly note of $736.84? Many of the security vehicles on the campuses are out of service, needing repair or replacement. Campus security vehicles provide mobile patrols for the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors. Why is the Board failing to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors by failing to ensure that campus police have functioning patrol vehicles?

h.      Why would the Board trust Ms. Cheryl Hyman, an individual who has demonstrated that she is unable to manage her own personal finances (by filing bankruptcy on January 14, 2000) to manage the fiscal affairs of the District, which includes preparation of an annual budget which is approximately one half billion dollars, and evaluations of the District’s financial position as described in the Board Rules? Does the Board really feel comfortable taking budgetary recommendations that will impact one hundred and twenty thousand City Colleges of Chicago students from Ms. Cheryl Hyman?

2.      REDUCTION IN FORCE

a.       CCC Board Rule 3.19 states “The Board shall approve all reductions in force.  Reductions in force may be approved due to lack of funds, lack of work, contracting of functions, reorganizations or other reasons approved by the Board” Since none of the aforementioned conditions existed during the most recent Reduction In Force, what is the Board’s rationale for eliminating tutors, financial aid staffers, academic support staff, laboratory technicians and clerical support staff ?

b.      When will the next Reduction in Force occur and what will be the rationale?

c.       Why are staff at the District office having discussions about reducing our full time clerical support staff to part time status when they are the life blood of every college and so many have already been terminated unnecessarily?

3.      ACCOUNTABILITY

a.       Why did the Chancellor recommend for hire Mr. Laackman, of the Civic Consulting Alliance and state that he would not have to reapply for his position under the new Presidential Performance Measures, three full days before the Board of Trustees adopted the new Performance Measures for Presidents?

b.      As a Board how could you possibly support the dismissal of Six College Presidents, claim to do a national search utilizing an outside firm, yet allow the Chancellor to oversee this firm? Why is it that the Board would not allow the sitting Presidents to continue under the new Performance Measures and hold them accountable if they fail to meet them?

c.       Board Rule 2.2.3 states “The Board shall conduct an annual review of the performance of the Chancellor. Such review shall be conducted by such persons, designated by the Board, and in such manner, as the Board may deem appropriate”. Ms. Hyman has been Chancellor for a year now; when and how does the Board plan to conduct her performance review? What are Ms. Hyman’s Performance Measures? Will these measures be sent out in a public email? Will this be a transparent process or a process conducted in the safety of a closed Board session?

Chairman Cabrera, Illinois is currently considered one of the most corrupt states in the country. Please don’t contribute to that despicable legacy. Please address these concerns as many are wondering if the current Board of Trustees is nothing more than a rubber stamp for Ms. Hyman.

Please consider the fact that radical decisions to change the City Colleges of Chicago that are made at the District office will negatively impact our students. Change for the sake of change is not the solution. Education takes place in the classroom, those who have little appreciation for, or understanding of what happens in the classroom seldom make sound decisions.

Our students deserve better, our city deserves better.

Cc: Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel

      Chicago City Council

      Illinois State Representatives

      Illinois Community College Board

      Higher Learning Commission

      

Save The City Colleges of Chicago Unite in SOLIDARITY NOW

“REINVENTION”

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

“A Take Over of the City Colleges of Chicago is in Progress…”

Under the leadership of Chancellor Cheryl  Hyman and Chairman of the Board, Martin Cabrera and other business tycoons vetted by out going Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, a massive  take over of the City Colleges of Chicago is in progress. 

WHY?  A 500 Million dollar budget!!!

HOW? Under the cover of: “REINVENTION” and “STUDENT OUTCOMES!”

Evidence: City Colleges of Chicago Board Report and Chancellor Hyman’s Actions:

Ø $2.2 million dollars cut from each one of the 7 colleges via massive lay offs of staff (union and nonunion);

Ø Over $5 million in new hirers and appointments at the District office by Cheryl Hyman, board member business tycoons and other Mayor Daley appointees to the Board.  They were vetted for the massive take over;

Ø Ability to purchase items for as low as $1.00 has been stripped from the colleges and controlled by District Office;

Ø There is no definitive Reinvention Plans.  There is only a definition of reinvention and purpose.  What are all of the factors of reinvention? What does it entail?  Is Reinvention inclusive of any of the following:

·        Outsourcing Remediation? 80 to 90% of entering students need remediation;

·        Decreasing the number of faculty due to outsourcing;

·        Eradicating tenure process to assure faculty with seniority does not have rights when enrollment decreases due to outsourcing, when there will be a need to lay them off according to their contract;

·        Creating a workforce of all part-time personnel including faculty;

·        Renegotiation of faculty and adjunct contracts to terminate many rights that are not aligned with reinvention;

·        Eliminating open admission;

·        Changing all full-time clerical staff to part-time;

·        Replacing CCC staff with Major Daley’s people  (mayors office & CPS) before incoming mayor elect Rahm Emanuel takes office and replaces Mayor Daley’s people;

·        Eradicating all sitting Presidents to replace with business people under the auspices of reapplication process to meet the four new established goals.  

”REIVENTION,” It’s Not About Us or Our Students!  It’s about the upper class, the rich need to stay rich; the top is narrowing and now there is a need to push the middle class out.  These are middle class, lower middle class and lower class jobs they have and continue to come for. The interest is clearly to establish and assure a lower class.    Some Questions Need to be Asked and Answered:

1.     Why was each college mandated to cut 2.5 million from their budgets via layoffs and vacant positions that directly impacted student learning outcomes?

2.     Why were nursing programs removed from the predominantly minority colleges?

3.     Who are the following people (hired by Chancellor Hyman) and how do these positions impact retention, remediation, and student success? Why are their salaries so high and our colleagues with less salaries were terminated:

·        Jim Frankenbach, Chief Operating Officer (COO) $130,000

·        Jaime Guzman, Chief Advisor to Board of Trustees ($ 110,000)

·        Ronny C. Anderson, Chief of Staff ($ 120,000)

4.     How does an Internal Auditor($ 112, 074.11) Derrick Harden, move to Vice Chancellor, Human Resource & Staff Development ($120,000) then to Managing Director of Special Projects($120,000) now move to a current position of Interim President of Kennedy-King College while the President is occupying the seat but out on  Medical Leave? What are his qualifications for being a President – or an Interim President?  He is an auditor…

5.     Why is it that the majority dollars spent since Cherly Hymen’s appointment are not being allocated toward full time positions that directly impact Student Success? All tutoring positions added were part-time, on a one time grant. What happens when the grant is over? The majority of academic advisors hired are all part-time. Why? 

6.     Foreign Language is a requirement for city college students, why are we not hiring full-time faculty to teach these courses across the district?

7.     Why is Cheryl Hymen (CCC) hiring consultants to plan graduation and spend additional dollars to host it at a venue, when we have cut 2.5 million from budgets via layoffs? What about the people that lost their jobs?

8.     Why hasn’t our Union President Perry Buckley fought or spoken out against the layoffs of our fellow union colleagues and the one’s to come? According to the Crane Newspaper President Buckley stated he is “against what’s happening at City Colleges however we are willing to compromise by allowing faculty to run their departments.”  We already run our departments as department chairs.  But how will we continue to run our departments if the new standards the Presidents are going to be hired under directly impact the role of faculty success in the classroom.  If Presidents do not meet the standards what will they do? Fire Faculty?  Perry Buckley has been bought and sold and is looking to be re-elected.  Should he be?  Why hasn’t he raised his voice, our voices surrounding the past and current layoffs?  What about our district wide President of Faculty Council, she is on the District Reinvention task force (her services, silence and deceit paid for by Cheryl Hyman) Any and all  information discussed in our union and faculty council meetings,  she feeds to Cheryl Hyman.  Who is speaking on our behalf?  Have we been sold out and to what degree?

9.     What will happen to our next contract? Is Tenure on the line? According to Mike Davis former faculty member (at $65,000 now Associate Vice Chancellor at 104,700, far more that a 10% salary increase the board proposes for personnel in the system) “There is no need for tenure, we should do away with it!”

Why?

It’s clear – “REINVENTION,” IT’S NOT ABOUT U!

It’ about Cheryl Hyman and the Charge she is carrying out through unprofessionalism, intimidation, demoralization  and her inability to communicate using terms such as irregardless, revalent and bachorett  degree when she means regardless, relevant and  bachelor degree) under the auspices of Reinvention and student Outcomes…  And if you disagree with Cheryl Hyman, you will be cussed out and ultimately fired… Cheryl Hyman lacks professionalism, leadership and the experience necessary to ensure student success. If our Chancellor has difficulty with subject-verb agreement, the pronunciation of the most basic of words,   how can we expect our students to excel in their studies?  Cheryl Hyman must be removed…

REINVENTION, IT’S NOT ABOUT US!

“It’s About City Colleges of Chicago’s

500 Million Dollar Budget…”

It’s about $$$

Who will fight for the People’s Colleges?

 If our students can stand up so can we!