November 2007 Articles
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Why Can't Negotiations Tell Us Anything? by Jackie McGrath
H.O.M.E. Poll Results by Tom Tipton
Construction II: The Process & the Players by Richard Jarman
T-Squares for Teachers by Tom Tallman
Rafael Vera and the Art of Multitasking by Marina Kuchinski
Hubbard Braves Record Heat to Finish Chicago Marathon by Tom Tipton
Learning Communities at COD by Jim Allen
Letter to the Editor from Chuck Boone
Why Can't the Negotiations Team Tell Us Anything? by Jackie McGrath
It is a perennial question, raised by generation after generation of CODFA members (new and
veteran alike): Why haven't we heard anything? As negotiations stretch out over summer and
fall, seeping into the cold winter months, workers dream of resolution and news, hoping to hear good
news, acceptable news, any news at all! Our negotiating team, of course, is hard at work, and
while their silence on all negotiation matters still stands, I had an opportunity to interview
Carolyn Dockus about this omnipresent mystery.
Carolyn, who began working as professor of chemistry at COD in 1989, assured me that "The negotiation team will continue to update the faculty via email and give out as much information as possible as soon as possible." She added that collectively, the negotiations team appreciates all its faculty support and the support provided by the Social Committee, Phyllis Goodman, Nancy Stanko, and Chris Thielman. Dockus added, parenthetically, "This is not a plea for more food! We have been well fed."
According to Carolyn, who consulted with other members of the team in preparation for this story, "it is important that the people on both sides of the table can represent their constituencies and speak frankly to each other about each issue without outside influences. Many times the negotiation process is uneven and even contentious as it proceeds. If we were to report all the ups and downs, it could give a false idea of what the final product will look like."
Carolyn explained that early in the process, CODFA and the Board team negotiated rules that limit communication to constituency updates containing only general information until the whole contract is approved (or we begin mediation). Each team is allowed to provide general updates to members (CODFA does this through email), but Faculty Members and Administration cannot discuss specific issues directly with each other's constituencies.
Carolyn added, "It is assumed that everyone on both sides will behave according to the rules." I asked Carolyn if there were repercussions, should an individual violate those rules, and she explained that "Breaking the ground rules certainly brings the honor and trustworthiness of the people involved into question and could be construed as bargaining in bad faith. Generally, these breaches are handled by conversations at the bargaining table."
Certainly, as we know from periodic updates, the process is ongoing. Carolyn explained, however, that while tentative agreements (known as TA's in negotiations lingo) "may be reached on an issue by issue basis, they all remain tentative until the entire contract is agreed to. It has always been the practice at COD that once an agreement is reached on the entire contract, all details are released to members and forums are held before a ratification vote is taken. Statements to the public are handled by the CODFA President."
Meanwhile, Dockus added that "We are appreciative of the faculty not discussing negotiation issues on email and ask that we all continue that practice."
Silence is golden, as they say, so we'll all keep our fingers crossed and root for the team. Silently.
Want to respond to this? Go to Faculty Advocate Newsletter Discussions, an area of COD's faculty discussion board, and post your comments!
H.O.M.E. Poll Results by Tom Tipton
We asked. "Should H.O.M.E. and groups like it be allowed an exhibit table in the SRC hallway?" You answered. And it's a tie. A dead-even, 50/50 tie.
YES = 25 NO = 25 1
But the poll showed much more than that curiously unlikely result. Though many of the responses were just plain yes or no, many respondents offered explanations for their answers. Some of those explanations made a yes sound more like a no, or a no sound more like a yes. Many respondents showed their own internal struggle with these deeply complex issues, and great understanding of the other view. Several pointed out the shortcomings of a yes or no question to respond to such complex issues (see the letter to the editor in this issue). If the poll is any indication, free speech and diversity are both deeply valued by this faculty. In short, the poll showed the faculty to be academics in their thinking, warm hearted in their respect for others, struggling to do what is right.
In all about 15% of the full time faculty responded to the poll, indicating that it was an issue that stirred significant interest. We can only speculate how accurately the poll results reflect the faculty as a whole.
1One no vote was not tabulated because it was past the deadline. One vote was neither a yes nor a no. One faculty member inadverntently voted no twice, and so was only counted once.
Tell us what you think... Would you like to see more polls like this in the future? Would you like questions with more options? Would you like to suggest a poll question yourself? Send us an email at facultyadvocate@gmail.com.
Construction II: The Process & the Players by Richard Jarman
The steel framework taking shape to the west of the SRC now resembles evermore closely the
misty optimistic renditions of the HCNS building shown in the brochures. According to the
archives of the FMP Board Meetings, the scheduled completion date is now 12/22/08. When it
actually opens for business is of less certainty.
But how did it get to be what it is, and who are all the players in the game? It has surely been for this building a long and somewhat tortuous path, beset with doubts, detours, and deviations. Even as I joined this vaunted faculty in the fall of 2003, the new science building was a subject of anticipation as we wrestled in the chemistry labs with rusting and decaying facilities. Leaving aside the assorted flirtations with alternative venues for the natural sciences, such as the HCNS being entirely HC sans NS, the current configuration was finally decided upon in mid-2005, if memory serves.
The FMP pages on the COD website provide some background about the process used to make a building. The seven (the perfect number) stages of the process begin with Programming, followed by Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Bidding, Construction, and finally Occupancy. I think it is fair to say we are now in the Construction Phase. Programming involves creation of a committee of "stakeholders" (a ghastly term so beloved by the educational establishment). At some stage the architect is selected, which in this case is Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) (my research did not uncover exactly when that occurred), and the schematic designs are produced.
The schematics and estimated costs are then moved for approval into the Design Development phase; which for this project occurred around April of 2006. All the nitty-gritty tiresome details are then hammered out, balancing the wants and needs of the future occupants with the available budget; or should we say rendering those wants and needs subservient to it? Will, for example, there be light switches just where you want them in the classroom or, in the interests of costs are they to be found thirty feet away? It is a slightly grey area in this business as to who is really doing whose bidding. You might think that we, the college, being the customer, should have the architect do our bidding. The architects, on the other hand, blessed with the innate talents of grand design and sophistication, perhaps think they know best.
At some stage the construction manager gets into the act, and in July 2006, Gilbane auditioned for the part. And then there is commissioning, for which SSRCx, LLC was selected in September 2006 for about $200,000. We are still not done, for here comes the Rise Group in early 2007 as some kind of grand overseer for the various FMP projects.
The HCNS budget was set in July 2006 at about $60 million. Even with change orders flying around like confetti at times, giving the appearance of wanton waste, the budget is still around $60.2 million. There is even some left over for optional projects like a greenhouse. I intend to profile some of the companies involved in the HCNS in future articles.
T-Squares for Teachers by Tom Tallman
Teaching Squares is a faculty-initiated concept in which four professors are grouped together
and each visits the other three teachers during the term. The idea is to not "evaluate" per se,
but to experience a different classroom environment in a different curricular area and respond to
it, eventually following up with the other members of your square to discuss differences in
approaches, observations, and hopefully have a few laughs. Though we haven't had that meeting yet,
I envision it including appetizers and cocktails.
My first experience with teaching squares was on the first of October, visiting Elizabeth Mares' Elementary Spanish 1101 class, and it left me truly energized.
Scheduled to begin at noon in the third floor of the SRC, the class session got off to a strange start, though it's a situation to which any faculty member can relate: Elizabeth had an injured ankle, so had asked for a room closer to her office. A sign went up outside of SRC 3620, but wasn't dated, so the students understandably thought that it had been there for a few days and ignored it. Not until Elizabeth made a phone call and had somebody go to the room in the SRC did the students find out for sure that the day's class had been moved to an IC classroom next to the tunnel to the Arts Center.
The students made their way to the IC room en masse, and the session began; it was apparent immediately that the students and Elizabeth had created the kind of classroom environment where a little confusion over where class was to be held was simply part of an ongoing conversation about how we live, things - like ankle injuries - over which we have little control, and what we like to do on the weekends. It all dovetailed so seamlessly with the chapter in the Spanish textbook that it could have been written into the syllabus that way.
When it came for one-on-one conversations regarding things we do on the weekend, the little village Elizabeth and the students have created came to life, with laughter, questions, furious note-taking and a constant buzz; my kind of atmosphere! The class conversation that followed centered around everything from where they shop to what kind of music and clubs the people in the class prefer.
The fact that even elementary Spanish was interjected with laughter and spontaneity was a jolt of energy, and I really did leave the classroom with a great feeling. We all like to think that we've cornered the market on making the classroom - physical and otherwise - a dynamic place, but watching a colleague do it in her own way, using techniques and communication tools that are a reflection of her personality, is truly an eye-opener and a reminder of the diversity that makes our faculty collectively outstanding. I'm sure the ankle injury wasn't part of the plan, but the one-hour demonstration Elizabeth Mares gave of how life and learning are connected sold me on the idea of teaching squares and fired me up for my two remaining class visits.
Tallman photo by Don Hood.
Rafael Vera and the Art of Multitasking by Marina Kuchinski
"I'm hyperactive and don't sleep very much," says Rafael Vera. Rafael began teaching part-time
in the art department in the Fall of 2005. Since his arrival, he has developed and
taught new
courses, including Portfolio Development, Painting Abstraction, and Landscape Painting. In addition
to teaching, Rafael is also an active practicing artist. He has recently exhibited in a group show
at the Chicago Art Sources Gallery. "It felt like a mini solo show because I exhibited seven
paintings in the gallery," he says.
Rafael's greatest passion is teaching. "I love people and love being surrounded by people. I would have taught more classes if I could," he says. The Portfolio Development course has fulfilled a need among many art students. In most art programs, students move through the curriculum and complete a degree without any idea about what to do next. Even when they have plans, they do not necessarily know how to apply for graduate schools, art jobs, exhibitions, grants, residencies or teaching positions. Rafael likes to begin the course by asking his students the following questions: "Why did you choose to be an artist?" and "What are your plans?" Since some of the students do not have answers, Rafael introduces a wide range of possibilities, while sharing his own experiences and passion for art.
The Portfolio Development class covers an overview of opportunities available in art, and provides guidance on resume writing, photographic documentation of work, applications to undergraduate and graduate schools, choice of an art program at a college or university, exhibition proposal writing and more. The highlights of the class were the visiting artists that Rafael invited. They talked with the students about their experiences and shared their insights. Most of them are young, emerging artists who make art in addition to holding an art-related job, including restoration, mural painting, gallery management, and teaching. Another visiting speaker was a professional photographer who gave a demonstration on taking photographs of two and three-dimensional work for a portfolio. In order to enhance awareness in contemporary art practices and fluency in the critique process, Rafael arranged visits to Chicago galleries and museums with the class. "Talking about art is one thing. Seeing it in an actual space is a whole different experience," he says. Additional field trips included visits to several BFA and MFA programs in Chicago where students became familiar with various art departments, faculty and facilities. For the final project, the students designed their own web page or blog as a digital portfolio they will use for application to art programs and exhibitions.
Rafael has been developing two bodies of work for the past few years. The first one uses power tools as subject matter and deals with the obsession of the "do it yourself culture." As a fairly recent home owner, Rafael has been using various power tools such as drills and saws to renovate and upgrade the house he and his wife bought four years ago. "I am fascinated by their shapes and the power they project. That led me to explore their formal and metaphorical meaning." The process of making the work includes photographing the power tools, simplifying the photos using Photoshop, and then painting the abstracted image with acrylic on canvas.
The second body of work is non-representational abstract paintings inspired by clouds and grids in which the mechanical and geometric elements are juxtaposed with organic and amorphous shapes. The painting process involves overlapping seven layers of transparencies to achieve the desired level of depth.
"I enjoy showing my paintings more than making them because then I can have a discourse about my work," Rafael says. He believes that learning takes place through discussions, and in those discussions, he is no less of a student than anyone else.
Image of "Stack of Paintings," by Rafael Vera, Acrylic / canvas 2003.
Hubbard Braves Record Heat to Finish Chicago Marathon by Tom Tipton
If you see Danica Hubbard walking around campus these days proudly wearing her Chicago Marathon
jacket, you might never guess what a struggle it was for her to cross that finish line.
Danica had
the unfortunate experience of running in the hottest Chicago Marathon ever, the temperatures
reaching a high of 88 during the race. To make matters worse, water and Gatorade™ stations ran out
by the time Danica reached them. It wasn't until the water station at mile 10 that Danica finally
had a chance to rehydrate, and then only sporadically again after that.
Sometime after Danica was 18 miles into the race she and other runners were greeted by a police officer with a bullhorn announcing that the race was over; they were running at their own risk, and there was no more water available. The runners were ordered to walk and offered busses to take them to the finish line.
Danica kept going, driven by the memory of her mother. At mile 24 she began to run again. Her daughters joined her as she crossed the finish line.
Danica raised a total of $1,775 from her sponsors for the American Cancer Society by running this marathon.
Other Faculty Feats... Brenda Alberico has ridden in two century (100 miles) bicycle rides and has also ridden from Joliet to Springfield, IL, and back and Joliet to Galena and back in 6 days (approximately 400 miles). Katie Willenborg has run the Chicago Marathon and has finished within the top 4% of female finishers at the Indy Half.
Learning Communities at COD: Making the Connections between Students, Faculty, and Curricula by Jim Allen
You've seen the brochures or posters around campus; you've noticed TLC courses on this subject as well.
A few of you might even recall that Dr. Chand made expanding them an
institutional initiative for the
2005 - 2006 academic year. So just what is a Learning Community? While this article won't tell you
everything you ever wanted to know about Learning Communities but were afraid to ask, it will provide you
with some insights into what learning communities are, how they can be beneficial to both students and
faculty, and how learning communities have been and can be developed at COD.
First, what is a learning community? According to the Learning Communities National Resource Center, a learning community (or LC) can be described as follows: In higher education, curricular learning communities are classes that are linked or clustered during an academic term, often around an interdisciplinary theme, and enroll a common cohort of students. A variety of approaches are used to build these learning communities, with all intended to restructure the students' time, credit, and learning experiences to build community among students, between students and their teachers, and among faculty members and disciplines.
At COD, two types of LCs appear to be most common:
- Programs of two or more classes linked thematically or by content, which a cohort of students takes together and the faculty plan collaboratively. At COD, we have a variety of such programs, such as the Honors seminar courses, The Business Simulation program (taught by Mike Drafke, Sonny Smith, and others), and the Integrated Engineering Technology program (taught by Branislav Rosul, Jim Allen, Lauren Morgan, Mary Hill, and Dave Fazzini).
- Programs of coursework that are team-taught by faculty members, where the coursework is embedded in an integrated program of study. COD has offered a number of such learning communities through the Field and Coordinated Studies program, including the English Language Community courses (taught by Tia Greenfield and Irene O'Connor) and such specialty courses as "Decision 2006", which integrates English, Speech and Political Science courses (taught by Jim Allen, Chris Goergen, and Lauren Morgan).
The benefits of learning communities to both faculty and students have been documented by a number of researchers over the years, particularly through the efforts of the National Learning Communities Project, part of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, sponsored by Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. According to their data, the documented benefits of LCs for students include a greater understanding and appreciation of issues which cross curricular boundaries, which enhances critical thinking skills; greater active, collaborative, and cooperative learning; and a stronger sense of community, from participation in the cohort to engagement with the greater community, through service learning or other civic discussion and action. For the faculty and institution as a whole, the benefits include increased student retention and achievement, increased student engagement in both the learning process and the institution, and opportunities for unique curriculum development and implementation, particularly in helping to enhance students' basic skills while engaging them in the general education curriculum.
In an effort to identify and promote LCs more effectively across the college, in 2004, the Learning Communities Committee was formed, comprised of faculty, classified staff, and administrators involved with LCs at COD. This committee has worked to identify the variety of LCs offered at COD, explore and promote faculty development opportunities, and share practices and challenges of creating and running LC courses at our college. Current faculty members include Jim Allen (chair), Lauren Morgan, Mary Anderson, Bob Dixon-Kolar, Ellen P. K. Johnson, Marty Attiyeh, Joyce Fletcher, Pat Puccio, Mike Drafke, and John Stasinopolus.
In 2006, members of the committee, along with other faculty and administrators, brought learning communities to the college's accreditation process through the AQIP process, particularly addressing goals related to QIP #6, Engaging Student Learning. To date this team has assessed student engagement in LC and non-LC courses (you can view preliminary data) and is currently involved in assessing the impact LCs have on student retention, persistence, and learning outcomes. Faculty members of the current 6B team are Jim Allen (chair), Marty Attiyeh, Ken Grey, and Lori Drummer.
In short, perhaps the greatest benefit for both faculty and students alike is fostering an invigorated sense of "community". At an institution as large as COD, it can be a real challenge for both our students and faculty to find and realize a real sense of "community" at this community college. Through the use of learning communities, connections between student to student, student and faculty member, and faculty to faculty can be created, strengthened, and maintained long after the course is completed. If you'd like more information about LCs at COD, see the Learning Communities page at COD's website.
Letter to the Editor from Chuck Boone
Dear Faculty Advocate:
In response to your recent email request soliciting participation in a poll, I find that I cannot
participate simply because the question is unclear. You asked, "Do you believe that
H.O.M.E. and
organizations like it should be allowed to have an exhibit table in the SRC/BIC hallway?"
The question assumes the populace
- knows what HOME is. (Viewing their website doesn't do much to change that fact. It does demonstrate poor writing skills, a complete lack of design skills, a propensity to bombastic claims, confirmation that they think homosexuality is "sin" or worse if possible, and that they hold a very legalistic approach to Christian writings.)
- knows what transpired to generate this issue (other than the hearsay email posted by one faculty member and the subsequent rants of others). The communications I have had suggest that the group engages those who engage them. At no point has their literature been circulated to the faculty for review.
- can agree upon the "common" elements that comprise your collective "or organizations like it."
More disturbing, though, is the fact that this question is being raised without addressing the misguided notion that "disagreement or dispute" is "hate." Therein lays a very troublesome, fraudulent assumption.
Is it to be understood that the poll is a vote on banning ignorant speech, banning poor communication skills, banning free speech on this social issue, banning religious expression, banning disagreement, or... ?
We are capable of framing questions in a much clearer manner than this.
Chuck Boone, Professor of Art
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis (or, dubiis) libertas, in utrisque (or, omnibus)
caritas." --RUPERTUS MELDENIUS 1627
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