It's
hard to believe that Assembly Bill 1725, which
effected changes in community college governance
that moved us out of the K-12
model and into one more befitting an institution
of higher education, was signed into law
twenty years ago. Given the sweeping changes
of AB1725 and the state of the economy
these days, it's hard to envision
such a bill today even making its way out
of the appropriations committee. However,
AB1725 made it through, providing for California
community college faculty statutory rights
and responsibilities in participation in
governance that are unique to community
colleges in this nation.
Not surprisingly, upholding the principles
of AB1725, now largely incorporated into
the Education Code, is a constant challenge.
These principles are largely founded on consultation
and collegiality, and all of us know how
much work it takes to consult and discuss
and remain open to more discussion. It takes
a lot of work to involve everyone who will
be affected by a decision, and it's
often hard to deal with how slow things sometimes
work in the collegial consultation process.
These principles are also often poorly understood
by administrators who come to California
from other states and other community college
systems, as evinced by accreditation reports
over the last twenty years. As a result,
twenty years on, providing leadership training
in the statutes and regulations brought about
thanks to AB1725 is still a priority of the
Academic Senate.
At the Fall Plenary Session,
we plan to celebrate participatory governance
with general sessions
that look at how AB1725 came out, what
AB1725 means to leadership today, and where
the
California community colleges should be
headed in the future. We couple these sessions
with
a range of breakouts, beginning with basics
such as running an effective senate, taking
advantage of Senate resources, and getting
involved on a state level. We will also
have breakouts to discuss significant issues
that
are under our purview thanks to AB1725 defining
associate degrees, proposing changes to
the disciplines list, and discussing a
timeline
for remediation of students with basic
skills needs, to name a few.
AB1725 brought about
a new era in California community colleges,
and today, community
college faculty in California have garnered
a level of respect and demonstrate a level
of quality and commitment equal to our
colleagues in four-year institutions. In
spite of the
on-going challenges to achieving well-functioning
participatory governance at all of our
110 community colleges, we cannot but help
celebrating
the fact that terms such as participatory
governance, academic and professional
matters, and collegial consultation are
part of our everyday vocabulary.
I look forward to seeing you in downtown
Los Angeles to Celebrate Participatory
Governance: Twenty Years after AB1725.
Mark Wade Lieu, President
Academic Senate for California Community
Colleges
