College of the Desert’s faculty is considering calling for a vote of no confidence against the school’s incoming president and three members of the trustees, saying they feel the board dismissed the opinions of the faculty in choosing the next leader.
“There is quite a bit of anger on the part of the faculty. We feel we were not listened to at all,” Ed Reed, a speech professor who has been with the college for 15 years, told The Desert Sun on Friday.
The board voted 3-2 on July 15 to appoint Martha Garcia, leader of Imperial Valley College, over longtime COD administrator Annebelle Nery, who had the support of a vocal group of faculty members, to be the College of the Desert’s eighth president/superintendent,
College of the Desert selects Martha Garcia as new president
The College of the Desert selected Martha Garcia, who is the current leader of Imperial Valley College, as its new president and superintendent on Thursday despite widespread support among faculty for a longtime COD official who also was a finalist for the position.
Garcia, who has spent the past 22 years at Imperial Valley College and served as its first female leader, will be the eighth president of the College of the Desert. Her start date is Aug. 1.
Board members approved the appointment by a 3-2 vote during the college s monthly trustee s meeting on Thursday, with board chair Aurora Wilson, vice-chair Ruben Perez and trustee Bea Gonzalez in support and board members Fred Jandt and Bonnie Stefan opposed.
College of the Desert exploring adding campus in city of Coachella desertsun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from desertsun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The commission makes decisions and recommendations regarding development and land-use proposals.
The appointment terms for the seats representing supervisorial districts one, four and five, along with an at-large seat, all expired last month. The seats have been held by Ryan Relei, Mark Banks, Charlotte Frazier and Dick Pland.
New District One Supervisor David Goldemberg nominated Jerry Morrow for his district’s seat, Supervisor Kathleen Haff recommended Catherine Santa Maria for District Four, and Supervisor Jaron Brandon proposed Linda Emerson for District Five. There was consensus among the board to allow the individual supervisors to pick the appointments for their districts.