Questions about first amendment freedom of speech and College policy stopping Board members from talking with staff and faculty appear to clash; faculty and Board have no way to interact in a meaningful way
There was a lot of discussion during Monday’s Board retreat about the ability of Governing Board members to obtain information of any kind from the College faculty and staff. Governing Board member Paul Chevalier argued there should be greater freedom among Board members to obtain information from sources other than the president. His view received at best a mild reception.
Although not always that clear, it appears that the bottom line is that under Governing Board policy its members may not talk about the college, ever, with a member of the staff or faculty outside a Board meeting. The result is that information received by a Board member is tightly controlled and very formal. Direct communication between the faculty and the governing board is typically ritualized, infrequent, and limited to specific agenda items during a Board meeting.
Under existing policy, it appears that any and all information must come to the Board from the President’s office. This means that at informal gatherings of any kind, even minor questions about the College may not be asked when a Board member is chatting with a member of staff or faculty.
It appears possible that a staff or faculty member could be disciplined by the Administration if he or she engaged in discussion with a Governing Board member about the College.
In 2013, an article by Hans-Joerg Tiede of the American Association of University Professors observed the following:
“College and university governance works best when every constituency within the institution has a clear understanding of its role with respect to the other constituencies. It works best when communication among the governing board, the administration, and the faculty (not to mention the staff and students) is regular, open, and honest. Too often the president serves as the sole conduit for the governing board and the faculty to communicate with each other. While this practice may be efficient, it rarely enhances understanding between governing boards and faculties.”
He goes on to write that:
“A report on faculty-board communication issued by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) in 2009, Faculty, Governing Boards, and Institutional Governance, recommends that, in order to `enhance mutual understanding and respect,’ institutions should provide `opportunities for faculty and trustees to interact in meaningful ways, in formal as well as informal settings.’”
It is clear that the policy on the Yavapai Community College Governing Board is not going in that direction.