Last minute replacements appear to be Dr. Marylou Mercado and Provost Dr. Doug Berry; unclear how they will respond to Mayor’s questions or whether they will explain the response from Hernandez
Yavapai Community College appeared miffed, agitated, and offended by the audacity of being asked in a premeeting email to respond to specific questions regarding its operations at the upcoming October 9 Sedona City Council meeting. The questions, sent by Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow, seemed to strike a nerve. According to the College, its frustration and refusal to answer harken back to a previous encounter in September 2021, when a similar line of questioning allegedly provoked a strong reaction.
In an effort to assist Sedona/Verde Valley Dean Dr. Del Genio and Communications Director Richard Hernandez in preparing for their presentation, Mayor Jablow sent Hernandez a list of ten potential questions he might raise during the October 9 meeting. (See questions below.) Hernandez’s response, which came swiftly and could easily be interpreted as angry, frustrated, or even petulant, left little room for doubt. (See response below.)
In his correspondence, Hernandez bluntly informed the mayor that neither he nor Dr. Del Genio would attend the upcoming Council session. He made it clear that he was “not interested” in a repeat of the College’s last appearance before the Council in September 2021. Hernandez claimed that the Council’s behavior and questioning during that 2021 meeting were inappropriate for a public forum. He even suggested a private meeting involving only the mayor, the council, and select staff, raising concerns about whether this proposal was an attempt to bypass public scrutiny.
The College has yet to clarify whether Dr. Del Genio shares Hernandez’s position. All inquiries by the Blog for further information have been directed to the public relations department, which has a long-standing reputation for withholding information.
As of the latest update, Yavapai Community College has assigned Dr. Marylou Mercado, Vice President of Workforce Development & Health Sciences, and Dr. Doug Berry, the Provost, to represent the College at the October 9 Council meeting. Whether they will avoid answering the mayor’s questions remains to be seen.
Below is a copy of the note sent to the Sedona Mayor by the Mr Hernandez on behalf of the Community College rejecting the offer to appear because of the questions:
Below is a copy of the questions Mayor Jablow sent as a courtesy to the College prior to the meeting suggesting they might be raised at the session:
The Yavapai Community College Police Department released its annual safety and security report in October, revealing minimal criminal activity leading to arrests across both campuses and four centers during the reporting period.
The Yavapai Community College Governing Board convened for its first public meeting since May 2024 on September 24. However, during President Dr. Lisa Rhine’s report to the Board, scant information was shared regarding past and present student enrollment figures for the Sedona and Verde Valley campuses.
The Patty McMullen-Mikles Art Gallery on the Verde Valley Campus of Yavapai Community College will feature and exhibit of Wabi-Sabi artwork that is imperfect, irregular or asymmetrical. Wabi-Sabi is the mindset of accepting and finding beauty in the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.
Yavapai Community College is addressing the significant issue of food insecurity among its students. One key initiative was the establishment of a Food Pantry on the Prescott Campus in 2019. This past academic year the Food Pantry served 897 students and their family members. The pantry is available to any student enrolled in at least 3 credit hours who is facing food insecurity.
The Yavapai Community College District Governing Board will hold its first public meeting since May 2024 at the Rock House on the Prescott Campus on Tuesday, September 24. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will run an estimated three hours. It will be live-streamed on YouTube.