Following the candidate forum, earlier in the week, nepotism is clearly the issue in the election for two seats on the John A. Logan College Board of Trustees. After candidate Mike Vanhorn specifically, and repeatedly, brought the issue up, especially citing board member Don Brewer and his son, who is the Director of Human Resources, candidate Russell Williams has come out saying the BOT needs to stop involving itself in staff hires.
Williams was quoted in today's Southern Illinoisan as saying, "“This is poor board governance, being involved in the hiring process for all employees at Logan.... This leads to appearances and accusations of nepotism and it’s time that this stops at JALC."
Here's the full article:
ReplyDeleteWilliams Calls for Change on JALC Board
A challenger for a seat on the John A. Logan College Board of Trustees is calling for a change in board hiring policy.
Russell Williams of Marion says the JALC Board needs to give up its long-held authority and influence in the hiring process.
“This is poor board governance, being involved in the hiring process for all employees at Logan,” Williams said. “This leads to appearances and accusations of nepotism and it's time that this stops at JALC. “
“John A. Logan College has grown into a complex and powerful higher education institution in our region but its board still operates like it is a small school,” he said. “The policy and practice of passing all employee hires through the closed-door sessions of the board meetings is not sustaining the trust of the community, whom the board serves and is accountable to. It's time for a change.
“The board hires a president and vice-presidents to oversee the operations of the college, and then holds the administration accountable for doing so,” he said. “The board needs to stop meddling in day-to-day operations, including hiring lower-level employees.”
Williams believes that the college administrators should have the authority and autonomy to make hiring decisions.
“This board will never be free from appearances and accusations of nepotism and unethical pay-raises until they make themselves exempt from hiring,” he said adding that the board needs to be more transparent to their own employees and more accountable to the community.
“Is this style of leadership what we want to model to our next generation?” he asked. “Staff, faculty, and students know this goes on at the college, and the board is duplicating bad governance in our younger, developing, leaders. This is old school and authoritative management and it's outdated for the size and complexity of the college. The board has never moved from these early development stage policies and practices.
“Governance, strategic oversight, and fiduciary responsibilities such as budget approval and fundraising, are the roles of the board. This board forfeits its chances to be objective and trusted because it’s involved in day-to-day operations. How can the trustees be strategic if they are involved in the administrators' role of hiring and operations?
“There's a perceived lack of trust during union contract negotiations, employee policy revisions, and budget approval when the board is involved in hiring and other daily operations, Williams said. “That's a major issue for this board and it's relationship with employees and the broader community.”
Williams believes that if the board will address this issue and make the necessary changes from management to proper governance, then they can better focus on the college's mission, vision, and educational goals.
“There is a major transformation in higher education coming and this time needs to be utilized well to prepare for it,” he said. “Criticism of the JALC trustees in regard to their hiring policy and practices has plagued this board for decades. I think the public supports this change in board policy, and voters can take action by electing new leadership in the April 9th election. “
Williams is a candidate for the John A Logan College Board of Trustees, a part-time instructor at John A. Logan College, and director of the Brehm School Foundation in Carbondale. He also consults and trains organizations in the areas of board development, governance, and fundraising.
The JALC accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, has been aware of the ethical lapses of this Board for several years. Go to the JALC website, click on "Accreditation," and scroll down to see documents related to the HLC's continued monitoring of the situation. It's definitely time for a change.
ReplyDeleteWhere was candidate Williams opinions on the hiring policies at Logan when he was in public at the forum? Hmmmm. we are glad he jumped on the bandwagon but why didn't he do it at the forum--publicly instead of a news release to the Southern Illinoisan
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