Two campuses, two academic senates?

By: BRIAN ECKHOUSE - Staff Writer | Monday, November 7, 2005 9:05 PM PST ∞

MENIFEE ---- Since 1990, Mt. San Jacinto College has had two campuses under the governance of one academic senate.

But if the faculty members making up the senate have their way, the body will be broken into two so that both the San Jacinto and Menifee campuses would have their own senates.

The college board of trustees is scheduled to vote on the idea in its meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 200 at the San Jacinto campus, 1499 N. State St.

The elected members of the senate include both full-time and associate staff instructors at the Menifee and San Jacinto campuses. The senate presides over curriculum, budget allocation processes and administrative evaluation.

The campuses' differences ---- particularly their respective student needs ---- have become increasingly difficult for the senate to reconcile, said Bob Rockwell, a past senate president.

"We found we had to negotiate ... along site lines," said Rockwell, a history professor at the San Jacinto campus.

So in 2000, the senate created two site councils, one for each campus.

In that structure, the leaders of each site council would represent that campus on the collegewide executive senate, Rockwell said. He added that it allowed the senate presidency to alternate between campuses.

"It was an interim solution," Rockwell said.

Some professors continued to argue that Menifee deserves its own senate because of its larger size and distinct demographics.

"It will allow the distinctions in the needs of our students," said Rockwell, who would prefer that the Menifee campus be its own college.

Current senate President Jim Davis, who strongly supports two distinct academic senates, noted that a senate split "would not mean two separate colleges."

In four elections, two at each site, voting faculty members "overwhelmingly" supported the senate split, Davis said. The matter now proceeds to the Board of Trustees for a vote.

Sterling Roulette, president of the San Jacinto site council, couldn't help but laugh at Davis' commentary on the elections. He said Menifee professors initiated discussions of a split, and then campaigned long and hard for it ---- all while their counterparts at the San Jacinto campus preferred the status quo.

Only recently did the faculty at San Jacinto cave, he added.

"It's like a divorce where one person wants the divorce, and the other doesn't, but eventually they both want it," Roulette said.

Roulette said he supports the senate split "because of the amount of acrimony and bitterness that was part of the divide. Our hope is that now we can rebuild the bridge."

Davis said four issues specific to the Menifee campus could be better addressed with its own senate. Those issues are the possibility of a new MSJC campus in nearby Wildomar, campus funding, area growth and site size.

Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com.

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