Working to Solve Campus Problem

On behalf of the Academic Senate of California State University, Dominguez Hills, I would like to acknowledge the article, “Dominguez President, Faculty Split,” (South Bayv section, Dec. 11) which discussed some of the problems and promises at our university. It is important to note that although our faculty may have differences with President Richard Butwell, we, the faculty, are working diligently to resolve those differences.

Collegiality, as endorsed by our Academic Senate, is a policy of the California State University system which has been jointly developed and approved by the Statewide Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees. It means full consultation with faculty on a variety of matters, including appointment, retention, tenure, promotion and budget. The faculty--traditionally by adoption of the 1940 standards of the American Assn. of University Professors, and more recently by the codification of the Higher Education Employees Relations Act--have primary responsibility for curriculum, evaluation of students and other academically related issues. We are striving, as a faculty, to meet our obligations on all of these issues and want to work collegially with President Butwell to make it easier for him to meet his responsibilities as well.

Often, a problem has to get worse before it gets better; and now that this matter has been made public--which, by the way, was not the Academic Senate’s intent nor its doing--perhaps a first step has been taken to motivate us to resolve our internal differences on this campus.

We agree completely with President Butwell that “we have an absolutely splendid university, good facilities and a super teaching staff (and) we need to work together to get that message out to as many people as possible.” As chair of the Academic Senate, I intend to use my good offices to further the collegial process and, at the same time, to meet the university’s goal of serving the students in the most effective way possible.

ELLEN GERRY

Chair, Academic Senate

California State University,

Dominguez Hills