Staff Freeze May Bring Gallery End

In a move to dramatize the need for paid, full-time staff members at Saddleback College Art Gallery, the college art faculty voted this week to close the gallery Dec. 7 if the college does not fill a long-vacant position.

Because of a hiring freeze in effect for the last 20 months, the position of gallery specialist--the person responsible for shipping, crating and installing works of art--has been vacant since the resignation of Karene Gould nearly two years ago.

The gallery’s only other staff member is director Karen Collins. A part-time instructor of art installation and display at the college, she works as a volunteer at the gallery, as do her students.

A part of the college since it opened in 1967, the gallery has an annual budget of about $45,000, drawn from the college’s general fund, student fees and private donations.

Over the years, exhibitions have included a retrospective of the work of Bay Area sculptor Stephen de Staebler and many shows of work by minority artists from Southern California.

Greg Bishopp, dean of fine arts and communications, said Wednesday that he could not comment on whether the department’s strategy was “appropriate” but said he supports the gallery program and the filling of the position.

“The gallery is . . . an integral part of the academic program,” Bishopp said. “The feeling of the faculty is that the college has taken the operation of the gallery for granted. We can’t run an important instructional program on a volunteer basis.”

Still, the outlook is dim right now, he conceded, given that about 20 other nonacademic positions, ranging from clerical to maintenance workers, are not staffed.

“Where we go from here is a good question,” Bishopp said.