Representing TMCC Faculty Interests Since 1992

When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

It is clear that higher education is under attack. The Trump administration has frozen funding for science, from cancer research to reproductive care; has hamstrung student financial aid programs; has stripped colleges and universities of diversity, equity and inclusion programming; has strangled affirmative action designed to expand access to college; and is demanding that some institutions sign a “compact” that forces them to adopt Trump’s ideology in exchange for federal funding.

At the November 30, 2022, Board of Regents meeting, TMCC President Karin Hilgersom  voiced strenuous complaints about the periodic evaluation process for NSHE presidents, saying it suffered from "inconsistency" that she characterized as "potentially damaging to the future of one's career." But now she has injected inconsistency into the evaluation process for multiple TMCC employees. Is there a reason for this double-standard?

UPDATE 2/14/2024: The TMCC Vice President of Student Services and Diversity provided a clarification: "[N]one of my Direct Reports received a 360 [evaluation]. The individuals that received a 360 report directly to [the Executive Director of Admissions and Records]." She added that the admissions and records evaluations do not include a campus-wide survey and utilize a form maintained by the Human Resources office.

In the last year, the tenure processes for two separate faculty members at TMCC were derailed at the last possible moments. Such occurrences are not only devastating for the tenure candidate, but extremely stressful for the tenure committee members, as well. Both instances also raised serious concerns for diverging from the established procedures. 

In an early November email, faculty members were invited to participate in a three-night event entitled "Library After Dark" at the end of the month. According to organizers, the event is designed to provide students with more study time as they prepare for finals and complete final projects and papers during extended hours in the Elizabeth Sturm Library. Despite these great intentions, several faculty members expressed concern about the late notification and "workload creep."