Glendale Community College Board candidates' Q&A

I think that Glendale Community College is a premiere college that serves the needs of the community. I believe that we need to continue to improve and pursue excellence. We can do this by focusing on student success. We must continue to budget adequately in the areas of student support services in order to facilitate a greater success rate: good counseling, computer labs, tutoring, a comfortable and friendly learning environment. We must continue to offer classes at a variety of times to recognize that the majority of our students work part- or full-time. We must enforce regular faculty evaluations in order to provide our students with the highest quality of instruction. We must reach out to the community to assess if there is a need and sufficient demand for new class offerings.

College employees have raised concerns that the Board of Trustees has a tendency to micromanage. How involved should trustees be in managing and organizing operations at the college?

Trustees should be involved in college operations only to ascertain if their policy is being implemented as directed and if the results are in line with the intended goals. Trustees are responsible for setting policies and making sure that the administration, namely the president/superintendent, is implementing that policy. It is the president/superintendent's responsibility to actually develop how that policy is to be implemented and to make sure that it was done successfully.

Faculty have complained that health benefits for adjunct instructors are too low and result in unmanageable insurance premiums. How can the college change this?

Agreement on benefits, including health benefits for full-time and adjunct faculty, is a part of the negotiations process between the guild and the administration. The guild has latitude on what to do with their bargained increase. We encourage that they treat all members of their union fairly. It is even more difficult to exert any influence when the possibility of an increase is minimal due to the realities of the budget. I will do some research and become more knowledgeable about this seemingly unfair situation and what direction and recommendations the board can provide during negotiations.

BIO BOX

Name: Anita Quinonez Gabrielian

Age: 50

Education: USC, bachelor of science degree in business administration; Cal Poly Pomona, master of science degree in business administration.

Occupation: executive director External Affairs Los Angeles, AT&T