By Vanessa Overbeck
By Vanessa Overbeck
RCC President Salvatore Rotella plans to take over the world. . .or at least RCC anyway. With the help of the Board of Trustees, Rotella is maneuvering into the chancellorship.
In 2007 RCC’s district will separate into three independent colleges, each with its own president and all falling under the supervision of a single chancellor. According to Mike Gasca, member of the student senate, without even a cursory search of the surrounding community, much less the state or nation, the Board of Trustees is considering Rotella as the best person for this six-figure position.
But RCC is changing so rapidly, so how can anyone assume that the current president is the best person to meet the district’s evolving needs. Perhaps the Board of Trustees and Rotella are concerned that the president will not hold up against a little competition?
The district will be performing a national search for a new president of RCC. Why is the same not being done for the chancellorship position? What makes Rotella so exceptionally qualified for the job that it is unnecessary to interview other potential candidates?
According to members of the Student Senate, RCC needs a president and chancellor more in tune with the needs and wishes of the student population. After scheduling a time for Rotella to appear at a Senate meeting to field questions regarding the future split of the college and the formation of the new chancellorship position, he failed to show up. The Senate even agreed to send a typed copy of the questions ahead of time and the president still wouldn’t keep the appointment.
But “it’s not the first time he’s stood the students up,” Senator Gasca said. In fact, according to Gasca, Rotella has yet to attend a Senate meeting.
If the concerns of RCC students were important to Rotella, he would’ve kept the date open and he would certainly be interested in addressing our fears.
It appears that Rotella’s priorities are more in line with his pocketbook than the best interest of the students of the district. His ambitions may outweigh his concern for the future of the district and the students who will one day guide the future of this nation.
So we have to ask ourselves if as a student population we want to simply hand over a cushy salary, new office and powerful title to a person who is unwilling to discuss the fate of RCC with those dependent upon its success. Don’t let Rotella assume the chancellorship without even making a whimper. Write to Viewpoints. Write to the Board of Trustees. Call administrators. Attend Senate meetings and voice your concerns regarding these questionable matters.