By Daniel Segraves
By Daniel Segraves
Stan Arterberry, a chancellor candidate at Riverside City College, brought his ideas to the community March 8 during two town hall forums.
At a second forum in the Digital Library Auditorium, Arterberry welcomed participants to “sit up close like an old church meeting.” and saw the forums as having a conversation with those in attendance instead of just answering questions.
Before the first forum started Arterberry met and spoke with several people that he worked with at RCC almost 25 years ago.
While he covered all the administrative points necessary for securing the chancellor position, Arterberry attempted to remain personal with the participants. Instead of standing behind a podium, he would walk up to speak with an audience member posing a question.
He opened the first forum by saying that students are crucial.
“That’s why we are here,” he said. “So every time we make a decision, we have to evaluate its impact on students.”
Arterberry hoped to make many points in the two meetings held that day, including the fact that he had a history with the area and that he was not interested in furthering himself by taking the job.
“I’m already a chancellor; I don’t need the title,” he told the audience. “When I traveled (elsewhere), my life was not what I had hoped. I wanted my job, my way of life and family to all come together. Riverside is the only place that this happened.”
In an attempt to clarify Arterberry’s priorities, Ted Gregory, Microcomputer Support Specialist at RCC, asked Arterberry what his top priorities would be in the first six months at the college.
“Listen, listen… and learn,” Arterberry said. “What’s really important for any new chancellor is to learn the culture, learn the history, and learn the good things that this organization is doing.”
When it came to the topic of everyone working together at the college, even working through differences, Arterberry repeated his view on teamwork.
“Teamwork is the fuel that drives the organization,” he said.
After questions regarding staff treatment and ethnic studies programs, RCC instructor Tom Allen addressed Arterberry’s no confidence vote in 2003 when he was the chancellor of the West Valley-Mission District.
Arterberry explained that he had taken up the chancellor position at West Hills-Mission District at a financially distressing time. After pink slips were issued to over 70 faculty members, the academic senate issued their vote of no confidence. Shortly after, the pink slips were rescinded. Though the reason for the vote of no confidence was fixed, Arterberry remained insulted by the act.
“A vote of no confidence hurts,” Arterberry said. “Some people will say that it’s not personal… it is. If it’s not personal, don’t do it.”
Even though he holds disdain for the tarnish on his record, he told audience members he still considers it to be “a badge of honor” that he made it through such an ordeal.
While a vote of no confidence in some situations would dampen a candidate’s chances for success, Arterberry’s ability to discuss his no confidence vote gave him favor in the RCC Academic Senate.
In a meeting March 12, the senate took a preliminary vote on the candidates.
“There was extensive discussion on each candidate within the senate along with the senate presidents from the Norco and Moreno Valley campuses,” Senate President Richard Mahon said. “The overwhelming majority opinion was that the process itself was problematic. No one was included in the search except the (RCC Board of Trustees). If you only see three candidates, it’s hard to know how they compare to the others.”
Instead of sending a message to the Board of Trustees stating that none of the candidates were creditable and requesting that the search start over, Mahon decided that the senate must take a substantive vote on the candidates.
“The idea of requesting the search start over with new candidates was unrealistic in what the board would approve,” Mahon said.
The chancellor decision will be announced at the scheduled board meeting March 20.
For Viewpoints original story on Arterberry:http://media.www.viewpointsonline.org/media/storage/paper753/news/2007/03/09/News/Arterberry.Aims.For.Chancellorship-2769189.shtml