By Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs,

Joint resolution relating to labor relations and management issues at the Vermont state colleges

Whereas, it is the policy of the state of Vermont to provide quality higher education through the five-campus Vermont State College system, and

Whereas, the general welfare, stability, and continued viability of the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) is of the utmost importance, and

Whereas, a large percentage of the students at VSC are Vermonters, and many are the first in their families to attend college, and

Whereas, in recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Education, the presidents of Castleton State College, Johnson State College, Lyndon State College, and Vermont Technical College indicated that student retention was a major focus of their colleges, and

Whereas, the graduates of VSC bring their knowledge and technical expertise into many fields of endeavor and are major contributors to Vermont’s economy, and

Whereas, the VSC system is one of the largest employers in Vermont, and

Whereas, over the past several months, conflicting information has surfaced regarding many facets of VSC’s operations, policies, procedures, finances, and future direction, and

Whereas, the Faculty Assemblies at Castleton State College, Johnson State College Lyndon State College ,and Vermont Technical College passed unanimously no confidence motions in the leadership of Chancellor Robert Clarke, and

Whereas, Chancellor Clarke and the board of trustees have refused to accept that the votes of no confidence are related to the course they are taking in managing VSC and continue to characterize them as part of an ongoing labor dispute, and

Whereas, recent conflicting media reports have brought to light numerous disputed areas of concern as to the affordability, educational quality, employees, management, stability, and overall state of affairs at VSC, including the colleges’ administration’s reported actions which have limited open communication between the board of trustees, the chancellor’s office, and the faculty, and

Whereas, channels of communication that the faculty have historically relied upon to resolve these concerns, including faculty participation at trustees’ meetings, have been closed, now therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly urges, in the strongest possible terms, that the board of trustees of the Vermont State Colleges reestablish policies that will allow for open communication with the college faculty, including restoration of faculty representation on the board, welcoming faculty participation in the board’s and chancellor’s yearly strategic planning retreats, and returning to free and open communication between the board of trustees and faculty members, and to have an independent auditor review whether the colleges’ administration’s recent actions will accelerate the current trend to replace full‑time faculty with part-time instructors, and be it further

Resolved:  That the board of trustees report its progress on the efforts to reestablish open communication policies and the result of the independent audit to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2006, and be it further

Resolved:  That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to each member of the Vermont State Colleges’ board of trustees, to Chancellor Robert Clarke, and to Ernest Broadwater, president of the Vermont State Colleges Faculty Federation.