Board Rejects Faculty Vote Of No Confidence
Following the Faculty’s May 2015 vote of no confidence in the President of Bermuda College Dr. Duranda Greene, the Bermuda College Board of Governors has rejected the vote of no confidence saying they do not believe the concerns “to be of the nature or scope to warrant the actions demanded.”
A statement from the Bermuda College Board of Governors said, “On Friday, 8th May, the Faculty Association [FA] of the Bermuda College sent a letter to Bermuda College Board of Governors Chair Jill Husbands, notifying her of a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the current College President.
“The letter requested that immediate action be taken by the Board via a succession plan put into place to guarantee a successor to the current President at the end of her term in 2017.
“For clarification, this was a complete surprise to the Board.
“Upon receipt of the letter the Board immediately commenced a thorough review process to ascertain the reason for the faculty vote and to determine a course of action. The Board then requested documentation outlining the rationale for the vote.
“The letter was received on Monday, 18 May, four days after the faculty had begun their summer break. Throughout the summer the Board met to review, discuss and define the key issues raised by the Faculty.
“Immediately after the Faculty returned from the summer break meetings were requested and held with the Faculty Association Executive and the Faculty Board Representative culminating with a meeting with the entire faculty on Thursday, 1 October.
“At that time the Board Chair, Vice Chair and two other members met with the Faculty and an open and frank dialogue took place.
“In advance of the monthly Board meeting held today, a second letter was received from the FA requesting a resolution be put to the Board to begin an immediate search for a replacement for the current President to take over at the end of her contract.
“At today’s Board meeting, a resolution was put forward to hold a definitive vote to either accept or reject the faculty vote. The result was a rejection of the Faculty’s vote of no confidence.
“Having investigated the key concerns that led to the faculty vote, the Board does not believe them to be of the nature or scope to warrant the actions demanded by the Faculty Association.
“We are disappointed that the FA did not bring their concerns to the Board and allow us the opportunity to address them before raising these issues in the public domain. Notwithstanding, the Board is committed to working with the FA and all staff at the Bermuda College with full transparency for the betterment of the College as a whole.
“The Office of the President takes direction from, and reports to, the Board of Governors. The Board continues to support Dr. Greene in her role and looks forward to working with all parties to ensure the College fulfils its mandate for the people of Bermuda.”
LOL….Green, classic example of how Bermuda thinks years in service equate to quality….same reason we have some ‘veteran’ teachers in education who should have been shown the door in their first year on the job…15 years ago.
That was a dry run, now lets get one going for this Government.
If I remember correctly…the faculty vote of no confidence was above 90%. My professional interactions with the lecturers at Bermuda College have been very refreshing and I respect these individuals in their field and their vision for learning in a 21st Century that is relevant for our students. The Board’s response has opened more questions than provided answers.
The Board of BC is a joke. You have one meeting with the faculty and you determine to reject the vote.
Why is it that the Board did not meet with management to determine if they were in support and has similar concerns.
How many of the board members attend board meetings on a regular basis?
Lowest enrollment in ten years (Dr Greene’s entire leadership).
Minister Wayne Scott and OBA you best wake up!!!
I am embarrassed by my colleague on this one. The “issues” were totally petty like not saying hello politely in the morning.
this was a witch hunt and clearly the board saw through the silliness of the complaint. The fact my fellow staff went to the press first is beyond ridiculous.
Welcome to the real world guys – where sensible people makes decisions based on what is best for the college, not whether you think someone gave you “attitude”.
So basically the Board is saying that the word of several people who work every day with Duranda Greene is of no consequence
How can this be when a group of educationally qualified employees rejects an ineffective leader to be told by a group of individuals who never leave a Boardroom, or meet a student on campus, that their opinions have no value? This scenario has been going on for years. The Minister of Education has to step in and right this wrong. Some leaders no matter how well intentioned they may be, are incapable of having followers, especially when they are dictatorial, autocratic, myopic, intent on retribution, unable to see outside the box, micro managers and show partiality to some employees over others.
This situation is vso typical of not doing the right thing in Education in. Bermuda. The current President has served her terms. Possibly it is now time for a figurehead that is insightful, open to suggestion, utilizes the expertise of employees, is non confrontational on every issue and is current with what is taking place within other jurisdictions in tertiary education. Sometimes in life your best is just not good enough…
Oh boy this is going to turn ugly. Board chooses to listen to one person and ignore a majority of the facility. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid…..
Please stop this monkey business…
Dr. Greene has made excellent strides in bringing the Bermuda College into the 21st century and widening the opportunity for people to get a degree with several overseas institutional partners. And the Board sides with her. No previous Bermuda College Presidents come close that compare to her accomplishments. We need more dedicated persons like her. Haters will always hate no matter what.
Looks like she did not win a popularity contest! The people complaining need to take responsibility for their own actions and stop placing the blame on Dr. Green. I’m sure they all would die if they had to make any management decisions that were not in favour of their clicks but for the betterment of the school, and I am sure their clicks would turn on them too! We all have complaints about our jobs, but you don’t see the CEO of all the insurance companies, banks and local companies getting booted! Even if there are certain conditions that need to be improved, those matters need to be addressed first because a new boss may also not fix the core issues!
Also school enrollment is down because people are broke! People don’t have money to pay rent, food, nursery let alone pay for Bermuda College! Duh!
Dr. Greene is the ONLY Bermuda College President to have the Office of the Auditor General and Parliament review and pass the financial statements of the College. The TWO previous non-Bermudian Presidents NEVER…repeat …NEVER… produced audited financial statements!!! Dr. Greene has in four years guided and managed the approval by the Auditor General, and ratification by Parliament, of a back log of auditided financials dating back to before her term as President began!!
Additionally, The Bermuda College has never been as large and as complex in its operations and offerings to students/customers as it is today, in October 2015! NEVER!!! Did the college require a web-site, an IT network, and complex expensive IT systems….SYSTEMS (that’s plural)in 1975?, 1985?, 1995,?? When in the past did the BC ever graduate 19 to 25 persons per year with full Bachelors Degrees through links with overseas Universities? This happens regularly now, every year….Many of these students go on to be nurses in our hospital, air conditioning maintenance and repair experts, or accountants in our business sector, having saved thousands of dollars in costs. Yes, guided from course to course by the skilled and well educated faculty at the college…but do not underestimate the amount of management and administrative skill it takes to keep the programs running, the certifications in place, and to manage the resources and cost of doing so.
The College has NEVER been accredited until recently (2011?) under the leadership of Dr. Greene. And the college just won a 10 year reaccreditation….which included heavy scrutiny of the college’s audited financial statements!!! And to be sure, Dr. Greene does not do it alone,and MUST drive her executive staff and line managers to uphold management and administrative standards MANDATED by the Office of the Auditor General, The Board, The New England Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation committee, The Ministry of Education, The Cabinet, the Board of Education (of which she is a member), the students and the people of Bermuda. Every body MUST answer to somebody!…and she answers to many authorities and parties that are critical to the college’s operation.
Some on the faculty….and only some…..have a big problem with being told “no!”….with having their opinions and assertions and criticisms challenged….with having to have to answer to somebody.
All Bermuda should remember the fact that Dr. Greene is the first female Bermudian Leader of the College, and should be proud of the steady, guiding hand that she has provided to the College, largely during a period of economic decline!
The Government and people of Bermuda…over the last 40 years, and now too, have been very generous to Bermuda College. Faculty directly benefit from this generosity, yet only…and always…see a glass half empty! (Very sad).
Perhaps the better no confidence vote should be of Jill Husbands+her Board!