Board Votes No On Investment

Dillon Neibel
dneibel@lc.edu

 

On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, the Board of Trustees for Lewis and Clark Community College held their monthly meeting, covering various topics and concerns. While it was comforting to hear that the latest safety exercises conducted were incredibly well received and highly commended, that didn’t seem to be the story of this meeting. The most compelling story comes in the form of a Classification and Compensation Study carried in consultation with consultant, AJ Gallagher.

The goal of the study was to ensure better market pay rates across all positions. The decision to invest in this study was based on the unsettling turnover rates within both full and part-time staff positions, most noticeably in academic advising. It was discussed among both the board and Vice President of Administration Lori Artis, whether or not to implement the new classification and compensation system based on the analytical results.

With some board members arguing for, others against, and roughly $50k in the hole, The board voted not to utilize this investment and/or use this new system. When asked what her plans were moving forward, Lori Artis commented, “We’ll keep working to find an equitable compensation system.”

At this point it is worth mentioning that L&C has hired five new full-time faculty members to start this fall. Those members are Angela Hung for the Art Department, David Petrulis in Architecture, Dr. Rosemarie Vithayathil in Biology with a focus on Microbiology, Abby Stephens in Biology focusing on Anatomy and Physiology, and Ashley Mayernik in Nursing. Both Angela Hung and Abby Stephens are already quite familiar with the college, having already worked as adjunct faculty members.

When asked if she has any of the same obstacles that Administration faces, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Linda Chapman stated, “We have difficulty with some disciplines in hiring faculty, because of our salary requirements.”

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