SHARED GOVERNANCE 

President Hilgersom's contract expires on June 30, 2025. The NSHE leaders will meet with several groups of stakeholders during their campus visit to determine if the campus community prefers to replace Hilgersom through appointment of an interim president who could subsequently be appointed to the permanent position, or a national search. A third option, appointing an acting president while a search is organized is not appropriate in this case since there is adequate time to conduct the search while Hilgersom is still under contract. 

Since it was revealed at a July 2023 Board of Regents meeting that Hilgersom announced her intention to resign from TMCC while requesting a one-year contract extension and a waiver of her periodic comprehensive evaluation, TMCC-NFA has steadfastly called for NSHE to conduct a national search since there was more than enough time. Although more than a year has elapsed since that original revelation, there remains adequate time for a valid search, and TMCC-NFA continues to advocate for that.

This may be the only stakeholder meeting open to the general population of faculty. Members will receive an event invitation in a separate email message. We ask that you register to attend the meeting in advance. 

 LEGAL DEFENSE 

Dr. Jensen, a long-time NFA member, claims that TMCC administrators targeted him for over two years with a campaign to damage his professional reputation and terminate his employment. This led to an NSHE Code Chapter 6 hearing, where the hearing committee recommended that he be retained and President Hilgersom ultimately acceded.

After the Chapter 6 hearing, Jensen filed a federal lawsuit pursuant to Section 1983, seeking to protect his constitutional rights. The case was dismissed by former Judge Larry Hicks, who cited sovereign immunity, a legal principle that generally prevents individuals from suing the government without the government's consent; and qualified immunity, a defense that protects public employees from civil liability when they injure you or your property while carrying out their official job duties.

Jensen is now appealing that decision, arguing that it contradicts established law, particularly the Ninth Circuit's 2014 Demers v. Austin ruling, and challenging the lasting impact of negative personnel records. Earlier this year, the AAUP and NFA filed a joint amicus brief in support of Jensen. If he prevails in his appeal the case will be reversed back to district court in Reno and the discovery process restarts.

READ MORE Jensen v. Brown, No. 23-2545 (9th Cir. 2024) >>

 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

Belying Hilgersom's enthusiasm for the arrangement, however, is her admission, which came later in the same Planning Council meeting, that the TMCC HR Office does not have the bandwidth to adequately onboard new hires. She made a passing comment that department chairs should probably take over some of those responsibilities. Fortunately, the TMCC-NFA Contract prevents the president or any other administrator from making such unilateral workload decisions for faculty, including the department chairs.

Nonetheless, this is just another example of the on-going mission creep that aims to shift more obligations onto the shoulders of faculty at the expense of their primary responsibilities of teaching and student support. Unfortunately, these efforts fall in line with the TMCC mission statement which was revised in the midst of the pandemic, stripping away accountability and replacing it fuzzy, unmeasurable aspirations. A new round of contract negotiations will emphasize better workload protections for faculty to inhibit mission creep, but we will have to hope that a new administration will understand the importance of accountability in our mission.

READ MORE:

How mission creep crept up on TMCC >>

The hollowing of TMCC's mission >>

 GOVERNANCE 

With a growth rate of over 30% per year in each of the last three years, the TMCC-NFA chapter has quickly outgrown the capacity of its small cadre of officers to respond to member needs. We need more members to step up to help us maintain the level of support you've come to expect and continue to grow as an important component in TMCC's shared governance structure.

If you haven't already joined one of our standing committees, please consider joining one. We know, the pay sucks, but the gratitude you receive from fellow members for working on their behalf is the best compensation.

Membership Committee
This committee is responsible for recruiting new members and planning social events. When needed, this committee may also conduct surveys, polls and/or canvas the faculty. Membership is open to all members of the Chapter. 

Legal Defense Committee
This committee is responsible for evaluating applications for legal defense services from members in good standing. The merit and parameters of each case will be evaluated individually by the Chapter Legal Defense Committee with respect to State NFA Legal Defense Policy and Procedures, Institution Policy, Collective Bargaining Agreements, Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) code, Nevada Revised Statute (NRS), and Federal Law and Regulations. The Legal Defense Committee will also help find allies for members who need a third party to attend any meetings with a supervisor where job performance may be discussed.

Collective Bargaining Council
This committee is responsible for research, information gathering, identification of local and state issues, and organization of bargaining positions. Membership is open to all members of the Chapter. During negotiations, select members of the Collective Bargaining Council will also serve on the TMCC-NFA bargaining team.

 GOVERNANCE 

TMCC-NFA is asking its members to complete a Google Form survey to help us determine the best days/times for our periodic meetings and events. One of the annual goals established by TMCC-NFA is to improve our outreach and responsiveness to the needs of our administrative faculty members. After learning that some administrative faculty have been notified by their supervisors that they must submit annual leave to attend TMCC-NFA chapter meetings and events held during work hours, we are trying to determine which days and times work best for our members.

Besides identifying days and times of availability, the survey also asks respondents to select the modalities they prefer (face to face, online, etc.) for TMCC-NFA meetings and events. TMCC-NFA officers have discussed the possibility of holding meetings either before or after office hours to accommodate working schedules of our members, but the survey results will guide our decisions. We hope all members will help us out.

TMCC-NFA Officers

Jim New, President

Jinger Doe, Vice President

Amy Cavanaugh, Secretary

Ben Davis, Treasurer

Cheryl Cardoza, Past President