MJC students, faculty, administrators seek stability after president’s abrupt termination
A tumultuous week at Modesto Junior College has left students, faculty members and Yosemite Community College District (YCCD) administrators searching for stability.
Last Wednesday, Dec. 14, YCCD Chancellor Henry C.V. Yong abruptly terminated MJC President Satanu Bandyopadhyay. Bandyopadhyay served 18 months as president, the 16th since 2000, according to the Community College League of California.
Yong and Bandyopadhyay had a history of disagreements regarding the human resources department and his contracts. At least twice during his tenure, Bandyopadhyay had applied for positions at other community colleges in California, the Bee editorial board reported.
On Tuesday, Yong met with students who expressed their concerns about the high turnover of college presidents.
MJC has the highest CEO turnover rate of any California community college.
“I have reassured the students that their interest is first and foremost, and we want to get this taken care of as soon as possible,” said Yong, referring to finding Bandyopadhyay’s successor. He sent out an email to staff Tuesday asking for applicants for the role of interim president.
Sitting in the student center on the East Campus, leaders of the Associated Students at MJC, the student governing body for the school’s nearly 23,000 students, reiterated their shared frustration at the week’s events.
“You want stability, and you want someone invested in us the way that we are invested in the community,” said Samuel Ramos, vice president of ASMJC.
Stephanie Barajas, director of political engagement, chimed in: “We did feel that with Dr. B,” using the nickname for Bandyopadhyay. “He was such an approachable person. We did feel heard by him.’’
“The only thing that does concern us is the vacancy and how the next president can fulfill what he (Bandyopadhyay) was fulfilling,” said Ramos. The student government leaders specifically pointed to Bandyopadhyay’s commitment toward a long-term investment in equity.
A long contract or a big buyout
One way to promote stability and long-term investments is through longer contracts. Last year, Bandyopadhyay was dismayed by the one-year contract offered by the YCCD board and, after accepting the job, started looking for other positions at colleges and universities that “were willing to invest longer term,” he said.
Days later, after The Bee disclosed the new president’s job search, the YCCD board announced in a meeting that Bandyopadhyay would have the chance to “extend the contract for an additional two years through June, 30, 2024.”
However, Bandyopadhyay said the contract, which arrived a few months later, had a 2023 expiration date. He called the maneuver a “bait and switch.”
Yong said Tuesday that the board made a “clerical error” but placed the onus on Bandyopadhyay.
“If he wasn’t happy with the contract, he shouldn’t have signed it,” Yong added. He said he learned about the alleged clerical error only after The Bee reported it last week.
Yong declined to commit to a longer contract for Bandyopadhyay’s replacement. A three- or four-year contract, he said, comes with the risk of a much higher buyout should the chancellor and board decide to fire the college president: “That’s sometimes a difficult balance.”
Bandyopadhyay, who was terminated Dec. 14, will be paid for the remaining six and a half months of his roughly $240,000 annual contract.
‘Instability’ concerns faculty member
Aishah Saleh, an instructor in arts and humanities and the president of the academic senate, spoke to the YCCD board Monday in a personal capacity. She echoed the words of the students: “I, like many, are concerned with the instability of the loss of a president, especially in the middle of an accreditation cycle and as we have been working to update our college’s safety plan and other long-term planning, the same way it was the last time we lost a college president.”
The extensive accreditation process grants the college its ability to offer degrees to students. The renewal period for accreditation began this summer and is scheduled to continue through the end of 2024, according to the MJC website.
The prior college president, Jim Houpis, left after 22 months, citing medical issues. Months after leaving, Houpis was selected as interim chancellor of the Yuba Community College District.
English professor Deborah Gilbert said Bandyopadhyay was “super supportive of faculty” and “open in terms of his communication.” Looking at the next president, she wants to see “another one like him.”
Yong, who now serves as acting president, sent an email Tuesday night explaining that he plans to launch a search for the president in late February or early March after forming a search committee consisting of “faculty, classified professional support staff, leadership/administrators, students, and community members.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 12:13 PM.
