Rally to call for Board action on Monday, June 4
ULLIN – The Shawnee College Education Association (SCEA) is calling for a swift, transparent and comprehensive review of Shawnee Community College (SCC) President Dr. Peggy Bradford. The SCEA will hold a rally to preserve SCC’s future and call for the Board of Trustees to take action.
“We need to preserve the integrity and quality of Shawnee Community College, so that we can continue to provide an affordable higher education to all of our students in Southern Illinois,” said SCEA President Sheryl Ribbing. “We ask that the Board of Trustees address our concerns before we lose more faculty and staff.”
Nearly a quarter of the SCC employees have left the college since Dr. Bradford started her term, less than a year ago. SCEA has shared concerns about Dr. Bradford’s leadership and previous positions at community colleges around the country, including two votes no confidence at Westchester Community College in New York. SCEA has also taken a vote of no confidence in Dr. Bradford, but, so far, the board has not addressed any of SCEA’s concerns.
“We need to address this immediately to address the concerns of faculty, staff, community members and our students. Dr. Bradford is operating in secret behind closed doors, often against board policy and established best practices,” Ribbing said. “We firmly believe sharing thoughts and ideas in an open forum helps build a strong school and a strong community.”
SCEA will hold a rally at SCC on Monday, June 4 ahead of the SCC Board of Trustee meeting. The rally to preserve the future of SCC is an opportunity for SCEA, students and community members to stand together and raise awareness about this important issue.
The rally will be held Monday, June 4 at 5:00 p.m. at SCC (8634 Shawnee College Rd., Ullin, IL) ahead of the SCC Board of Trustee meeting. Please meet inside the main entrance.
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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state’s largest education employee’s organization. IEA represents preK-12 teachers outside of the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.
