Questions about first amendment freedom of speech and College policy stopping Board members from talking with staff and faculty appear to clash; faculty and Board have no way to interact in a meaningful way
There was a lot of discussion during Monday’s Board retreat about the ability of Governing Board members to obtain information of any kind from the College faculty and staff. Governing Board member Paul Chevalier argued there should be greater freedom among Board members to obtain information from sources other than the president. His view received at best a mild reception.
Although not always that clear, it appears that the bottom line is that under Governing Board policy its members may not talk about the college, ever, with a member of the staff or faculty outside a Board meeting. The result is that information received by a Board member is tightly controlled and very formal. Direct communication between the faculty and the governing board is typically ritualized, infrequent, and limited to specific agenda items during a Board meeting.
Under existing policy, it appears that any and all information must come to the Board from the President’s office. This means that at informal gatherings of any kind, even minor questions about the College may not be asked when a Board member is chatting with a member of staff or faculty.
It appears possible that a staff or faculty member could be disciplined by the Administration if he or she engaged in discussion with a Governing Board member about the College.
In 2013, an article by Hans-Joerg Tiede of the American Association of University Professors observed the following:
“College and university governance works best when every constituency within the institution has a clear understanding of its role with respect to the other constituencies. It works best when communication among the governing board, the administration, and the faculty (not to mention the staff and students) is regular, open, and honest. Too often the president serves as the sole conduit for the governing board and the faculty to communicate with each other. While this practice may be efficient, it rarely enhances understanding between governing boards and faculties.”
He goes on to write that:
“A report on faculty-board communication issued by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) in 2009, Faculty, Governing Boards, and Institutional Governance, recommends that, in order to `enhance mutual understanding and respect,’ institutions should provide `opportunities for faculty and trustees to interact in meaningful ways, in formal as well as informal settings.’”
It is clear that the policy on the Yavapai Community College Governing Board is not going in that direction.
Yavapai Community College Fifth District Board representative Steve Irwin will be leaving the Governing Board after one term. He has announced that he is running for Yavapai County Board Supervisor for that District. He is already actively campaigning on Facebook (
Third District Yavapai Community College Governing Board representative Paul Chevalier expressed his concern about the failure of the West-County Board members to seek a consensus with East-County members on important issues at the February Board meeting. Or, sharing leadership positions of any kind with members representing the east side of the County for at least the last twelve years.
It was a surprise to some in attendance at the November 2018 Governing Board meeting that President Penelope Wills failed to comment on the recent deaths of two Yavapai Community College students and the shuttering of the RESA project at the Career and Technical Education Center during her report to the Governing Board. 
The Community College is rushing to complete postcards for individual Governing Board members featuring the current board member in a district, the member’s photo plus text written by the Board member. The publication has been described as looking like a political promotional piece for a Governing Board member.
The Blog has learned on good authority that a request has been made directly to Yavapai Community College Governing Board member Ray Sigafoos by a member of the Governing Board to schedule a special Board meeting to discuss the legality of the College mailing a politically tainted postcard that subtly supports Sigafoos and Connie Harris. The meeting would take place before the November election and before the College mailed the politically tainted material.
Each month the Governing Board members individually evaluate the performance of the other Board members. In the report given at the September Board meeting, (see below) member Pat McCarver lashed out at an unnamed member charging that the member “brings up disagreement” with a previous Board decision. She also charged that in response to whether Board members operated ethically, one of the Board members made comments and pushed agendas that “are personal, and appear to be vindictive in nature.” McCarver provided no examples.