Thirty-Seven Years of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board's Minutes in Historical Context
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 282 608 JC 870 260 AUTHOR Drexel, Karl O., Ed.; And Others TITLE Thirty-Seven Years of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board's Minutes in Historical Context. An Abstract. INSTITUTION Contra Costa Community Coll. District, Martinez, CA. PUB DATE May 87 NOTE 257p. PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MFI)1/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Administrative Change; *College Administration; Community Colleges; *Educational History; *Governing Boards; *Local History; Multicampus Districts; *Organizational Change; Primary Sources; TwoYear Colleges IDENTIFIERS *Contra Costa Community College District CA ABSTRACT This compilation of highly condensed abstractsof the minutes of governing board meetings chroniclesthe 37-year history of the Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD)from 1949 to 1986. First, introductory material describesthe context and the character of the opening years of the district, and liststhe previous and current members of the gvverningboards. Next, the five pg:riods of the CCCCD's historyare traced through the board meeting minutes. Brief comments introducing each periodindicate that: (1) the period between 1949 and 1962 was frought withcontroversy that ended with the dismissal of Superintendent DrummondMcCunn by the board; (2) between 1962 and 1965, the CCCCD, whichhad no superintendent, shifted from District domination byMcCunn to a tradition of college autonomy withina framework of District leadership; (3) during the 10-year superintendencyof Karl Drexel (1965-1974), the district experiencedan era of consolidation, relative stability, and marked educationalprogress; (4) the period from 1974 to 1984, during the superintendencyof Harry Buttimer, was characterized by stability in enrollments, collectivebargaining in staff contracts, and the need for financial retrenchment;and (5) during the first 3 years of the chancellorship ofJohn Carhart (1984-1986) many top personnel changes occurredand new programs were implemented within the CCCCD. Appendices includelists of CCCCD officers and instructors in spring 1950 and administrationand faculty in 1950-51; a personnel standards report; andother documents important to the history of the district. (EJV) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** Published May, 1987 for the Contra Costa Community College District Editors Karl 0. Drexel Charles Collins Richard Worthen 3 AN ABSTRACT CO Thirty-sevenyears co r,1 C:1 of the UJ Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board's Minutes in Historical Context POW10110. DiCellilla to. to4a "PERMISS;ON TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY U.S. OEPARTMENT OF EDUCNTION John Carhart Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )(This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. o Minor changes have been made to improve TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES reproduction Quality. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)... Points of view or opinionsstated in thisdocu- ment do not nocenanly represent OttiOSI OERI polotKn Or pohcy BES I COPYAVAILABLE 2 CONTENTS FOREWORD. INTRODUCTION 1 The Setting 1 Getting Started 7 Members of the Governing Board byWards 16 Division of Contra Costa Countyby Wards 17 THE PERIOD 1949-1962 Highlights of Board Actions During 18 the Drummond McCunn Superintendency 19 Abstracts of the Govt.rning Board'sMinutes 22 Table of Organization During This Period 58 THE PERIOD 1962-1965 59 Highlights of Board Actions During the Interim Between Superintendents 60 Abstracts of the Governing Board's Minutes 61 Table of Organization During Th;.sPeriod 68 THE PERIOD 1965-1974 Highlights of Board Actions During 69 the Karl Drexel Superintendency 70 Abstracts of the Governing Board'sMinutes 72 Table of Organization During This Period 107 THE PERIOD 1974-1984 108 Highlights of Board Actions During the Harry Buttimer Chancellorship 109 Abstracts of the Governing Board's Minutes 112 Table of Organization During ThisPeriod 166 THE PERIOD 1984-Present 167 Highlights of Board Actions During the John Carhart Chancellorship 168 Abstracts of the GoverningBoard's Minutes 169 Table of Organization During ThisPeriod 182 AN AFTERWORD 183 APPENDICES 185 IOfficers and Instructors, Spring,1950 IIAdministration and Faculty, 1950-1951 186 IIIPersonnel Standards Report 187 IV 196 Statement by Board Chairman WilliamKretzmer 204 V Statement by InstructorGeorge Coles 206 VI Report of An Investigation 212 FOREWORD Early on, it was seen that making the District Boardminutes more manageable and accessible was an important step in outlininga history of the District. This clearly called for abstracting from thegreatfilethat is the official record of the District. Such abstracts contain,at least in part, the story and the drama of the total enterprise. As these abE,racts were reviewed, installment by installment,it became clear the while the minutes are ina sense the bare, if voluminous, record of the District, they are as well a mine of information thatindirectly documents the evolution of a concept, the resolution ofa struggle, a set of attitudes and a process tha, has slowly defined and contributedto the actualizing of a new segment of higher education-the community college.(This District has been in the :arefront of, andeven a prototype of, that national endeavor.) It is important to share this recordnow with the staff of this thirty-eight- year-old institution that,as ever,is facing renewed internal and external challenges - as well as with the community thatmany years ago had fought and agonized over the very need for suchan institution. Like all of America in 1967, it is and 3t isn't thesame community. Further, within the next few years a high percentage of the staff will have less and less opportunityor incentive to understand the traditions that inan important sense are the institution, as well as the ground for developingnew forms for new times, unless they are made privy to the earlyhistory of which they will inevitably become a part. G-:appling with the size and content of this sprawlof material, trying to reduce it to coherence, tended to refine theconcept of "the audience" and its interests and concerns. That, ofcourse, also defined the subject a little more clearly. These abstracts should give all Boardand staff a more manageable grasp of the roots of this institution and give latecomerssome help in joining the District dialogue as it begins to involvethem. So, these abstracts of the minutesare a means of making the subject more manageable, but the subject-the record and the "genius" ofthis thirty-eight- year-old creation in midpassage-is, ofcourse, larger anci more rounded than the minutes. To speculate, put in its fullest, optimalform a full history would need to be a recounting of the facts, the feelings andthe folklore recorded in the memories of the current staff and emeriti,of Board members, current and retired, and of current students and old grads. As to method and discipline in selection,it is, of coursea truism to say that one should be honest and fair. Occasionallyit was nocessary to add facts that are relevant but missing from the minutes.Occasionally what is recorded here condenses and re-casts a part that isunclear. But mainly, the abstracts are an objective telling of the story. In fact,it may be more true to reality than the sometimes murky and even loaded language ofsome parts of the minutes. For itis often true that one must have had firsthandand early experience in the District to get the full importof the minutes. It would be hard to deny that the original version of theminutesattimes were so managed as not to illuminate the full truth.The hope is that staff and Board will find here something to feed perspectiveand nurture insight into what they have created. INTRODUCTION A :staff member or board member joining the ContraCosta Community College District in 1986 would be hard put to imagine thecontext and the flavor of the times that existed when the Districtwas established in 1949. Conversely, in 1949,Attorney George Gordon of Martinez,thefirst President of the Governing Board, or the late John Porterfield, the firstDirector of Contra Costa College, or any of the original cadre, couldnot possibly have en- visioned what would exist by 1987. The District isnot vet 40 years old and many of its founders are very much alive and active in community affairs and yet there has been 38 years jam packed with historywhere the primary constant has been change. The intent of this compilation isto chronicle the history of this District asitis reflected in the Board minutes from 1949 through 1986. Of course this will only bea view in transit for what we live today becomes our history tomorrow and thenewest member of the staff or of the Board inherits what happened inallthe yesterdays and immediately becomes an actor shaping the ongoing story. At a laterdate, perhaps, a narrative history of the Districtand the colleges which compose itwill be written.This publication is not such a narrative history.Itisa legislatve history of the District,a record in abstracted form of the issues and problems faced bythe Governing Board, the deliberations of the Board members, and the policyand personnel actions taken by the Board. Naturally, it is nota verbatim account; such would take many volumes. It is a highly