COD trustee lets loose

Daily Herald
October 14, 2008
By Catherine Edman

College of DuPage Trustee Kory Atkinson got up from his board seat Monday night, walked to the lecturn and charged that fellow trustee Kathy Wessel is behind recent protests by the community group DuPage United.

Wessel, he said, appears to be orchestrating protests against the board's actions because she's a past member of the group and its protests mirror her views. She denied his claims.
Members of DuPage United have appeared at board meetings since July questioning trustees' decision to remove former President Sunil Chand from his job and to then launch a search for a new president.

Atkinson said "circumstantial evidence would suggest that Wessel is behind their protests."
He also said he believes DuPage United is a front for the Illinois Education Association, of which Wessel also is a retired member. The IEA is the statewide organization representing teachers unions. It's also the bargaining unit attached to the COD Faculty Association.

In stepping away from his board seat, Atkinson pulled out a recent article from the school's student newspaper "The Courier" and said he wanted to show student journalists, who wrote a lengthy article about the recent protests, how to be thorough. Atkinson then, on the laptop and projector on the lectern, went to the DuPage United Web site, showed a several-years-old photo of Wessel with the group, and said the organization has a political agenda student journalists should question.

She helped co-found the group and in the past was co-chairman and a member of its steering committee.

Wessel denied having any current involvement with DuPage United. Debra Fulks, co-chairman of their group's steering committee, said outside the board meeting that Wessel has not attended any of their meetings on the matter and they do not send her e-mails about their stand.

DuPage United is an umbrella organization of churches, mosques, synagogues, education associations and unions.

After making his presentation, Atkinson finished by saying people need to know the group is "somewhat connected with a trustee" and "politically motivated."

When it was over, Wessel responded.

"I have never hidden any of my connections with the IEA, of which I'm a retired member. I've never hidden any of my connections with DuPage United," she said. "I have not been an officer of that organization for some time."

It's unusual, at best, for trustees to attack one another publicly - at least overtly. Atkinson, though, said his presentation was not an attack, but a way to be informative.

"Don't you think the public ought to know a trustee is orchestrating an effort?" he asked after the meeting.

Since the board removed Chand from his job in May, transferring him to president emeritus, no one has spoken publicly about the reasons.

Atkinson also threw down the gauntlet in that matter as well, saying he'd make a motion for the board to wave its "non-disparagement agreement with Chand" if Chand also would agree to do so.

If that is done, Atkinson said, he would recommend "the immediate release of all records related to Chand's performance and transfer."

Wessel was the lone board member voting against Chand's removal last spring.

The Case Against Football at College of DuPage

In the mid-1990s, then-COD President Michael Murphy eliminated the college's football program. He cited the college's mission, "serving the needs of the community."

In 1992, 71% of football players were from out-of-district. By 1996, that had grown to 85%.

Murphy cited "inadequate support for students living away from home," including both housing and transportation. He cited the expenditures on football, including:

Compensation - $99,858
Contractual Services - 15,658
Materials/Supplies - 35,751
Travel - 21,292
Insurance - 10,666
Indirect Cost - 22,640 ($12,000 on Grounds alone)

For a total expenditure of $205,865. According to Murphy, "declines in locally available competition would raise cost."

The poor academic performance of football players was also cited by Murphy. According to statistics he presented to the board:

• 48% of players had a quarterly GPA below 2.0
• 20% of players had a quarterly GPA below 1.0
• 33% of players had a cumulative GPA below 2.0
• Football players dropped more than 1 of every 3 classes taken (37%), whereas the college-wide drop rate was 13%.
• 45% of football players at this time were on financial aid (the college's tuition wasn't even $30 per hour - it stands at more than $100 per hour in 2008)

Current Board of Trustees Chairman Micheal McKinnon wrote in rebuttal, "As a college, we should feel good about the fact that 45% of student athletes in football are on financial aid." [For the record, several years later McKinnon started a company named College Financial Planners of America.]

The football team was reinstated, over Murphy's objections. In recent years, the football coach's position went from being part-time [a full-time PE faculty member with added responsibility] to being a full-time position. Yes, College of DuPage has a full-time football coach. For the 2006-2007 academic year, Coach Fred Fimbres was paid a base salary of $71,000. That's a far cry from the $8,000 the football assignment paid during Murphy's time. Why does a community college need a full-time football coach?

The out-of-district players are back in force. The football roster numbered 85 total players in 2005, of which 22 were from in-district [see the Courier, May 9, 2008, page 29]. In 2007, out of 104 total players, only 33 were from in-district. Rumor has it more than 80% of the students on the current roster are from out-of-district.