Illustration By Alicia Rivero / Staff
By Alicia Rivero
Controversial Vice President of Academic Affairs Isabelle Saber is out, but circumstances surrounding her departure remain a mystery.
College President Dr. Mark Sanchez announced the departure of Saber in the second paragraph of a global email to college staff without details as to why his hand-picked VPAA and longtime friend was suddenly gone.
“Isabelle Saber is no longer the (VPAA) and Silvia Cornejo will be serving in the acting role through June 30, while we conduct a national search for a new (VPAA),” he wrote. “I personally want to thank Isabelle Saber and faculty for creating structural changes that have positioned the district to better serve our students and communities.”
Saber, who earlier indicated she would sit for an interview with The Sun, did not return multiple emails and phone calls seeking comment.
Southwestern College’s Academic Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to pass a No Confidence Resolution against Saber for what faculty members described as abusive behavior, illegal actions and contract violations, among many other complaints. Academic Senator Andrew Rempt said he felt “relieved” that Saber is no longer with the college.
“I feel we will be free to move forward with our programs and with helping our students,” he said. “I am relieved because (Saber) was difficult to work with. She created obstacles and did not seem to be faculty friendly or focused on student success. So now that this person is no longer working here, we can go back to what is important.”
Senate leaders took the No Confidence vote results to the governing board Nov. 13. A parade of faculty and staff told the board of frustrating experiences with Saber, including some who said they were “traumatized.”
Professor Tracy Schaelen, distance education faculty coordinator, said Saber was autocratic and “deeply demoralizing.” Schaelen said Saber’s reorganization of the library and learning center was “reckless” and would damage teaching and learning.
Professor Peter Herrera said he resigned from the sabbatical committee in protest of Saber’s actions.
“I was eligible to apply for a year-in-service sabbatical this year, my first ever in 27 years of service,” he said, “but I chose not to do so out of concern of retaliation.”
Herrera said he feared Saber would damage programs he cared about while he was away on sabbatical. He said working with faculty and administrators in the past was “rewarding, productive and respectful until fall of 2022.”
“I have witnessed the work environment within this committee become hostile and toxic due to the actions of VPAA Saber, words that I do not take lightly,” he said. “I found myself having to deal with angry, offensive, threatening and disdainful comments directed at me and the committee members. The latest such incident occurred during a meeting of the sabbatical committee and representatives from SCEA, where I was yelled at for supposedly ‘violating the contract.’ Your exact words,” Herrera said during the governing board meeting as he faced Saber.
Herrera’s resignation letter cited actions by Saber that were outside of her authority, a charge made by other faculty.
“All of this has taken a toll on my well-being and has affected my work providing my students with the most optimal learning environment,” he wrote.
Bill Kinney, acting dean of the School of Education, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, defended Saber and said he thought some complaints in the No Confidence resolution were not true.
“Everyone who wanted a sabbatical, got a sabbatical,” he said.
Rempt called remarks like Kinney’s “dismissive.”
“I mention (the context behind a resolution) to counter the (notion) that the vote of No Confidence against the VPAA was the result of a disgruntled faculty member or a small group of bullies who comprise faculty leadership,” he said. “The very suggestion is disrespectful and dismissive. It attempts to minimize the importance of the resolution by absolving the VPAA.”
Rempt said he has had “too many conversations with faculty members who are disillusioned and no longer feel driven to bring their best ideas to the college because they fear their work will be cavalierly and callously abused.”
“This vote of no confidence is the end product of that despair as well as their call to have their faith restored,” he said.
Professor Diane Palmer said she was one of the fortunate faculty get a sabbatical but criticized Saber for creating “chaos and hostility” fueled by “lack of plan and reasoning.”
“I just want to clarify that, although we did get the sabbaticals, the process and the way people were treated is emblematic of Saber’s methodology in the way that she does her job,” she said.
Faculty members streamed to the microphone to describe their experiences with Saber and express their concerns.
When it was Saber’s turn to talk during the Administrative Reports section of the board meeting, she reported that enrollment for Spring 2024 was robust despite faculty concerns about the “often referred 60-40 plan.” She denied her plan to gradually roll out classes was a 60-40 strategy, though she did not elaborate. She thanked Academic Senate President Dr. Jessica Posey and Professor Ruff Yeager for their work on the sabbatical process.
“It should also be noted that I have abstained from engaging in the discussions myself and simply limited my role to observing the good work being conducted by the sabbatical committee,” she said.
Saber said there was good communication with faculty and that she honored Shared Governance laws while transforming Jaguar Pathways and the program review process, which some faculty have called “a disaster.” She said she agreed with the governing board and college president’s “priority of putting students first.”
Rempt said Saber’s comments were disingenuous and that Saber constantly engaged in overreach outside of her authority.
“I would say that proper protocols were not being followed,” he said. “Policies and procedures were not being followed. The (faculty) contract was not being followed. The position of Vice President of Academic Affairs is supposed to be one that relies on our college’s policies and procedures.”
Professor of Philosophy Peter Bolland said he had mixed feelings about the departure of Saber.
“I’ve had several fruitful and friendly conversations with Isabel Saber,” he said. “I found her approachable and easy to talk to. I have always found her to be a conscientious professional.”
Her departure, though, was inevitable, he said.
“I suppose it’s kind of a natural result from a pretty dramatic series of events that happened this fall,” he said. “The (60-40) proposal (and other) well-documented failures from the point of view of a wide array of faculty leaders, stakeholders and other folks.”
Bolland said he understood why “people were deeply frustrated and would even be traumatized.”
Rempt said he hoped the college could put the Saber era behind it and move forward in a productive manner.
