NOOZHAWK: What motivated you to run for the SBCC Board of Trustees? Explain your decision process.
PETER HASLUND: I was asked to run by a committee of concerned citizens with direct involvement in the life of SBCC. I became concerned that some of the decisions reached by our Board of Trustees were at variance with the long-term best interest of the college. Ultimately, I realized that, as a teacher of American politics for many years, I had advocated for citizen participation as a requirement for living in our democracy. Now seemed like my time to “walk the walk.”
Another source of motivation for me relates to what the community college can do for individual students. I am a product of this system, attending LACC in 1958. I was broke and without a particular sense of direction. It was the community college that helped me find it.
NOOZHAWK: What unique experience or expertise do you have that will make a difference on the SBCC board?
PH: I’ve served on the SBCC faculty for 40 years, both in the capacity of a political science and global studies professor and as someone engaged in shared governance. I’ve chaired my department, the Social Sciences division, and I’ve served as president of the Academic Senate. I love this college and its very special mission.
NOOZHAWK: What is the most pressing challenge SBCC faces? How would you help resolve it?
PH: The most pressing issue relates to California’s financial crisis. It is no small thing that we are likely to “get over” any time soon. The Board of Trustees has to be very creative in both cost-cutting and in augmenting its finances so as to reduce the negative impact this crisis could have on the mission of the college. This means extensive and public debate about what is important, and moving aggressively in terms of finding the needed resources.
NOOZHAWK: Public education seems to be in a perpetual state of crisis at every level in California. What can SBCC do to take more control of its destiny locally?
PH: I believe that the state allows for a good deal of flexibility. We need to dedicate some portion of our efforts to experimenting with new ideas and to learn from the experiences of others. There is some wonderful research going on about how people learn, and we need to examine it and, where appropriate, adopt it.
NOOZHAWK: SBCC President Andreea Serban has said that the school is “one of the most fiscally sound community colleges in the state.” Do you agree? If not, what steps should be taken to make it so?
PH: I agree. SBCC is fiscally sound and better off than most others. But fiscal soundness is not our ultimate goal. It becomes necessary, particularly during a financial crisis that is global in scope, to be innovative in curriculum development and to keep classes open so that the increase in anticipated student enrollment — one result of the economic downturn — can be accommodated.
NOOZHAWK: What should be SBCC’s core mission? Are credit and continuing education programs equal? Should they be?
PH: The core mission of America’s community colleges is to serve as the “great leveler” of society. Ours is the only higher educational institution that does not differentiate on the basis of the ability to pay. It provides opportunities where other institutions offer a closed door. There are legal aspects of that mission relating to transfer and vocational training, but it also includes continuing education, which consumes about 10 percent of the state funding allocated to SBCC.
NOOZHAWK: With state funding limitations increasingly affecting the UC and CSU systems, will SBCC graduates continue to have the transfer access they need to complete undergraduate degrees? If not, what’s the solution?
PH: I believe these doors must and will remain open. The CSU System has recently modified its application process to make it easier for a community college student to transfer. They do so for a couple of good reasons. First, the process was unnecessarily cumbersome. Second, the education that a student receives at a community college is often better than what they might experience at a four-year institution, precisely because our emphasis is on “excellence in teaching.” We are not a research institution and we should not aspire to be one.
NOOZHAWK: To help upgrade and improve aging campus infrastructure, local voters passed Measure V. The bond was to be matched by the state of California, but instead the state has reneged. What will be the long-term impacts of “half” a renovation? What options are available to SBCC to complete its modernization plans?
PH: The simple version of the answer is that a number of projects will have to be postponed, the largest of which is the SoMA (School of Media Arts) facility. Other projects, such as the upgrade of the Humanities Building, will proceed at a scale that is in keeping with the funds available. Low bidding should not be supplemented by “cost overruns,” and architects and contractors should be selected, in part, on the basis of a demonstrated track record of completing projects on time and reasonably close to the budget.
NOOZHAWK: Besides the breathtaking views, what is SBCC’s greatest asset?
PH: Its faculty. My former colleagues constitute the best, hardest-working faculty on the planet, and they are the ones who make learning possible! They take understandable pride in their accomplishments and compete with each other for more effective teaching practices.
NOOZHAWK: What is your personal connection to SBCC?
PH: Forty marvelous years of teaching … and learning … on this first-rate campus. I am fully dedicated to its continuing place in our community as the place to send students who want to learn.
NOOZHAWK: Are you a Main Campus person? West Campus? Schott Center? Wake Center?
PH: My office was on the Main Campus during the 1970s and ‘80s, but as the West Campus was developed, I moved to the IDC.
NOOZHAWK: Do you watch the TV show, Community? Who’s your favorite character?
PH: No. But I would support a show that might be called Community College that would televise Board of Trustees meetings and other significant events.
NOOZHAWK: If elected, will you help us establish a Noozhawk lab as part of the required coursework for journalism, photography, advertising and marketing, and New Media?
PH: I can certainly suggest that the electronic news — such as Noozhawk — be included in any serious consideration of the world of journalism.
Click here for more information on Peter Haslund’s campaign.
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