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Faculty and staff members at Pierpont Community and Technical College are opposing a potential plan for the college to re-merge with Fairmont State University in West Virginia, according to a joint press release from Pierpont’s Faculty Senate and Classified Staff Council.
The Board of Governors at Pierpont voted on Jan. 26 in favor of exploring a partnership. The college was originally a part of Fairmont State when it was founded in 1974, according to the college’s website.
“The board has been examining Pierpont’s budget and we are deeply concerned about the financial viability of the institution,” David Hinkle, president of the Pierpont Board of Governors, said in a statement. “It is because of this that we have decided it is best to explore an affiliation with Fairmont State.”
The Classified Staff Council met Wednesday and cast a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Pierpont Board of Governors, citing doubts about board members’ “decision-making and fiduciary responsibility to maintain the institution’s autonomy and distinct mission,” according to the release. The council also voted to rescind the vote their representative made in favor of the partnership.
“Faculty, classified staff, and non-classified staff are uniting in their opposition to the actions of the Board of Governors,” the release read.
Faculty Senate president Susan Coffindaffer said the college does not have a financial need to pursue the partnership.
“Our faculty senators are troubled and disheartened that our Board has failed to consider the well-being of Pierpont’s students, is seemingly working in opposition to the distinct mission of the community college, and has not done its due diligence in serving the interests of Pierpont and our students,” she said in the release.
