Christine Plunkett on the Burlington College campus. (file: Matthew Thorsen)
Budget cuts resulting in the loss of four faculty and staff members at financially shaky Burlington College are sparking protests by students who say they’re worried about their school’s viability.
Two department chairs at the 41-year-old college — Anna Blackmer (humanities) and Emily Schmidt (fine arts) — recently resigned after being offered contracts that would have made them half-time employees and terminated their health benefits. Blackmer, 63, has been working full-time at the college for 25 years.
Web administrator and veterans’ liaison Erin Elliott, who is eight months pregnant, saw her position eliminated.
A third academic program head, Gordon Glover (film), was not offered a new contract. And Mary Arbuckle, a professor in the film department, had her hours cut in half and her benefits terminated. That scale-back sharply constricts the one department for which Burlington College has achieved a degree of recognition beyond its North Avenue campus.
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The students are right to be upset. Christine Plunkett has no business being the president of a college. Plunkett is a professional accountant with no teaching experience and no experience as a college academic or administrator. Before coming to Burlington College she was in charge of the finances of the ill-fated and grossly mismanaged Gailer School, a private high/middle school that had to close its doors due to leadership incompetence. Plunkett thinks like an accountant, which is only right, since that’s her career and her training. Like an accountant, she sees things in black and white, and doesn’t really understand the human part of the equation. Sacrificing a gifted educator such as Anna Blackmer in order to balance the books is a thing that comes naturally to someone like Plunkett. When you put a person in charge whose professional training and background are unsuitable to the position, you are going to get a mess. This mess will likely get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
In 2011 Plunkett’s salary reflected her position as CFO. Now that she’s President, I’m sure her salary is considerably higher. She and her bloated staff should consider a pay decrease. They’re certainly not doing any fundraising! Instead, as usual, this task now goes onto the backs of overworked faculty. This is not about saving money as she tries to claim. It’s about favoritism. The head of Cinema Studies and Media Activism is canned, and who is his replacement? None other than the husband of the HR Director! I’m sure there must be something in the policy book about nepotism.
Jane Sanders was invited to address the wards 4 and 7 NPA around 3 years ago when the big purchase was made as to what the plans were. Evasive plan description was noted that night and it certainly continues. Many feared this was a sham from day 1, now Burlington taxpayers will pay double in the end as it went to pay off the Church’s issue and now the land is probably headed for as big as a boondoggle as Burlington telecon(m) and the Moran plant Ice house. Bottom line thanks Progs.
Years ago, I took a class at BC as I needed the course to graduate from another college. I was impressed with its small size and sense of community. Fast forward…It seems to me that BC/Plunkett bite off more than they could chew financially with purchasing the Catholic Diocese property and its management. Now the administration’s lack of experience is in a panic and cutting staff and faculty to make up for it, which is really just a band aid fix. If they need to sell off some property, do it wisely and perhaps on not such a grand scale as Farrell is pushing for. He’ll wait for that prime piece of property. Put that money back into your students and school, instead of increasing the burn out factor for the ones that are still teaching which jeopardizes the quality of education. Sounds like Plunkett and her cronies are listening too closely to the bank and the developers and losing sight of why and how they were established…to offer an affordable and a bit more liberated education to their students. We already lost one excellent college (Trinity) to that scenario and this has a similar ring to it….
I don’t understand how the college can get away with selling off the land to developers! Was this the strategy from Day 1?? What a bait and switch! This also makes me seriously question their tax exempt status. What’s the story with that?????
Career administrators make me sick!
I attended BC for one year, after the first month or so I realized I had made a huge mistake. The staff was unsuportive, the RA was always abcent and to be honest useless. The academic standards were very low and the school did not offer students opportunities to further their careers or studies. I transfered schools and somehow Burlington incorectly filed my paperwork. I was considered a dropout and had to immediatly start paying back my loans. I am so glad I got out of there when I did. As a Senior at another college I have been given both work and academic opportunities. I am much more pleased with my money spent.
“The college has virtually no endowment”
What happened to the $70,000 endowment gifted to Burlington College by the estates of Jason Conway and Marcia Vance for the purpose of student scholarships? Where’s that money now? Or did it get used to pay the day-to-day expenses?
“The cost of buying 32 acres of lakefront real estate and an 85,000-square-foot building will be met entirely through sale of a portion of the property to real-estate developers, along with a revved-up fundraising effort, Plunkett said.”
When the deal was announced that the Catholic Diocese would sell the property to Burlington College rather than developers, it was hailed as a coup for preserving a beautiful part of the City. Now Burlington College is selling it off bit by bit to try and escape financial ruin (presumably) brought on by buying the prime property. Everybody loses.
COTS should reflect on Burlington College’s experience before they proceed with their plans to develop facilities on Lakeview Terrace.
Having both an inside and outside perspective, I have witnessed extremely questionable management at this institution over the years. But the one thing that has always made the school worthwhile is the creative academic spirit that the teachers bring consistently. The loss of these individuals – in particular Anna Blackmer who has long been a cornerstone of the school – is beyond devastating for the BC community, especially the students. What a disappointment.