Lakeland Faculty Association Announces Media Spokesperson for Contract Negotiation
KIRTLAND, Ohio – June 1, 2023 – The Lakeland Faculty Association (LFA) has selected Lynne Gabriel to serve as its media spokesperson during its on-going negotiations with Lakeland Community College. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement expires on August 15, 2023.
Gabriel is a Professor of Psychology, who will begin her twentieth year at Lakeland in the fall. She said, “I have devoted the last two decades of my life to working with students, who have the right to a high-quality learning environment focused on supporting their needs. In addition to teaching, I have served in several roles connected to Lakeland’s strategic planning and accreditation processes. I am now honored to serve the faculty as we fight for a student-focused, high-quality education in the supportive learning environment the Lakeland community deserves.” Gabriel was President of the LFA during the previous contract negotiation in 2020.
Gabriel can be reached via email at LFAmediaServices@gmail.com.
For the latest information, like the LFA page on Facebook at LakelandFacultyAssociation, follow us on Instagram at @lakelandfacultyassociation, and visit our website at www.lfa.ohea.us. Or, keep up with the conversation on social media with #LFAstrongerTogether.
Lakeland Faculty Are Proud of High-Quality and Student-Focused Instruction They Provide
The following remarks were delivered by LFA President Tobin F. Terry at the May 5, 2023 meeting of the Lakeland Board of Trustees.
Chairperson Rispoli, Board, and President Beverage, I am Tobin Terry, President of the Lakeland Faculty Association, Lake County resident and father of three.
First, I want to offer some recognition. Congratulations to Dr. Kay Malec, for your distinguished service award. It is well-deserved.
I thank Trustee Hebebrand, as I was pleased to hear of his commendation of Lakeland’s programs and his acknowledgement of the political diversity amongst our faculty in his remarks at a recent speaking engagement. That diversity, too, is a testament to our commitment to fostering an inclusive learning environment where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.
I had expected that some attendees from that event would be here due to Trustee Hebebrand’s suggestion that they attend these meetings. I looked forward to hearing their perspectives on Lakeland’s positive impact on our community.
I would like to express my gratitude to President Beverage for his clarification that no board members believe that there is an attempt to indoctrinate students at Lakeland. I also appreciate President Beverage’s attempts to explain why faculty may have felt otherwise given the current climate.
I understand that it was expressed by some at the April Board meeting that they felt attacked by the speakers we’ve heard at public comment. As the elected representative of the faculty, I urge the board not to mistake our passion for aggression. We educators are passionate about our subjects. And we are committed to inspiring and challenging our students to think independently and critically and to engage in thoughtful discourse.
Our invitation to join us in our classrooms was not meant as a confrontational gesture. Rather, our invitation is meant as a genuine opportunity for the board to better understand our students and witness the outstanding work we are able to do, thanks in part to the support in policy and leadership provided by the board and administration.
We take immense pride in the services we provide to our community. We are grateful for your dedication, your commitment to advancing our shared mission, and your understanding that the concepts of equity, inclusion, and diversity enhance our students’ learning experiences.
Thank you for your time, attention, and leadership.
Lakeland Faculty Choose Students over Politics
The following remarks were offered by LFA Vice President Natalie Hopper at the April 6, 2023 meeting of the Lakeland Community College Board of Trustees.
Hello, I’m Natalie Hopper. I am Coordinator for the Assessment of Student Learning at Lakeland, Professor of Composition and Literature, Vice President of the Lakeland Faculty Association, faculty advisor for the Theater Club, and faculty co-advisor for the English Honor Society.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
Diversity of thought and experience are at the center of all that we do and have been long before the current political winds brought serious misconceptions about and misrepresentations of higher education and its faculty.
We advocate for inclusion, diversity, and equity because we advocate for all students. Faculty members are not trying to indoctrinate students. We are not trying to turn them into liberals or conservatives, or any other kind of ideologue.
We work to help students become informed citizens who can make their own decisions about the world, and we do this by exposing them to a variety of viewpoints and teaching them how to evaluate those viewpoints.
I ask you again to visit our classrooms. You will get to know Lakeland’s students, and you will see the attempts to paint faculty as political operatives for the falsehoods they are. We do not teach students what to think. We teach them how to think. This is and has always been the case.
If there is a danger of inserting politics into Lakeland’s mission and values, it does not stem from the faculty or our commitment to long-standing values.
It has come to my attention that a Lakeland trustee is scheduled to speak at a political activist event where he will be discussing Lakeland’s mission and values and, more specifically, questioning whether they align with the values of Lake County residents.
As you are all aware, Lakeland’s mission includes a commitment to meeting the diverse needs of the community. This commitment is a critical component of Lakeland’s identity and its ability to serve its students and community effectively. This trustee’s past criticism of one or more Lakeland core values as they appeared in the Strategic Plan raises concerns about his ability to responsibly and accurately represent the college at such an event.
In the political event announcement, the speaker is identified as a Lakeland trustee, giving the impression that he represents the College and/or Board on a matter that the Board agreed to set aside in the DEI committee meeting last month.
I want to reiterate that the core values of Lakeland Community College are not political, but rather essential to providing a quality education to all of our students. We have a responsibility to uphold these values and ensure that they are not compromised for personal or political gain.
I urge all of you to consider the potential implications of a trustee’s participation in this event and to take appropriate action to protect Lakeland’s integrity and reputation.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for upholding the mission and values of Lakeland Community College.