Photo I Courtesy of Quinsigamond Community College
Luis Pedraja, president of Quinsigamond Community College
2 hours ago
QCC board backs President Pedraja following union’s no-confidence vote
Photo | Grant Welker
Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester
The board of trustees of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester are standing by the college’s President Luis Pedraja after union members issued a vote of no confidence in the QCC leader last week.
Members of the QCC chapter of the Massachusetts Community College Council labor union returned their no-confidence vote on April 15 after the school chose not to reappoint three faculty and professional staff members who are people of color.
“The Board takes these concerns seriously. After careful consideration, the Board of Trustees expresses its continuing support of and confidence in President Luis Pedraja. Over the past eight years, President Pedraja’s leadership has advanced QCC’s mission of supporting the success of our students while also advancing justice and fairness for all members of our community,” QCC’s board of trustees wrote in a Tuesday press release from the college.
The board backed its support of Pedraja, asserting he has ensured QCC’s procedure for making employment decisions is in accordance with all procedures and processes collectively bargained with the school’s unions and that that all employee recommendations are reviewed before employment decisions at multiple levels including by direct managers, vice presidents, human resources and the school’s legal department.
“President Pedraja has also created initiatives to increase recruitment and retention of faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds including mentoring and training for both employees and their supervisors,” the board said in the release. “The Board of Trustees supports President Pedraja’s employment decisions that have been questioned as lawful, appropriate, and in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement negotiated with MCCC. Those sound decisions further the College’s mission and student success.”
"I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for their confidence and trust. I remain committed to advancing our shared mission of making QCC a place that fully embodies the principles of equity, fairness, and belonging,” Pedraja said in the release.
Though the employees’ non-reappointments are being investigated, Pedraja defends the college’s decision.
“The reasons for the non-reappointments were thoroughly documented, and they were the appropriate decisions based on the available evidence,” Pedraja wrote in an April 15 statement to WBJ.
The investigation provides no solace to some union members, as the investigation is viewed as a delay tactic, said Margaret Wong, president of the MCCC and leader of its QCC chapter.
““It's just so rare,” Wong said of the non-reappointments. “I can recall maybe one instance in my 25 years here of a professional staff unit member being let go in the first year, and it had to do with the charge of a crime. That was maybe 15 years ago. So it’s just so rare for it to happen that it was a shock to us.”
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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