As many of you know some dedicated folks are working very hard to keep the old SJC Hatchery alive. This is a reminder that donations to the Friends of the Hatchery can be made by dropping in or mailing in a check to:
Friends of the Hatchery
Wells Fargo Bank, Sitka Branch
300 Lincoln Street
Sitka, Alaska 99835
I also noted that there are donation cans around town a various business. I saw one today at Murray Pacific. Drop your loose change into the can next time you see one of these cans. Every little bit helps!
Thanks!
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10 comments:
This site has calmed down. I keep wondering when...
* The Presbyterian Church USA will publish letters/articles about the unChristian travesty of Dobler and friends' treatment of former faculty/students. (The letters have been sent - is it a coincidence that a SJC board member is in charge of such publications?)
* People will express outrage about letters sent by the college soliciting funds (to help students? not likely. The only help for students has been through the Presbyterian Church fund (unconnected with the college) and the State of Alaska).
* The Sitka Daily Sentinel will publish critical letters.
There is a whole history which continues to be ignored/buried.
I'd like to know these things too. I am working on getting a copy of the fundraising letter.
My wife, Oree, and I served as volunteer faculty members at SJC from 2000 to 2003, I taught a variety of courses – algebra, calculus, statistics, physics, quantitative chemical analysis, and one semester of organic chemistry. I also chaired the Math Community (Department) which gave me insight into the administration. Dr. Dobler’s son worked one semester for the Math Community and did a spectacular job. I had just retired from 31 years of service with a major corporation as a research scientist. I had previously taught part-time statistics and physical chemistry for six years at a liberal arts college with ten times the enrollment as SJC. Oree and I had recently served for two years on the Capital Fund Drive Committee for a major public university. When we resigned to leave for SJC this committee had raised $1.7 billion dollars. We both had considerable experience in the higher education big leagues. We came to SJC free of any need of finances from SJC which gave us much independence to make unbiased observations.
When we returned home to resume our life Oree and I did lots of analysis of the future of SJC. Our conclusion was it was doomed and irreversibly headed to failure. SJC simply did not have enough money, faculty members, and students to offer a quality education in any higher education field. For example, we had never before seen such decrepit college buildings. Every window pane in the science building was broken. I literally broke through the rotten floor in Yaw during one of my math classes. There was only enough laboratory equipment in physics to do three or four very basic experiments. I could keep going, but you all know this. But the bottom line is we could not in good conscience recommend SJC to anyone.
Based on this analysis I believe the severe criticism of Dr. Dobler is unwarranted. He is a saint for staying at SJC during this period of reorganization. Most executives would have left for a better job long ago. Dr. Dobler is running out of career years and the time spent trying to revive SJC will not be considered a worthy achievement by hiring institutions. So please treat Dr. Dobler with respect and understanding. He is suffering like the rest of you.
Glen Robinson
Holy carp. i'm a SJC Alum, and i had no idea that this had happened until January 2008! This is unbelievable...
i feel saddened that i've been kept so out of the loop by a school i loved so much. i adored that SJC was a small community school that lacked the impersonal nature of the larger school i'd attended before. Then i find out second-hand that Molly Alghren was gone, and now this. Somebody at work mentioned offhandedly that they heard my school had closed - news to me! i can't even imagine the impact this had on current students.
Thanks for the blog - will be keeping a close eye on it from now on to stay informed.
Glen--
You have not been here. You have not been a witness to the events of the last year. There are justifiable reasons for the anger and frustration that is felt by those who have been here, who have witnessed the obfuscation, lying, and vitriol spread by the current administrator.
By the way, Yaw was remodeled, the floor is sound, lab equipment was obtained. As I said, you haven't been here.
Glen,
I have the highest respect for anyone who volunteered at SJ. The VIMs are the best! I also very much appreciate your thoughts, but as mentioned you were not at SJ the last few years. Many great ideas that could have saved the school were ignored and in fact the board even told those of us that were trying to save the school that they didn’t have time to listen to our ideas. This included a study by a highly respected firm from Portland that has developed plans for several colleges and universities. I also watch the person you respect walk away from ½ million dollars because he was too busy to return calls.
Oh, and what about the gentleman that come to SJ just a few days before they closed with the intent of giving a large donation. Guess what no one would give him the time of day because he looked like a normal Joe. Then come to find out he had given over 100 million dollars to various colleges and universities over the last few years.
I’d also have to ask you did you receive the respect that was due you when you were at SJ? If so you had a rare experience that few VIMs did. In fact one VIM who was at the school with very a similar background than you would tell you that Dobler wouldn’t even great him as they would pass. I was only at SJ 3 1/3 years but during that time I saw VIMs and workgroup people not even thanked for being there. Of the nearly 1000 volunteers that I saw at SJ many of them tried to give tried to give donations and many of them were not able to because no one would return a call or e-mail.
So, if he is a saint he is about the most incompetent one I’ve ever seen. Not to mention being truthful is what saints are suppose to be. A saint would at the very least tell the truth, look you in the eye, and listen. They would probably also not womanize and would not be afraid a men with strong ideas and personalities.
SJ could have made it. In fact SJ could have thrived under the right leadership. Yes, it was struggling, but that is when a good leader would form a team and work harder. Not tell the very people that are suppose to be your team that you are the smartest guy around then scorn and belittle them when they tired to bring up good ideas as Dobler often did.
As a student who was there almost to the end, let me give my input, Glen.
First, thank you and your wife for your hard work and determination. So many VIMS worked so hard to provide what the administration refused: a loving and welcoming home to students who had left their homes and traveled to a remote, rainy island in Alaska.
The VIMS were wonderful. I cannot help but wish I had given them more thanks while I was there. I am sure they were just as wonderful in the end. I remember that in my final semester, there was rumor (when wasn't there!?) of a VIM shortage because no one had recruited. The students were in an uproar, realizing, of course, that the campus did not run without the help of the VIMS. But, onto my point:
Dr. Dobler. I have never met someone I tried to respect more, but ended up loathing, than him. I remember his first meeting with the students. He asked us what our concerns were. One girl raised her hand and stated "the previous administration had a problem with not discussing the issues. When we asked what was happening we were ignored. We need that to change."
The rest of the students seemed to agree. Dr. Dobler said this (and I quote) "What if nothing bad happened. What if we could go a semester and have no troubles? What would we do then? And if there was a problem, what if the lines of communication were completely open?"
Completely open to who, Dr. Dobler? Because certainly, given what did happen, you must not have meant the students, staff, faculty or VIMS.
Dr. Dobler busied himself with being unavailable. SO many people wanted to give time and money, but he was too busy to meet with them. When your institution is faced with the debt SJ was faced with and someone wants to give ANY amount, you make the time.
He may have been a great man when you knew him. He may have been a great leader then too. But he did no better (and some would claim much worse) than Dr. Cleveland did. He failed. And because he failed, SJ closed. And for that, I will never forgive him.
On a seperate note: I need to get into touch with Pat Sheahan. If anyone knows how to reach him, please email me so I can find a way to reach him. missnmp@gmail.com
Best of luck to you all.
It was only a matter of time. I have lived here 11 years and attended SJC for 6 of those years. During that time the school was in imminent danger of shutting down at least 3 times. One time we were given notice that the school may not reopen in the fall; this was about 3 days after FAFSA was due in Alaska. To top it off I was told they still did not know if they were going to reopen when I returned from summer work, 10 days before classes were supposed to start.
Throughout the years I was there I saw gross mismanagement of money at every turn. For two years running the student government funds account was raided. As the president of a club I tried unsuccessfully numerous times to get funds; it was frustrating at the least and quite likely criminal. This was during the rein of VanOtten. And from what I understand it did not get much better. Someone should do the math on the cost of running the school vs. contributions and other sources of income. Get your hands on an old donor sheet with levels of contribution and then try and figure out where that money went.
Sheldon Jackson has a lot to offer as an educational institution but they tried to spread out too much. Every expansion of the curriculum seems to have had a very poor cost/benefit ratio. Instead of concentration on the core they kept losing money in the skin.
It has been in gradual decline since they made the transition from a community college to a 4 year college. It sounds like they were rolling in the dough and putting out some great workers. They had a large school boat, they had planes, they had small boats, they had equipment, you name it.
Dobler had the bad fortune to take it over at a bad time, but the few times I have had the misfortune of dealing with him did not make me optimistic for the future of SJC under his (lack of) leadership. I would bet his (very large) paycheck has never been late.
I have never regretted the experience (not education) of going to SJC and have fell in love with Sitka. There were many better places to get an education but the experiences were priceless.
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