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Julie Kiotas, the new Faculty Association President in her office in C-347 on Sept. 2, 2014. This Kiotas's first semester as Faculty Association president. (Courier/Paul Ochoa)
Julie Kiotas, the new Faculty Association President in her office in C-347 on Sept. 2, 2014. This Kiotas’s first semester as Faculty Association president. (Courier/Paul Ochoa)

Dr. Julie Kiotas will look to improve working relations between the faculty and administration and create an overall better college environment for students as the new President of the Faculty Association.

Kiotas serves as the chief negotiator for the Faculty Association and is known for her meticulous analyses of administrative spending.

“I have a very strong sense of fairness,” asserts Kiotas. She hopes to forge a strong working relationship with the administration, as there are “a lot of great things we can do together.”

The first of those things on the agenda is a faculty contract she considers fair. Another priority is a contract that treats adjunct faculty commensurate to what they contribute, she said.

As it is, adjuncts have no job security and they are extremely underpaid given their expertise. This, in turn, also hurts the students, she said. Some adjunct faculty are forced to work several jobs, limiting their office hours to 20 minutes per week.

Not only is Kiotas determined to make a difference, she clearly has full support and confidence from her peers.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our current leadership,” said former FA president Roger Marheine. “I do know that she is working diligently as the FA presidency is quite a daunting position.”

In order to become president of the Faculty Association, she had to be voted in by the members of the association.

Expectations are quite high now that Mark Rocha, who was blamed for the rift between the faculty and the administration, is now out of the picture. Marheine said Rocha “was either unable or unwilling to work with faculty, staff, and students.”

Marheine said he is “optimistic that new leadership will bring a more civil tone, a more meaningful dialogue, and hopefully a genuinely fair contract.”

Acting Superintendent-President Robert Miller was also very confident that “good progress can be made on contract negotiations.” The Board of Trustees and senior administration officials sincerely look forward to working on contract negotiations with the FA, he said.

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