Reinstate Broward counselors after abrupt terminations

In the middle of the workday on April 15th, 2020, Broward College faculty counselors were called to an emergency meeting. During this emergency meeting, they were informed they were no longer employed at Broward College, and immediately following the call, they were disconnected from college email and resources. Students were left bewildered as to why their counselors disappeared in the middle of the day.

From suicide to behavioral issues and academic advising, faculty counselors brought over 250 years of collective expertise. They provided initial assessments in high-risk situations and advised associate deans on the proper courses of action. Rivkah Moshe, a 2020 Broward College graduate, reflected on the role of faculty counselors when the pandemic hit and campus life went virtual: “Our group of six mentors and our large group of mentees felt secured and prepared in a time where it seemed like we couldn’t feel that way.”

Due to the abrupt nature of the 14 terminations, transferring that institutional knowledge was made objectively unachievable and processing the additional students was virtually impossible. Rivkah said she, “discovered the shocking news that the group of about 14 faculty counselors college-wide had been discontinued by Broward College quite late. After my religious holiday break, I received messages from my friends and colleagues at the Women in STEM Mentor Project. I was confused about the sudden alarm and why they were concerned about the program. Eventually, I was informed that Dr. Denise Rodriguez would no longer be working with us. I am anxious about the future of the Women in STEM Project, the faculty counselors, and what it means for Broward College students and those who plan to attend in the fall. Now, more than ever, we need our faculty counselors.”

The actions of the Broward administration and board of trustees not only jeopardized the livelihoods of 14 veteran employees without proper notice, or warning, it did an incredible disservice to all the students of Broward College. Even now, students continue to seek faculty counselors’ help.

The administration claimed faculty counselors and academic advisors were identical and therefore, easy to replace. What they failed to mention is, only faculty counselors handled emergency interventions and brought over 250 years of institutional knowledge. Academic advisors do not.

The administration also claimed the termination of faculty counselors saved the institution $1.4 million, but following the implementation of the terminations, the college announced they were hiring 30 academic advisors this year; 15 in the summer term and 15 in the fall semester.

The untimely termination of these 14 veteran faculty counselors during this pandemic when students need them the most was simply egregious, inhumane and most of all, an act of union-busting against a represented class of union members. .

We have collected over 3,000 petition signatures. We are preparing to file a ULP, Unfair Labor Practice, and we will continue to build public pressure until our faculty counselors are reinstated and Broward students are made whole. We are asking for all students, staff, faculty, administrators, community members and international partners to continue standing with the Broward College faculty counselors by signing our public petition and calling President Gregory Haile directly at 954-201-7401 and asking him to reinstate our faculty counselors immediately.