91ÖØ¿Ú

FHPC
Meeting Minutes

MEETING DATE: 10/15/2026

1. Call to Order

• Ms. Gecox called the meeting to order at 12:00 pm   

2. Review & Approve Agenda

• Motion to approve by Rosen/Mattern
• Agenda approved by the committee

3. Review & Approval of Prior Minutes

• Motion to approve by Rosen/Decker 
• September 16, 2026 Minutes approved by the committee 

4. Public Comment

• This time is reserved for members of the public to address the FHPC. Please limit comments to 2 minutes per person (a total of 5 minutes will be permitted). In accordance with the Brown Act, the FHPC cannot act on these items. 
• No comments 

5. Presentation of submitted Full-Time Faculty Request Forms

• Positions posted here: /gv/fhpc/positions.php  

English (4 positions: 3 replacement, 1 new) 

• For English presentation handout, see 2026-1015 FHPC Attachments 

• Staffing decline: 14 full-time faculty in spring 2022, now 11 

• Three retirements not yet replaced 

• Full-time faculty teaching percentage severely lagging 

• District average: 54%; statewide: 55%; English at 91ÖØ¿Ú: 37.2% (fall) / 41.9% (spring) 

• Reassigned time equivalent to roughly one full-time position, skewing percentages further 

• Diversity gap: 81.8% of full-time faculty are white; statewide average is 51%; student body is 72% non-white 

• 4–5 retirements anticipated within 5–7 years, compounding the gap 

• Hiring 1–2 positions brings closer to district/state averages; 3 restores 2022 staffing level; 4 reaches ~75% full-time ratio goal 

 Music Technology (1 new) 

• District investing millions in new recording studio and camera lab 

• Three current full-timers are performing artists, none with music technology oversight expertise 

• Growing course offerings: Music Tech 1 and 2, live concert sound; aspirational: mixing/mastering, music production, film sound 

• Position would also serve film, media, and audio production programs across disciplines 

 Biology (2 positions: 1 replacement, 1 new) 

• Microbiology: Upcoming retirement; new STEAM Building lab requires specialized expertise no current faculty has 

• • Microbiology sections: 7/year, always fully waitlisted; average enrollment 105% fill rate; no full-time instructor currently 

• Growth position (cell/molecular biology): curriculum shifted from 3-semester to 2-semester sequence this year 

• • 6 full sections of organismal biology this semester; 3 sections of cell/molecular biology in spring; 3 more needed in fall with no staffing 

• Lost a strong part-time instructor to a full-time position at Solano College 

Anthropology (1 replacement) 

• 7 full-time faculty, all at max load; program healthy with strong enrollment numbers 

• Full-time teaching percentage (~33–35%) mirrors English’s lagging rate 

• Requesting replacement for cultural anthropology specialist 

• Potential to develop certificate programs in environmental studies and archaeology 

• Presenter managing two programs, program review, and hiring simultaneously 

 Communication Studies (2 new) 

• For Communication presentation handout, see 2026-1015 FHPC Attachments 

• Currently 3 full-time faculty; discipline-wide comparison shows severe understaffing 

• • Biology: 8 allotted; Kinesiology: 6; Business: 6; Psychology: 4; Comm Studies: 3 

• Section growth: 64 sections in 2022–23 → 90 sections in 2025-26 → 98 sections in 2026- 27 

• Adjuncts carry 75–80% of annual course load; 13 part-timers currently maxed out 

• Diversity lacking; no diversity in full-time ranks 

• Statewide projection: 100–150 new comm studies positions needed across California 

• • Other local community colleges all hired full-time comm studies faculty in the past 18 months 

• Known retirement expected within 18 months; requesting 2 positions now to avoid deeper crisis 

 Chemistry (2 new: organic chemistry + general chemistry) 

• 70% enrollment growth since 2019; still only 4 full-time faculty 

• 250 students turned away from waitlists in spring 2026; classes running at 111% fill rate 

• Faculty taking students above safe lab cap to meet demand 

• 16 degree programs rely on chemistry; delays in chem = delays across STEM pathways 

• Organic chemistry: highly specialized lab instrumentation and safety; most senior organic chemist going on workload banking 

• Part-time hiring crisis: 6 new part-timers hired last year; last position filled 3 days before semester start 

• Chabot has had up to 6 full-time chem faculty; 91ÖØ¿Ú has had at most 4 
• 91ÖØ¿Ú now offers more general chemistry sections than Chabot despite fewer full-timers

 

Geography (1 replacement) 

• For Geography presentation handout, see 2026-1015 FHPC Attachments 

• The current faculty member hired in 2023 is the sole full-time faculty; overseeing both geography and geology with no coordinator 

• Program at risk of losing geography without replacement; lab technician supports multiple programs 

• Classes consistently fill 

 Math (2 replacement) 

• For Math presentation handout, see 2026-1015 FHPC Attachments 

• Enrollment returning to levels when 2 additional full-time faculty were in place 

• Full-time FTEF percentage at lowest point in 10 years despite enrollment growth 

• Students demonstrably prefer full-time faculty waitlists over open part-time sections 

• First time in over a decade that part-time faculty have been overloaded to avoid class cancellations 

• Full-time faculty provide contractually greater office hours and campus presence; critical for underprepared students 

 Physics (1 new) 

• Department doubled students served in 10 years; still only 2 full-time faculty 

• 150 students on waitlists this semester; could have added a section but had no one to teach it 

• 5-credit classes (lecture + lab): part-timers can only teach one component; Jenny S. often co-teaching labs herself 

• Part-timer retention extremely low: 1–2 semesters typical; 2 of 3 newly hired spring part-timers got full-time jobs before semester started 

• Jenny S. has been on overload every semester since going full-time 

• Equity issue: only students with priority registration can access physics classes 

• Students who fail must wait a full year to retake; sequences must be completed at 91ÖØ¿Ú (no transfer of partial sequences) 

 Astronomy (1 new) 

• Astronomy: GE course, always fills; honors section offered; Robin R. managing both astronomy and physics demands 

 Ethnic Studies (1 new) 

• Currently 1 full-time faculty member running the entire program 

• State mandate (Area 6 ethnic studies requirement) makes this a mandatory pathway, not an elective 

• All courses full and waitlisted; majority of curriculum taught by adjuncts 

• Program sustainability at risk with only one full-time faculty member 

• Goal: grow into an AA degree and meet transfer requirements; cannot be done alone 

 Psychology (1 new) 

• Presenter on psychology unavailable, instead submission form was reviewed: https://laspositascollege.edu/gv/fhpc/assets/docs/2026/bssl/Psychology-new.pdf 

 Counseling (1 replacement, 1 new) 

• For Counseling presentation handout, see 2026-1015 FHPC Attachments 

• Replacement for two recent retirements 

• 91ÖØ¿Ú has never had a designated Puente counselor; position has been piecemealed via reassignment 

• • Jose (veterans’ counselor) and Catherine (academic interventions counselor) have each taken turns covering Puente 

• Statewide MOU requires minimum 50% reassignment for Puente coordinator 

• Puente student success rates: 23 percentage points higher math success rates vs. overall 91ÖØ¿Ú students (2018–2024); 98% completed transferable English vs. 47% overall 91ÖØ¿Ú students 

• General counseling: 9 full-time counselors, 8 on caseload; supporting ~7,500 students including comprehensive ed plans 

• Program at risk of dissolution without a stable, dedicated counselor 

 Library (1 replacement) 

• Replacement for retirement from two years ago 

• One additional full-timer on administrative leave for 6+ months with no end in sight 

• 110,000+ facility visits last year; 200+ workshops touching 19 programs; 700,000+ research titles managed 

• Full-time faculty manage: library services platform, vendor contracts, scheduling, technology purchasing, classified staff coordination 

• Title 5 Section 58724: at 3,000 FTES, minimum 4 librarians required; 91ÖØ¿Ú currently has 3 

6. Discussion

• Rankings meeting to be scheduled: target within two weeks to send recommendation to president’s office promptly 

• • Availability poll to be sent; Fridays 10:00–11:00 am proposed as a possible slot (though Oct. 30 noted as difficult for one member) 

• • Must meet in person (Brown Act; cannot vote by email); tiebreaker process to be confirmed 
• All submitted position request forms posted on the FHPC webpage: /gv/fhpc/positions.php 

8. Adjournment 

Adjourned: 1:30 PM 

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 pm

Next meeting: TBD