In what began as a celebratory article of the successes of the growth of Mesa State College, reporter Emily Anderson threw in a proverbial red herring with an uninformed, inflammatory statement that “the college has a history of hiring former political workers and those connected to them” in her Oct. 25 article, “Mesa State hires as campus grows, enrollment soars.”

In the last five years, Mesa State has hired nearly 600 part-time and full-time faculty and staff. Most hired were not for new positions; rather, they were new employees filling positions left vacant by departing employees. Anderson targets four of the nearly 600 employees hired and, while doing so, recklessly fails to explore the resumes of the employees or the hiring processes of the college.

Vice President of Student Services John Marshall was selected as the successful candidate after a lengthy nationwide search which netted 23 candidates. A search committee recommended him to the president based on his experience and ability to succeed at Mesa State College. Under the guidance of Marshall, the college’s enrollment has increased by 15 percent. With Mr. Marshall’s promotion, Mesa State was left with a critical vacancy in the development office.

Continuity in fundraising is essential and the decision was made to quickly to fill the position with a proven, experienced leader. Kristi Pollard accepted the challenge and has broken prior fundraising records by nearly $400,000 despite the current economic conditions. Derek Wagner, with extensive background in local, state and federal legislative processes, has been with the college for only a few weeks. He is filling the position as Director of Strategic Initiatives that continues to assure Mesa State College’s success through tough economic times.

Both directors’ positions will undergo the college’s search process at a future time. Mesa State College adheres to fair hiring practices as an equal opportunity employer. To imply otherwise, as Ms. Anderson has done, is irresponsible and inaccurate.

BARBARA CASE KING
Grand Junction

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.