Opinion: Way past time CCC president issue is resolved

Just one year ago, trustees at Clovis Community College unanimously extended the contract of President Charles Nwankwo through February 2024.

There was no great debate, no public hint anything was wrong in the relationship between the college’s fifth president and its trustees or faculty.

Last week marked five months since Nwankwo was placed on paid leave pending an investigation spurred by votes of “no confidence” from three CCC employee groups.

He’s being paid $506.85 per day to stay away from work.

It’s way past time trustees come clean about what’s going on and take action to put Nwankwo back to work or begin the process to find his successor.

The public has never been made aware of exactly why Nwankwo was placed on paid leave to begin with. Allegations against him have been vague, ranging from

n Nwankwo “engaged in threatening, verbally abusive, and retaliatory behaviors towards a tenured employee.”

to

n “The campus climate is not one in which employees feel safe, respected and free from retaliation.”

Nwankwo and trustees have repeatedly declined to discuss the specific allegations against him, so taxpayers aren’t sure if he snarled “get to work” at a lazy employee or threatened to end the careers of every faculty and staff member if they didn’t start genuflecting in his presence.

Or somewhere in between.

We know an Albuquerque attorneys’ investigation into the president’s alleged wrongdoings was delivered to trustees in November. We don’t know what that report found, if anything. Trustees have declined to release the document or discuss its findings.

“Attorney-client privilege,” Trustees Chair Lora Harlan has said, apparently unaware that the attorney and all the clients are taxpayers or paid by taxpayers.

Robin Jones, CCC’s executive vice president of academic affairs and an employee of the college for 25 years, is acting president.

At this point, it seems unlikely Nwankwo will ever return to lead CCC. One employee letter sent to trustees stated Nwankwo “has done much damage to the operation and climate of Clovis Community College,” and that CCC “cannot fulfill its mission with him at the helm.”

Given that trustees have done nothing to support their only employee in the face of such claims, no one could blame Nwankwo if he declined any offer to return after five months.

It’s possible trustees and Nwankwo are negotiating some kind of departure agreement that will pay him what he’s owed and won’t prevent him from finding another job. Either that or the secret investigation has revealed Nwankwo is unfit to lead a class of third-graders and trustees are demanding his resignation.

Or somewhere in between.

In the meantime, Nwankwo is receiving $506.85 per day from taxpayers who have no idea why they’re paying him.

— David Stevens

Publisher