Glen Ellyn, IL – On April 30, the College of DuPage (CoD) Board of Trustees formally recognized a new ‘Clean Slate’ board, which voted to place the former president, Robert Breuder on administrative leave. Last month, Breuder was forced to take early leave due to a vote of no confidence by the Faculty Association, after years of struggle against his corruption and repression of academic freedom.

At the board of trustees meeting, during the section reserved for public comments immediately after the vote, a representative of CoD Students for a Democratic Society presented the following statement of solidarity that they received from Alan Canfora. Canfora was wounded on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on an anti-war demonstration at Kent State University, killing four students.

Kent State means defend freedom of expression – support for the students and faculty of College of Dupage

Sisters and brothers – I have read about the abuses and corruption by your former president at the College of DuPage. It has been inspiring to learn of the struggles by the Faculty Association and the Students for a Democratic Society.

It takes courage to stand against an administration such as yours.

In addition to spending millions on himself and his cronies, Breuder denied faculty their role in reviewing their programs. He turned the student newspaper into a mouthpiece for his administration. He even fired an advisor and teacher when she spoke out.

Early on in his tenure, Breuder used the campus as a staging area for the police and military forces assembled to repress the protests against the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2012.

In a move that brought CoD to my attention, he wanted the college’s “Homeland Security Education Center” named after him. The center was built on the site of a memorial constructed in the early 1970s to the student protesters who were shot at Kent and Jackson State. I am a survivor of the May 4th massacre at Kent. We were opposing the Vietnam War and the oppression of African Americans. And like your struggle, Kent and Jackson State means that freedom of expression is a just cause.

Congratulations on the victory in removing that administration.

I am confident that your continued struggle to restore education rights at CoD will be victorious.

Alan Canfora

#GlenEllynIL #AntiwarMovement #CollegeOfDuPage #KentState #AlanCanfora

Breuder’s early retirement comes after six years of constant struggles with organized students and faculty that resulted in an overwhelming “no confidence” vote from the Faculty Association and the circulation of a student-led petition put out by the campus’ Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On March 8, the Sun Times newspaper’s front page carried the headline, “Fine Dining on the Public Dime.” The article is an expose of Breuder’s lavish spending on an expensive restaurant at the mainly working class community college in the suburb of Glen Ellyn outside Chicago.

Teachers’ union and students stand for education rights

The article mentions the efforts by the campus faculty union and student activists to oppose the president for his corruption and outrageous spending on himself and his administration.

Breuder’s administration denied faculty their role in program review, and instead made the college’s public relations office initiate what his administration called “Critical Program Review.” This included transforming the student-led newspaper, the Courier, into an appendage of his office.

This dirty move involved sacking the Courier’s outspoken advisor Cathy Stablein in 2011, simultaneously choking the Faculty Association and the student press. Stablein’s sacking also meant the de-facto elimination of the only class to teach local politics.

“Critical Program Review” was also used to eliminate several other departments in order to remove the tenured faculty heading them.

Appallingly, in 2011, Breuder blamed faculty salaries for tuition increases at meetings, stating that his plan, “includes raising tuition, growing enrollment and cutting expenses by replacing full-time faculty with part-time adjuncts.”

The attacks on the faculty eventually led to a vote of no confidence in September 2014. This was the final straw leading to him being forced out. SDS joined the faculty with a petition expressing student opposition to Breuder as well.

SDS was formed at CoD in 2012, after Breuder used the campus as a staging area for the area police and military forces assembled to repress the protests against the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO war makers were hit with a week of mass protests in Chicago, culminating in the largest anti-war protest since Obama came to office.

The early struggles of CoD SDS were covered by student journalists who called for an “Occupy CoD” to ally with the Faculty Association against the corruption.

Trustees bail out disgraced president

As part of Breuder’s severance package, the equally-corrupt Board of Trustees authorized a $763,000 payment, a hand in selecting his successor as president, and the privilege of having the college’s “Homeland Security Education Center” named after him. The center was built on the site of a memorial constructed in the early 1970s to the student protesters who died at Kent and Jackson State as they were opposing the Vietnam War and the national oppression of African Americans.

The move has fanned feelings of indignation across the community and is expected to affect the upcoming Board of Trustees election on April 7.

According to Jeff Westberry of SDS, “Breuder and his friends on the board say the media attention around their actions 'hurts the reputation of the college.’ The truth is their detestable behavior is solely to blame for any negativity. We students, activists and educators have to be the ones to save what we have at this institution.”

The League of Women Voters, SDS and other forces in the community are expected to pack the board meetings until April’s election, demanding Breuder be fired, as well as legislation be passed (the “Breuder Rule”) that would ensure a severance package as large as his is never distributed again.

#GlenEllynIL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #CollegeOfDuPage #RobertBreuder