In the year since a member of Bluefield State College's board of governors made dismissive comments about staff complaints, faculty members and students have been continually frustrated with the school's administration and want answers.
The college's board of governors will meet this evening and President Marsha Krotseng is scheduled to speak about inclusion and communication with the college's faculty.
Darrel Malamisura resigned as faculty senate chair in March after almost two years of holding the position. He wrote in an email addressed to all of the faculty members that he resigned because, among other reasons, the school's board of governors has continually ignored input from the faculty on a number of issues.
"At this point, there is no reason for the faculty senate to even exist," Malamisura wrote. "We have been overruled or ignored in almost every committee if we disagreed with the administration. What [the] administration has learned throughout the years is that if they wait long enough, we will just simply roll over to what they want and submit to their dictation - which is what we are doing."
Malamisura's two main complaints were that the school's leadership ignored both a report he created about potential ways to cut wasteful spending (in light of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's 4 percent budget cut for all state agencies last year) and a letter from the faculty senate that expressed distrust in the administration.
The report outlines several ways Malamisura felt the college could save money. It followed a Nov. 5, 2015, email sent to all faculty and staff which detailed stricter regulations on travel and the purchase of equipment and office supplies. As of last week, Sheila Johnson, vice president of financial and administrative affairs, told faculty and staff that she must approve all purchases with a state purchasing card.
"The lack of transparency, perceived favoritism, bad governance and lack of actions are the root causes of these issues," the letter sent to the board of governors and president reads. It goes on to say, "We cannot stress more that important actions need to be taken immediately in order to re-institute our trust, faith and confidence in your administration."
A few days later, during the board of governors' Feb. 18 meeting, Norman Mirsky, a professor of mathematics, said the faculty stood by its letter and were willing to meet and discuss it, according to the meeting's minutes.
It took two months for that meeting to happen.
"It was a mutually productive meeting," Krotseng wrote in a prepared statement. "All parties agreed during shared dialogue at that meeting to work together and address faculty concerns expressed during Professor Mike Lilly's presentation to the Board."
Lilly filled in as the temporary chair of the faculty senate after Malamisura's resignation. Bluefield State spokesman Jim Nelson said Krotseng was unable to take a phone call and answer questions directly Wednesday because she was in training all day.
Students, too, are getting ready to air their frustrations with the college.
A group of about 15 to 20 students are writing a letter to give to the heads of each department by the end of this week. On top of worries about how their college plans to handle any budget cuts the state Legislature enacts once a deal on next year's budget is reached, problems with the technology used in the classroom has angered many students.
Bluefield State has two campuses - one in Bluefield and a satellite campus in Beckley. Through a program called IVN, students on the Beckley campus connect with teachers in Bluefield to attend classes via live-streaming video, allowing more students to attend the school without actually living in Bluefield.
This is important because the college hasn't had any dormitories on campus in 50 years.
Charles Mullins, 33, went back to school in the fall to finish his up his degree in criminal justice after an 11-year hiatus from school. In the two semesters he's been back, he said IVN has had some kind of failure at least five times a semester for each class he's had that uses it.
"So we're paying these technology fees, but we're not getting the services provided," Mullins said. "If we're having to pay for it, it should work."
Students pay $42 a month in technology fees.
Mullins and his group don't want to jump the gun and send a letter to the board of governors just yet. They hope that if they write to the heads of each department, maybe their concerns will be taken more seriously.
The college didn't respond to a request for comment on those technological problems in time for this report.
This isn't the first time Bluefield's administration and faculty have been at odds.
Last April, Krotseng forwarded a list of topics the classified staff council planned to discuss with the board of governors at its April meeting. In the outline, Carolyn Kirby, chairwoman of the council, planned to speak about 11 things, including whether layoffs were being considered, the college's declining enrollment and other budgetary concerns.
Roger Topping, chairman of the school's board of governors at the time, replied to Krotseng's email - with Kirby also included on the response.
"This looks like a 'bitch session' to me," Topping wrote. "Dr. Krotseng let me and Bob handle the mob. There is 15 minutes allotted for their presentation. I don't think they can cover 11 topics in 15 minutes."
Topping resigned shortly after.
The school's board of governors will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at its main campus in Bluefield.
"I wish everyone the best of luck," Malamisura wrote, concluding his resignation letter in which he vowed to never again serve on the faculty senate. "You will need it."
Reach Jake Jarvis at jake.jarvis@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @NewsroomJake on Twitter.