Cabrera has been with the college for over 15 years now.
The board tasked the Attorney General Office to investigate NMC.
In an interview, King said Fernandez will have no access to the documents at the college while she is under suspension.
“She can come to the campus on her personal capacity but as president she has been stripped of her official duty,” King told Variety.
She said the board is convinced that it made a “good decision.”
She can’t divulge how long will the suspension last as their legal counsel is still working on the details.
But King said the board, for now, is not contemplating Fernandez’s removal as president.
Debate
King made the motion to suspend Fernandez and this was seconded by Regent Andrew Orsini.
He, together with Regents Paz C. Younis, Frank Rabauliman and King, voted in favor of the motion while Regents Elaine H. Orilla and Maria T. Peter voted against it.
Regent Charles V. Cepeda was absent while Orilla was on Rota but she voted through teleconference.
According to King, they tried to call Cepeda although he informed the board earlier he couldn’t attend the meeting.
It took the board three hours to deliberate before coming up with the decision to suspend Fernandez. The executive session started at 11:30 a.m. and finished at past 2 p.m.
King said the executive session, which was not open to the public, was “very lively” as the regents expressed their opinions about the issue.
“I wouldn’t say it was heated, but there was a lot of debate and a lot of very frank and open discussion,” she said.
Investigation
King said the board will be expecting the AGO’s investigating team to complete its task in 30 days.
One of the focuses of the investigation is about the grades of students, King said. She declined to elaborate.
She said the fact-finding mission will look into “very sensitive issues.”
The board will determine its next move against Fernandez based on the outcome of the investigation, she added.
Surprised
In a separate interview, Fernadez said she was surprised by the board’s decision.
However, she said she respects the decision and will work very closely with the acting president to ensure a smooth transition.
“I would be very helpful and I assure her that anytime she needs my assistance she can call on me,” Fernandez added.
She said she wanted to make sure that the college will move forward as she will continue “to help as much as I can to give any support that I can give.”
She said she has no information about what the regents discussed during the executive session, which tackled confidential personnel matters.
Fernandez was not allowed to join the executive session.
The board’s lawyers, former Lt. Gov. Jesus C. Borja and Matt Smith, later joined the meeting.
When asked if she intends to appeal the decision, Fernandez said she’s not certain yet what the board’s next step is.
“My concern right now first and foremost is for the students. Let me make that clear that I want everyone to move forward. I want everyone to continue to take care of our students and to provide the best service education possible — that would be my priority right now,” she said.
According to Fernandez, a former Guam senator, she came to NMC because she loves the students and the college.
She was hired by the college in March 2007.
“When we were going through the challenges, the trials and tribulations, the sleepless nights, weekends and holidays to do all the work that was required to come up with a show cause and get reaffirmation, all of us had the students in our hearts,” she said.
She said she has dreams for the college and hopes to fulfill them.
Her decisions on personnel matters have been controversial, but her termination last month of NMC instructor Samuel F. McPhetres’ contract triggered a barrage of fresh criticism against her leadership.
Appeal
Miles Rodriquez, Associated Students of NMC president, said King told her they could appeal the board’s decision.
Next week, Rodriguez said, she will call for a general assembly.
“I hope it will not affect our accreditation,” she said, referring to Fernandez’s suspension.
Leo Pangelinan, the newly appointed dean of student services, said the decision was surprising and “really abrupt.”
He said it was frustrating because they were left out of the executive session and were not told about the rationale behind the board’s decision, which he described as “not good.”
But Pangelinan said he will cooperate with the new interim president and the AGO’s investigation.
Senate Faculty President Larry Lee said the board made a good decision.
“Things are not going well and it’s time for the board to discover some of the facts and what’s going on. The only way they can do that and get all the evidence is to have this president out of the college,” he said.
His office, he said, is ready to provide all necessary information to the fact-finding team.
Accreditation
Despite the suspension of Fernandez, the college’s efforts to achieve accreditation reaffirmation will not be adversely affected, according to NMC Accreditation Liaison Officer and Director of Institutional Effectiveness Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero.
“We will continue to move forward with linking program review, planning and budgeting,” he said.
The college, he added, has been making progress in “institutionalizing a systematic program review process.”
“The community, and especially the students, should be reassured that the college remains diligent in meeting accreditation standards and maintaining NMC’s full accreditation status,” he added.
In Oct. 2009, the college submitted its mid-term report to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges and the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities.
The commission will inform the college later this month if it accepted NMC’s report.
“We’re very hopeful that it would be a positive outcome for us,” Fernandez said.
