”I think they have gone beyond what they are supposed to do,” she said.
Last week, Variety was told that all regents, except for Andrew Orsini, had an individual interview with the visiting ACCJC team.
Orsini reportedly insisted that the team should meet the full board.
During the interviews, the discussions were focused on the college’s governance, accreditation standards, and other issues, Variety learned.
A day before the ACCJC team visited the college, the regents terminated Dr. Carmen Fernandez as NMC president.
NMC declined to comment if the case of Fernandez was discussed during the interviews with the ACCJC team.
“Until their team report is made public, representatives of the college will be unable to comment specifically and publicly on any discussions they have had with the visiting team,” NMC said, citing the ACCJC’s policy on public disclosure.
McPhetres said most of the regents agreed to be interviewed because they were a “little scared” since Western Association of Schools and Colleges President Dr. Barbara Beno “threatened the regents before.”
“The regents want to protect the sanctity of the institute,” she said.
But Beno, she added, “is very prejudiced.”
“I think Dr. Beno and Carmen Fernandez had something going on. I don’t know what it was but I didn’t feel good about it,” she added.
McPhetres said she is thankful that the majority of the regents “made the right decision” to terminate Fernandez’s contract.
She said the regents had enough reasons to fire Fernandez “because she was not doing her job.”
McPhetres was NMC president from 1981 to 1999. Appointed a regent in Feb. 2008, she quit in March 2009 after clashing with then-NMC President Fernandez.
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