The Academic Senate voted and approved an interim executive team at a meeting on Wednesday.

Academic Senate for California Community College Northern Representative Cheryl Aschenbach and Sacramento City College Academic Senate President Gayle Pitman were in attendance to help assist Cosumnes River College faculty decide on an executive team for the spring semester.

“This situation is unique to CRC, ” Aschenbach said. “Never has a whole executive team resigned.”

Throughout the meeting, faculty members expressed valid concerns as to how to decide on an executive team.

Where the bylaws stand for the Academic Senate, there is no policy or standard on what to do in this specific circumstance, said Psychology Professor James Frazee.

The Academic Senate should appoint an executive team because there would not be sufficient time to elect a team for the spring semester, Aschenbach said during the meeting.

Concerns were expressed by faculty that without action at the meeting, all processes of the Academic Senate would be stalled, particularly the hiring committees for the campus.

Without an executive team, the Academic Senate cannot function and with many faculty positions needing to be filled, it was crucial that the Academic Senate come to a conclusion. Hiring committees are essential to finding professors, counselors and other faculty essential to students’ academic success.

Teresa Aldredge offered that the Academic Senate appoint Ellen Arden-Ogle as President and Lisa Marchand as Vice President for the Spring semester. Since Arden-Ogle and Marchand are both retiring they wouldn’t have any alliances with other faculty members, Aldredge said.

They are also past Academic Senate Presidents who have plenty of knowledge of what the job includes, Aldredge continued.

“CRC was a much nicer place with the ladies Teresa recommended,” said Philosophy Professor Rick Schubert.

All positions are only interim until the Academic Senate continues with their elections for next school year. Arden-Ogle will fill the presidency, Marchand will fill the vice presidency and Aldredge the Secretary position.

Arden-Ogle plans to take on her role “in service to the college” and Marchand “with dignity and respect of the faculty.”

The interim roles will be carried out for the spring semester until a new executive team is elected. There will be a regularly scheduled Academic Senate meeting on Feb. 8 where they will decide in what time frame the elections process will proceed.