The first day of the fall quarter ended with panic and fear for many Bellevue College faculty. The Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs sent an email on Sept. 22 at 2:15 p.m. proposing the administration’s intent to dissolve The School of Business and Technology and cut the Parent Education Program at BC by January 2026. As a result, letters were sent to the governor, protests and pushback occurred, but Bellevue College ultimately decided to move forward with its proposal.
During the Oct. 29 budget town hall, Dr. David May, Bellevue College’s President, expressed how the college needed to cut 4.7 million dollars from the 2026 budget, asking attendees, “if not this, then what?” While the intent was positive, the issue BC faculty were most concerned about was the lack of communication from the college, which, technically, went against their contract. The Bellevue College Association of Higher Education (BCAHE) eventually had to initiate a grievance.
On December 10, a Bellevue College Board of Trustees meeting was held. At this meeting, President May addressed the board and asked them to pull $250,000 from reserves to keep the Parent Education Program running until June 26, 2026. This action was unexpected, but showed he had been listening.
Dr. Lindsay Haney, BCAHE Union President, wrote in his Faculty Report from the December 10 meeting, “Faculty aren’t furious about this budget and budgeting process because we think no cuts will ever be necessary … We have been disturbed by the priorities expressed in the budget, and we reject the administration’s efforts to gaslight us about how the process went.”
We have now returned from winter break and the Watchdog’s reporters sat down with Dr. Haney once again to discuss.
“Concerned” was the word Dr. Haney used over and over to describe how faculty are feeling this quarter. “The fact that the administration felt comfortable doing this [referring to the proposal] without talking to any faculty first is terrifying to folks. It has had an awfully negative effect on morale. Many are counting the days until their retirement.”
There are some contract negotiations Dr. Haney could not comment about due to confidentiality, but he did tell The Watchdog about the upcoming comprehensive accreditation site visit by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) on April 22–24, 2026, which the Bellevue College is currently accredited by NWCCU. The commission last reaffirmed the college’s accreditation in 2019.
“They are checking basic standards of the curriculum, student learning will be assessed and they will assess that the shared governance model is working. We are not prepared for this. And the people in Academic Affairs who would have supported the process have been gotten rid of.”
Dr. Haney went on to talk about the faculty’s disquiet about the choices the administration is making. He stated that there is anxiety that the college administration does not understand the affected programs well enough to make these major decisions. A lot of people are angry at how little regard has been given to faculty expertise, and the continued lack of transparency from admin.
The Watchdog’s reporters asked Dr. Haney how he felt about the upcoming Bellevue College 60th anniversary celebrations. “The vibes were better around the 50th anniversary. It’s just hard to get excited about milestones when the day-to-day keeps getting worse and worse,” he said.
As the impacts of the administration’s decisions still shake out, one thing is for certain, affected faculty have lost a significant amount of trust in Bellevue College’s leadership. The question still lingers, in what ways can BC leaders do to win them back?
