New College Independent Alumni/ae Association

As reported previously, KPFA ran a fund raiser for New College on the air back in March.  A website run by New College board members and hangers-on used the link to the streaming radio show to raise additional funds.  After receiving many complaints from outraged members of the public, KPFA responded appropriately.  Recently, we had a brief conversation with a KPFA board member in Berkeley.

According to KPFA board member PhoeBe ANNE (sorgen), KPFA has strict rules regarding raising funds on the air.  Francisco Herrera, the host of “La Onda Bajita”, did not have permission to raise funds for New College.  He was punished by being removed from the air for a week (”La Onda Bajita” airs weekly).  Supporters of the show were outraged and felt that the host’s free speech rights were violated.  PhoeBe assures us that KPFA takes financial guidelines very seriously.

After receiving numerous complaints about its March 21 special live broadcast from New College, KPFA has deleted the program from its audio archive. Perhaps our official complaint with the California Attorney General had something to do with it, maybe not. Whatever the case, we’re pleased the management at KPFA has chosen in hindsight not to support the corrupt former New College trustees and officers in their ongoing attempt to deceive the public and alumni into supporting the defunct school with yet more unaccountable funds.

In this March 5 article in the Bohemian, New College trustee Jane Swan faults the school’s rapid growth for the financial disaster—indicating that if the trustees had a few more years to build an endowment, things might be peachy. What Swan neglects to mention, however, is that the neglect to build an endowment in the past, combined with ill-thought-out real estate investments and whimsically-added programs that hemorrhaged funds, were all decisions made by the trustees themselves. How a professional adviser to the wealthy like Northern Trust VP Jane Swan could fail to understand basic economics is beyond me.

WASC has announced New College Transfer Day is Tuesday March 18, 11am-3pm at the New College Cultural Center, 766 Valencia. Students should bring their transcripts.

Since November, professors at New College law school have been working without 

paychecks, but with the promise of pay. Now that the school has lost its 

accreditation, these professors have been asked to sign a document saying they 

will work for free but reserve rights against the school. According to our 

source, the faculty members pushing this falsely claim that this is what WASC 

wants for the teach-out of existing law students.  

While New College now threatens to replace anyone that will not sign this form, 

they have apparently not checked with outside counsel as to how the form will 

impact a creditor position in a bankruptcy, nor have they checked on how this 

would affect the faculty filing for unemployment benefits. They just say they 

have plenty of friends in the wings to teach if they will not sign.

What is funny is, the two faculty insisting on this signing of forms have 

alleged job guarantees from JFK law school in consideration for delivering 

the majority of New College students to JFK to open a possible 2nd law school 

in Berkeley which they claim all along is what they have had plans to do. So 

in reward for hanging in there with their distraught students since the 

financial scandal hit New College last July, the law school professors are now 

having to choose between their students and their right to get paid.  

To state the obvious, these guys need a lawyer.

The San Francisco Business Times chimes in for all those creditors out there.

The San Francisco Chronicle has the story of the closing of New College. Although fair enough that the institution and trustees who ran it be chastised, it remains for another day to correct the erroneous assumptions about Prior Learning programs and other matters. For now, getting everyone resettled as best as possible is the priority; celebrating those who survived and went on to contribute to society in special ways will come later.

New College lost its accreditation yesterday. In the notice, WASC admitted the situation has gone on for thirty years, and that despite the failure to meet standards of higher ed throughout that time frame, they issued accreditation that falsely assured the public and students that their degrees would be worthy of credit. Now WASC is telling us that our degrees are worthless [links to WASC letter terminating accreditation, with reasons for termination--Admin.].

Complaints regarding the mismanagement of finacial aid money and other funds at 

New College of California can be brought to the attention of the Office of 

Charitable Trusts.  Since NCOC was/is a non-profit it falls under the 

jurisdiction of the Sate Attorney General's Office. Complaints can be made 

anonymously and should contain as much verfiable information as available. 

Complaints have already been lodged against each of the past members of Board of 

Trustees and Administration for their role in the mismanagement of the school 

and the misuse of federal financial aid money intended for students and used to 

cover operating expenses at the school.

All complaints must include a cover page that can be downloaded here:
http://ag.ca.gov/charities/forms/charitable/ct9.pdf

More information about the process can be found here:
http://ag.ca.gov/charities/

Alumni/ae may also consider initiating a class action lawsuit to gain control 

of the remaining property owned by NCOC and to avoid having that property sold 

to pay off debts incurred by Hamilton, Gabel, and the Board.  If we choose to, 

we can push the issue and fight to have each of these people held personally 

responsible for the debt rather than have the remains of the College auctioned 

off to pay for their unscrupulous behavior. 

--Raymond Buscemi, Humanities 1999/Psychology 2001