Today’s Events:
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Today, the Pacifica Board of Trustees posted “A Statement From Pacifica Graduate Institute Board of Trustees on the Pacifica website. The Alumni Association indeed, was expecting a statement from them by today July 1, 2024. It is important that you please click on the link above to read their statement before reading further.
Sometime this morning a very moving, caring, and concerned letter signed by 35 Counseling Department faculty, was sent to the Pacifica Board of Trustees, the Office of the President, and the Office of the Provost. The faculty did not include the Alumni Association in the writing or distribution of this letter. However, a copy of it made its way to the Alumni Association. A snapshot of the top of the letter and the addressees is shown below. Being sensitive to the full content of the letter and the names of the 35 faculty, we are only providing a snapshot of the top of the letter with its addressees. Below is a summary of their letter.
A Summary of the Faculty Letter:
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A letter signed by the majority of the Counseling Department with 35 faculty members’ names attached was sent to the Pacific Board of Trustees this morning.
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The letter voiced concern over perceptions that the school’s philosophy seemed to be in the midst of change away from the values as they have existed, and away from a focus on Depth Psychology.
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Further, communications between leadership and faculty have broken down to the point of affecting the continuity of education and obstructing the administration of individual programs.
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Also, some of the choices made recently with admissions and lack of shared governance are jeopardizing the diversity and inclusiveness of programs that have traditionally prided themselves on their representation of people from all walks of life, and from all places, domestically and internationally.
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We notice a Pacifica that is getting less stable and less sure of itself, instead positioning itself to be more palatable to certain peoples and interests.
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The faculty are deeply concerned that Pacifica has become disinterested in dialogue with faculty, towards plans and visions that have not been enumerated.
PGIAA’s Response:
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The actions of the Alumni Association have not been intended to be covert. Earlier communications from the Alumni Association, which may have caused confusion and doubt for some, were necessary due to the CONFIDENTIAL NATURE of information the Alumni Association had received from faculty. It was important that information was limited to a “Private and Confidential” letter to the Pacifica Board of Trustees requesting their statement by today, July 1st.
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The Alumni Association in concert with counsel very quickly moved to support the faculty and students based on events that took place two weekends ago while one of the tracks of the Counseling Program was on campus. They are the Pacifica Graduate Institute and we stand by them.
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The Pacifica Board of Trustees’ statement about a cohesive body is concerning especially regarding the aftermath of information sent to them by Dr. Mattison. After reading the faculty’s letter, the Board’s statement regarding the inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims is false.
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The alumni association does not endorse this administration’s unprofessional and questionable treatment of faculty and staff.
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The alumni association interprets the faculty letter as a feeling of distrust of the current administration, necessitating the faculty to bypass the Office of the President and other internal administration groups, to go directly to the Pacifica Board of Trustees. The Pacifica Board of Trustees’ claim regarding the Board’s and Administration’s “faculty support,” suggests otherwise. The faculty’s letter is a responsible and earnest attempt to remediate grievances with the Institute and its direction.
In conclusion:
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We strongly support and encourage the Pacifica Board of Trustees in the hope that they will, as soon as is possible, authorize an outside independent and unbiased investigation into the merits of the claims of the faculty. We will continue to support the faculty and trust that their numerous grievances are resolved forthwith.
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We continue to support the resignation of Dr. Mattison or her dismissal for cause.
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As indicated in our first two postings, a detailed response will be emailed to alumni on Wednesday, July 3.
With warm appreciation for your good patience,
Lupe Zuniga, PhD
2024 President and Founding Member
Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association
Class of ’94, Clinical Psychology
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Thank you for posting additional information. The counseling program is a core part of Pacifica. For esteemed faculty such as Matthew, Jemma, and nearly three dozen others to lodge such a protest is more than enough for me to know where I stand on this. I look forward to further conversation as to how we can collectively address this situation and rescue our beloved program.
Cross posting –
I continue to be floored at how you are handling this. In no way did you keep this confidential. You posted about your letter on THREE PUBLIC FORUMS, slinging unnamed allegations that cannot be defended or refuted because of your choice to play a PR game. Not giving details is not an act of confidentiality, it is manipulative.
Now you are sharing the contents of a confidential letter that is not yours to share to defend your choices. The counseling psychology faculty took appropriate action for whatever their concerns are. If they do not get a satisfactory response, it is then THEIR choice whether to share their grievances more widely or even publicly, knowing that it opens everyone up to scrutiny.
I do not say any of this to defend Dr. Lee (because your drama countdown isn’t yet complete so I have no basis to agree or disagree), and I have plenty of my own concerns and frustrations with Pacifica.
But what I know to be true is that Dr. Lee is a black woman in executive leadership, an opportunity that has been systematically kept from women of color and where women of color are still grossly misrepresented. Your choice to engage in a smear campaign tarnishes her reputation and future hireability. All future employers can Google her and find your public posts. I don’t know if she’s the best fit for Pacifica, but she certainly is entitled to leave with dignity when that time comes and to continue to care for her family’s financial health. What you are doing is unethical and unconscionable and is a stain on the reputation of Pacifica.
I sincerely hope that the PGIAA Board of Trustees will consider the harm done and make appropriate steps for repair, regardless of what happens with Dr. Lee. This is not about Dr. Lee’s failures; this is about the failures of this organization.
Please send the email on July 3rd to current MA in Counseling Psychology students, too! We would like to be updated on the changes to our program and how our beloved faculty/staff are being treated by the institution. Thank you for sharing.
Kudos to the counseling department for courageously advocating for their and the instituion’s needs. I beliebe the selection of Dr. Mattison was undoubtedly intentional, and any deviation from the established values may stem from differences in perspective and interpretation. A dialogue to adress this before moving forward appears to be essentia. As it for the administration to address these concerns promptly, despite any discomfort, as the impact resonates throughout the institution. It also appears they are looking for a way to do this. Thank you, as failure to acknowledge existing issues can be particularly unsettling. May Pacifica Graduate Institute find solace and flourish as it navigates these challenges.
Remember there is always room for growth. What is can continue to be and the new may need different place to grow, and both can coexist and support one another. Differences in perspectives propels us to grow, ihow we address them makes the difference.
Let us remember that growth is a continuous journey. The existing can evolve while the new requires space to flourish, and both can harmoniously coexist, mutually aiding each other’s development. Varied perspectives serve as catalysts for personal and collective growth; it is in our approach to these differences that we truly make a difference.
Advocating and sharing factual information is not a smear campaign, and we should tread extremely lightly on calling this one. Recent events coming to light as a need to know to all those involved and effected is important, vital even, and while I’m sure it doesn’t feel good when things like this are shared on such a public level, it seems it was necessary. An actual smear campaign has no basis. This, unfortunately does.
wait, what?
This is not a smear campaign. I appreciate the updates and feel the alumni association is doing the best that they can. I thank them.
Let’s not let the woke angle obscure the facts please. The current president likely has a Christian agenda for Pacifica.
There have been zero facts shared, which is what makes it a smear campaign. Everything shared has been emotional, creating fear and panic. The PGIAA president started a fire and said Trust me, I had to, but I won’t tell you why…yet.
She is falsely purporting to represent the concerns of a group of thousands of members. No one can use their critical thinking skills to come to their own opinions. This is a smear campaign until there is transparency, honesty, and opportunity for open discourse.
Timing is important. Representation is important. Facts are important.
Information was sent out…reached me, that was premature,not representative of the full PGIAA board, and replete with’ mystery’ pieces of innuendo.
Was the letter to alum sent out before the Trustees had an opportunity to respond to the Counseling Faculty to put pressure on the Trustees, to support the faculty and students? If so a special meeting of all alumni board members should have been called and a consensus arrived at . There was no such meeting and the information we/I received did not indicate that one or a few people took it upon themselves to send out the notice. A disturbing, mysterious notice , with limited fact and many unknowns came across our feeds.If there was confidential information that limited the ‘full story’ then the notice that was sent was untimely. This debacle served no direct purpose other than to begin rumors, create more questions than answers, and damage reputations. At this point all I know is that today something is suppose to happen.that change is occuring in an ‘alive ‘ institution, and that some don’t feel good about the change or how it came about,or who is leading it or what the change is percieved to portends.
I am supportive of including all alumni in all the current happenings at Pacifica. I am positively attached to Pacifica. I had core growth
experiences during my time in the Depth Program and I am pleased to say I got my doctorate at Pacifica. I was a member of the Alumni board at one time. The way this was handled lacked grace, legal compentence, and soul. I request that the entire PGIAA board meet and come to a consensus of the next steps after there is clarity as to what the issues are,what the responses are and what our alumni respresenatives as a group recommend. If there is dessent on the board we as alum can process that as well. Right now it is an embarrassing mess from my perspective.Please stop. Regroup. Create some sacred space . I am certain Psyche has something to offer here.
This president talks about “Christian-based mentorship” on her website. The new provost worked at National Univ. which is essentially a Bible college. Let’s trust that the alumni association is acting with the urgency they feel is necessary here. We aren’t all entitled to instantly know everything.
The students in the clinical program would also like to see this email and understand what is going on. Thank you.
How in the world could the Board have hired and approved Christian fundamentalists to run this school? It’s unimaginable.
Why make provocative and incendiary statements if you’ve got nothing of substance to offer the community? If the information is confidential, you’re in no position to divulge it—either before or after 7/3—and you can’t expect us to simply take these as yet unsubstantiated claims on faith. Attempting to blackmail the board by stoking anger and resentment before clearly evidencing the charges at hand is unprofessional, divisive, and unhealthy for the community at large. You can’t expect students and alumni to be so credulous as to blindly throw our support behind a vague and abstract “cause” that has no demonstrated tether to reality.
Sometimes you have to go to the center of town and cry “help!” when there is an emergency. This sounds to me like that kind of cry for help. Is it messy? Yes. Would it have been posted if there was no reason for it? I doubt it. It sounds like the circumstances are desperate, and it makes me sad to think about faculty struggling to be heard when they are working so hard and being paid so little. The faculty are simply trying to educate those who often end up making a huge difference in peoples lives. I am going to stay focused on that end, to do what I can to support a functioning faculty. Maybe it means an administrative overhaul? Maybe it means the whole community (faculty, admin, board, alum) swallows their pride and gets together to hash out these issues with some outside help? Or maybe all parties will dig their heels in and we will choose to be divisive and projecting our personal dramas at this pivotal situation. Maybe it’s too late. It will certainly help create the most favorable outcome if each party involved conducts themselves in a heartfelt way through this difficult process…let’s keep communicating and stay tuned to see how we might support a successful movement through this crisis and support Pacifica’s mission of continued tending of the world’s soul. 🐰 ❤️