Some students and alumni of Cape Fear Community College’s marine technology program say they continue to be left in the dark about their program’s future after the non-renewal of 19-year veteran instructor and program leader Jason Rogers; students, staff, and alums recently rallied to protest the lack of information given by CFCC.
Under Rogers' direction, the marine tech program was named a Center of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Transportation, one of just 32 around the country.
Students and program staff spoke to WHQR on the condition of anonymity because they fear retaliation could risk their jobs and academic status. They said that Rogers has long been out of the loop on major decisions concerning the legislature’s recent $7 million allocation to CFCC so that they can replace the aging Cape Hatteras research vessel, even before his non-renewal as chair of the department.
A CFCC spokesperson denied there had been changes to the program, and did not respond to questions about specific concerns.
New leadership
The college posted a job opening for Rogers' position as of July 2 despite faculty, students, and alumni saying Rogers has all the qualifications to maintain his job.
CFCC’s recently announced new applied technologies chair, John Branner, will likely have a say in the next leader of marine technology, as the program has been reorganized to fall under this department.
Branner is a former CFCC Faculty Association (FA) president — and was accused by former CFCC staff of not supporting them in 2020 after the wake of allegations that President Jim Morton and his chief of staff, Michelle Lee, were creating a toxic work environment, as reported by WECT.
Suzanne Baker, CFCC’s former executive director for the Center for Professional Excellence and former FA vice president, told WHQR in 2021 that Branner told the FA leadership to reword faculty concerns so they wouldn’t sound negative to upper management. She claimed he failed to speak up for them at the January 2020 board meeting where faculty showed up to protest Morton's tenure after the allegations of the former HR director and IT director attested to this harmful work environment.
Issues with bid process for CFCC’s new research vessel
The legislature recently gave CFCC $7 million for a new vessel to replace the aging Cape Hatteras research ship. However, Rogers was reportedly kept separate from the process of writing the bid for the new boat.
Initially, CFCC requested the ship operate along the Pacific West Coast. The college later changed that to Atlantic East Coast and Offshore on Ocean Routes up to 150 miles offshore. This mistake has some marine tech questioning if they copied the bid from another institution and changed a few words.
Some students and staff say this new vessel will not match the Hatteras ship's capabilities. For example, it will only be able to be out at sea for five days instead of the Hatteras’s 25 days. The new one can accommodate 20 people on board, whereas the Hatteras can accommodate 27.
Branner told the students and staff last week, “We’ll get a smaller boat. And it’s going to be a catamaran research vessel [like UNCW], so we’re going to match that.”
The Hatteras’ capacity to store fresh water is about 6,000 gallons. The proposal for the new vessel does not mention this capacity or how much it could carry. This means the ship won’t be able to hold as many people, as this capacity is needed for sinks, showers, and cooking.
Nor does it mention how much cruising range the vessel could take on. For the Hatteras, it’s at 6,000 miles. These several-week research cruises prepare CFCC students to work in a host of maritime industries.
Faculty and students are also questioning the fire suppression systems that the new vessel would include. They also took issue with the fuel capacity, as the Hatteras has a 28,695-gallon capacity, whereas the new boat will only have 1,600 gallons.
Future partnership with UNCW’s oceanography program
Faculty and students told WHQR they were concerned about the way a 2023 transfer agreement between UNCW and CFCC will pan out — as the news release for the new partnership stated it “came to life through the hard work of two faculty members, Rogers, and [UNCW’s] Dr. Philip Bresnahan.”
The agreement would ensure CFCC student credits transfer to a bachelor’s degree in oceanography at UNCW.
They say this program relies on qualified personnel like Rogers working and teaching in the program — and the continuation of research cruises to better prepare students for their transfer requirements.
The students, staff, and alumni say they hope to attend the trustee meeting at Union Station on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
CFCC spokesperson Christina Hallingse wrote to WHQR, “There have been no changes to the Marine Technology Program nor the articulation agreement with UNCW.” She didn’t answer marine tech students’ and staff’s questions about the new ship’s bid.
Prior reporting on CFCC’s marine tech program
- CFCC students stage walkout following marine tech chair’s dismissal
- President Morton’s administration ousts long-time CFCC marine tech department chair
- Deep Dive: What caused the disruptions at CFCC’s marine tech program?
- CFCC Trustee wants answers from school for Marine Tech changes that led to resignations (WECT)
- CFCC President responds to questions over marine tech program
- CFCC reverses course on its controversial decision to eliminate comp time for Cape Hatteras crew
- CFCC marine tech students speak out after high-profile resignations hamper program
- CFCC Marine Tech program sees resignations following changes to compensatory leave policy
- Part I: Unreleased faculty survey shows concerns over toxic workplace still plague CFCC (new chair of applied technologies John Branner mentioned in this article)
