On Tuesday, June 25, Jason Rogers sent a ‘farewell’ email to the students and staff of the Cape Fear Community College marine technology program. Rogers said his application to remain the program’s leader was “unsuccessful.”
By Rachel Keith
Published: Jul. 2, 2024 at 5:39 PM EDT
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WHQR) - After 19 years in the position, Rogers wrote that it was the students he would miss the most and that he “never felt [he] worked for a chair/dean/president. [He] felt he worked for [the students].”
It’s unclear why President Jim Morton’s administration effectively removed Rogers from the position.
On Wednesday, June 26, North Campus Provost Shawn Dixon wrote to CFCC’s marine tech advisory committee members that a reorganization would be official as of July 1. The three programs of marine tech, boat building, and boat manufacturing would now be under a new department called applied technologies. John Branner has since been named the chair of this new program.
“This move was designed to streamline our workload and balance the departmental structures, enhancing our ability to deliver top-tier training,” Dixon wrote.
He added that the reorganization would not result in job losses, and current faculty and staff would remain employed at the college.
Why was Rogers removed?
In August 2022, Rogers supported the Cape Hatteras crew when there were sudden changes to their compensatory leave policy that caused the ship’s captain to resign. So did the former Dean of Career and Technical Education Mark Council, whose contract was non-renewed in May 2022. The end of the fiscal year is referred to by faculty and staff as ‘Bloody May,’ where former employees have told WHQR that dissents are pushed out. Dixon took over much of Council’s job responsibilities.
Reorganizations have happened almost every year since Morton became president back in 2018. It’s a pattern faculty and staff say creates instability at the college – and a cover for the removal of leaders who question Morton or the upper administration’s decisions.
Rogers continued to support the marine tech students and alumni, who demanded answers to their questions about changes to the Hatteras crew’s compensatory leave time – leading to the loss of some of the ship’s crew and significant disruptions to the program. That included canceling the fall 2022 research cruises, where students spent a week or more out at sea with CFCC instructors and the crew of the Hatteras, learning valuable maritime skills. The college never directly answered why the changes were made.
Former CFCC trustee Ray Funderburk was the only trustee who questioned Morton about the impetus behind the changes to the crew’s leave. The trustees removed Funderburk from his position in March 2023 — Funderburk said one of the reasons they did so was because he spoke up for the crew and students at meetings. Funderburk has since sued the college and trustees for his removal.
Staff, students, alumni speak out
Last week, one of the marine tech faculty sent an email anonymously — this person went unnamed because they fear retaliation from the administration — out to faculty, students, and alumni saying that “Marine Tech (MT) lost one of its best instructors leaving MSC 174 Invertebrate Zoology, MSC 220 GIS, and multiple Training Cruises without an instructor. And without a Director, the program is now rudderless. And after the way that Rogers has been treated for years, who would want to have that position?! Certainly, none of the current faculty and staff.”
The anonymous faculty member wrote that none of the program’s staff or instructors know what’s happening and have been left “scrambling to fill the giant, gaping hole created when Rogers was told to leave.”
Several marine tech students are also sounding the alarm over Rogers’ removal. They’ve created a page on Instagram titled “mtwarriors,” changing it from August 2022′s “savethehatteras.” On this account, several students and over 20 alumni have shared detailed personal stories about Rogers’s positive impact on their careers and lives.
Their stories range from helping them get jobs to caring for them during personal difficulties — like bringing them soup when sick or supporting them during a family member’s illness.
Marine Tech Club President Andrew Elliot, a CFCC student, told WHQR that the marine tech students are “very upset about what’s going on and angry.” Those students created a petition on change.org, demanding “accountability and transparency” from the college administration.
Regarding Rogers’ removal, Elliot said, “This does kind of smack of retribution at some level. He’s always been such an advocate for the crew and for the students, and I think that the administration maybe viewed him as a thorn in their side. But clearly, I haven’t been in the rooms with the administration in their meetings or anything like that, but just it’s either incredibly vindictive or incredibly short-sighted,” he said.
And this sudden removal of Rogers interrupted CFCC’s summer camps, according to Elliot.
“On Wednesday (June 26), our fishing gear class, we were supposed to go out on the river to run some trawls and some gill nets. And because Rogers wasn’t there, they had to pivot to make sure that the camp was taken care of, so our class ended up having a lecture instead of going out on the Cape Fear River,” he said.
Elliot said they’re not getting clear answers from the college on the future of their research cruises, which are invaluable learning experiences for their maritime careers.
A new ship is coming — a decision made without Rogers
What complicates matters further is that the state legislature gave CFCC around $7 million in the last budget cycle to build a new ship, as the Hatteras is an aging vessel. CFCC has since opened a request on June 28 for the building and manufacturing of an “aluminum catamaran research vessel.” Rogers, the resident expert on CFCC’s ships, will not be involved in the process.
Elliot said Rogers was kept out of the loop on the future ship even before they non-renewed his chairship in marine tech.
“From the discussions I’ve had with faculty, there has been absolutely zero communication with them about what we need for the ship, and the administration is just sort of powering that through,” he said. “Anecdotally, I know that one faculty member went to speak to the administration about some of the requirements, like the ship’s beam: ‘We should have a ship with this much of a beam.’ And the individual heading this up in the administration said, ‘What’s the beam of the ship?’”
Alleged toxic environment continues
Though he’s now a student, Elliot was a former educator at Rutgers University — and said he had never witnessed an administration quite like this one.
“I’ve been in academia for 25 years, and the amount of the adversarial relationship that I sense between faculty and administration and callous disregard for the needs of students is absolutely breathtaking at this institution,” he said.
Elliot said the program doesn’t deserve this treatment. The maritime industry relies on CFCC’s marine technology department, and many students get placed in jobs directly out of school. Companies sometimes promise to hire students even before their education is finished.
“I think the administration is looking at this purely from a dollars and cents perspective. They are not looking at what community this serves. They’re not looking at the value of education. They’re not looking at the fact that this is a nationally recognized program that is truly unique in the whole of the United States,” he said.
Despite the college being on an accreditation warning, having to return thousands of dollars for miscalculating full-time equivalency (FTE) credit hours, and former staff decrying a toxic work environment, the Board of Trustees gave Morton a large salary increase — and a $25,000 bonus in May. He now makes over $400,000, and New Hanover County taxpayers subsidize over half of it. His contract was extended until 2029.
Related: Former CFCC department chair: ‘Who’s behind the wheel?’
Marine technology students and alumni are planning a noon walkout on Wednesday, July 3.
WHQR reached out to the college for comment on Friday and has yet to hear back. WHQR also asked if Rogers could speak directly on this, but he said he wouldn’t until he got permission from the college. According to the college’s handbook, employees cannot talk to the media without explicit permission. Rogers is still employed as an instructor — but outside the marine tech department.
You can view this story at WHQR here.
Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.
