www.palmerbeacon.com/index.asp?page=riekeman audio of his address to students Dr. Riekeman's Resignation The Palmer Beacon is dedicated to providing as much of an unbiased perspective on recent administrative changes at Palmer. Because our budget for printed materials is limited, we have opted to include as much information here on our website. The primary intent of this page is to express opinions and feelings as much as it is to provide facts for those individuals who are not on campus. The printed edition of the paper is an acceptable format for your articles and comments and we encourage you to submit them online at this site by clicking "Submit Article" above. February 9, 2004 ‚ Dr. Riekeman addresses students at First Baptist Church. * Audio File - Part I (wav format - 45 minutes - 8.2 MB) * Audio File - Part II (wav format - 30 minutes - 6.2 MB) * Audio File - Part I (mp3 format - 45 minutes - 8.2 MB) * Audio File - Part II (mp3 format - 30 minutes - 6.2 MB) A Brief Summary: February 6, 2004 ‚ At 1:00 p.m., word got out to a small handful of students that Dr. Riekeman had been „fired¾ the day before. By 2:00 p.m., it seemed that everyone knew. With the initial shock, students started turning to anyone and everyone for answers, though it seemed that not too many people had any. Dr. Janice Hughes of the Palmer Institute was barraged with questions from students, and she agreed to meet with a few of them at 4:00 p.m. in the Union. When she arrived for this small meeting, she saw over 200 concerned students. While she did not have much more information than the students, she did tell us as much as she could. At 3:20 p.m., the Board of Trustees (http://www.palmer.edu/pcus/board.htm), with Chairperson Vickie Palmer¼s signature at the bottom, sent out an official announcement (http://www.palmer.edu/News/BoardofTrustee_02_06_04.htm) stating that Dr. Riekeman had resigned the day before, and that Dr. Donald Kern was taking over as interim president. An email address (board@palmer.edu) and a phone number (563-884-5999) were given for anyone to voice their opinion on the issue. To this day, The Beacon is unaware of anyone who has received a message back from either the email address or the phone number. Pages four and five of the following link contain direct contact information for all Board members if anybody would like to address them directly (http://www.braile.net/TIA/Sinnott%20letter.pdf). Vickie Palmer can be reached directly by emailing, vapdep@aol.com or calling at (563) 322-2882. Her letter also states that the Board is „planning informal meetings on campus to discuss Palmer¼s future and answer any questions.¾ To this date, there have been no meetings scheduled in Davenport and no sign of any for the future. After Dr. Hughes completed her talk with the students, Dr. Kern was given the microphone to introduce himself and answer as many questions as he could. Once again, the students did not get a whole lot more information than they had already known and, they were left with more questions than answers. Dr. Riekeman¼s resignation was broadcast on the evening news of all four local stations Friday evening with one station calling the move „A Chiropractic Adjustment.¾ The following morning, the Quad City Times ran the story of Dr. Riekeman¼s resignation: http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1023943&t=Local+N ews&c=2,1023943 February 8, 2004 ‚ Student leaders gathered Sunday evening with the purpose of organizing their feelings and response. Unbeknownst to most of them, an informal meeting with Dr. Riekeman and his wife Annie had been arranged at a local restaurant where he was very open and honest and willing to answer any questions the students posed. In over an hour of discussion, it was made clear that he had offered his resignation in protest to decisions by the Board, and that he truly had no desire to leave the college. He stated that he hoped to be back at the school immediately, as long as he could have the opportunity to meet with the Board regarding the disputed issues. The student leaders then met on their own to discuss the various plans that were already in motion. It was agreed upon that, if Dr. Riekeman was willing, the student body as a whole would like the opportunity to hear his side of the story. A time to have him speak was then organized at First Baptist Church for 7:00 p.m. Monday evening. Planning ahead for Monday, some students organized and created signs for a picket line to be held outside the school at noon. The event was highly publicized by the local media. Additionally, a position paper and two „votes of no confidence¾ were drafted; all three of these documents would require signatures by students to be put into action. The position paper was designed to be sent to both the Board and Dr. Riekeman (http://www.dc2be.com/Palmer/PositionPaperPalmerBoard.pdf). It states that the student body would like the Board and Dr. Riekeman to reconvene and discuss the differences they have. The document also includes a 48-hour action statement; if no movement is made to set-up such a meeting, a „vote of no confidence¾ would be sent to the Board. If there was still no response, an additional „vote of no confidence¾ would be sent to North Central Accrediting Agency (the organization that accredits Palmer College). February 9, 2004 ‚ On Monday morning, a table was set up outside the mailroom to gather signatures for all three documents. The table was crowded all day long with supporters and those with questions. The only problem was when Palmer security came around with copies of the student handbook stating they had the right to request matriculation numbers from all the students around the table. They gathered their information and went on their way. At noon, the picket went as scheduled. Over 150 students lined both sides of Brady Street holding signs in support of Dr. Riekeman and encouraging that the lines of communication with the Board be opened. All four local stations were there once again, and the Student Council President was given the role of being the voice for the students. A prepared statement (http://w3.palmer.edu/PCC_Student_Council/default.htm) was given to the media stating they are concerned that „there may be a flaw in the system and they would like the opportunity for student voices to be heard.¾ At 4:00 p.m that afternoon, the Student Leaders held an open meeting for all concerned students in P205. There was standing room only. The plan for the three papers was outlined, questions were answered to the best of their ability, and it was announced again that Dr. Riekeman would be speaking that night. At 7:00 p.m. on Monday evening, First Baptist Church of Davenport graciously opened their doors to the Palmer community. Over 700 students attended the event, along with all four local stations and the major newspapers. Dr. Riekeman spoke for over an hour. Opening with an explanation of why he was there and that he desires to come back to the school. The floor was then open to questions. He once again answered everyone openly and never once stated a disparaging word against Palmer. He even went out of his way to show support for students and encouraged them to stay at the school and to not tell anyone to pull out of the Capital Campaign. He closed by telling the students, „It is about your own conscience; I have made mine, now you must make yours. And be professional in doing so.¾ The audio file is available above. Palmer College was the lead story on all four networks that night and front page of the Quad City Times the following morning (http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1024061&t=Local+ News&c=2,1024061). February 10, 2004 ‚ Student leaders once again set up their table outside the mailroom Tuesday through Friday to gather signatures. Also that day, a letter from Dr. Kern, the faculty senate president and the student council president was distributed to all of the students in their PCC boxes. This letter, once again, had the seemingly worthless contact information for the Board and addressed student concerns directly. The letter began by stating that the resignation does not affect the accreditation of the school at all. It continued to say that graduation would still go on as planned and Dr. Kern was introduced as the interim President. It re- established that the Palmer Tenets were not changing. And finally there was a statement saying we need to focus on the fact that school is here „to provide education¾ and that „each of us will remember our focus and not let our principles be clouded by rumor or emotion.¾ February 11, 2004 ‚ On Wednesday, purple ribbons were given to show support of opening the lines of communication between Dr. Riekeman and the Board. Many students have worn those ribbons throughout the week. The positions papers, with at least 790 signatures, were sent to both Dr. Riekeman and the Board. As of February 13, the student leaders were currently waiting for a response. February 12, 2004 ‚ On Thursday, Marc Ott met with Dr. Kevin Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham commended the student leader for the professional way they are going about expressing their concerns. He offered to put a permanent table in the skywalk, which was there by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. While students in Davenport have not been given their promised opportunity to meet with Board members, Palmer West Student Council met with the chair of the Board, Vickie Palmer, on Thursday. While also discussing the situation regarding Dr. Riekeman, she was there to announce the placement of Dr. Peter Martin as interim president at PCC West. Dr. Martin was previously employed as President at Palmer West (http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/18/18/10.html), President of the CCE and a Dean of Naturopathic Medicine at the University of Bridgeport (http://www.bridgeport.edu/naturopathy/desc/dean.htm). After meeting with Vickie Palmer, student leaders at Palmer West asked Palmer students for a video copy of Dr. Riekeman¼s February 9 address. A copy of the video has been sent by over-night mail to both PCC West and PCC Florida. PCC West has plans to show the video to the entire student body on Tuesday February 17. February 13, 2004 ‚ Student leaders met again at PCC Davenport to organize their response and provide any new information they could to the attending students. Having not heard a response from the board in the 48-hour time span, the votes of no confidence were sent out and a deadline for a response to them has been set for Wednesday the 18. It was announced that Mary Flannery is organizing an alumni response to the board. She can best be reached via email at esserboo@hotmail.com. As well, students will once again be gathering on Brady Street with signs in hand. On Tuesday February 17 at the 9:20 a.m. break, students are gathering outside to march down the hill to 2nd Street and Vickie Palmer's office. A show of support will be made for open communication between the board and Dr. Riekeman, then the students will come back to school. Student leaders have also created an email address to use as a central hub for sending out information. If you would like to be kept up-to-date on what is happening on Palmer's campus, please email students4riekeman@hotmail.com. PCC West Student Government has passed a resolution stating they do not support the placement of Dr. Peter Martin as Interim President and demand the school re-instate Dr. Riekeman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beacon Home Copyright © 2003, Beacon. All rights reserved.