"Trinity thanks you, Debbie Cook"
Donazione protetta
“It’s a business decision.”
This is how a senior member of the administration at Trinity College described the firing of Debbie Cook. After 32 years of service and less than two years away from retirement, Debbie was a simple matter of an expense on a balance sheet that needed to be cut.
For many, however, Debbie is more than a business decision. Many would say she is the voice and the face of Trinity College. Under 9 different college presidents, Debbie has dutifully served as the receptionist and switchboard operator, seated at the front desk at Mather. Over the past 32 years, it’s likely she has touched the lives of more students, alumni, parents, faculty, administrators, visitors, prospects, and friends than any single person at Trinity.
Today, Debbie needs our help.
On May 15, 2018, while Debbie had breakfast in Mather, she was terminated on the spot by the head of human resources. Minutes later, she was escorted off campus by Security. It was a cruel, humiliating end to more than three decades of service. To make matters worse, Debbie is currently suffering from cancer, so her loss of employee benefits in August comes at the worst possible time.
Only the current administration has the power to save Debbie’s job, but as alumni we can still help. By crowdsourcing this fund, we can help her at a critical time, while showing everyone the kind of alma mater we want.
The case for continuity
If firing Debbie was a business decision, it was a bad one. Debbie’s firing underscores one of the key issues degrading the institution today. For many, Debbie is a touchstone. Her dismissal shows indifference to a sense of continuity needed by the alumni community. Without people like her, Trinity is just a set of buildings under new management by administrators who have no connection to the College whatsoever. Not a single Key Officer at the school attended Trinity. Not one. And now, not even the college receptionist is a familiar face. Surely a lack of affiliation among leadership made the decision to fire Debbie easier. Who cares about a familiar face from the past when you have no personal connection to this past? Employees, longstanding or otherwise, are considered a business expense. Who would choose to work in this environment? Doesn't this undermine the long-term sustainability that was the rationale for her dismissal?
Help us make this right
Will 2018 be remembered as the year Trinity laid off its receptionist of 32 years while she battled cancer? Or will it be known as the time the community mobilized to support one of its own?
This GoFundMe campaign has a goal of raising $10,000 to help Debbie cover her mounting medical expenses. We are seeking 500 gifts of $20 each. (Of course, you can also give in any amount, or even multiple times.)
Anyone can give, but we ask that Key Officers, in particular, personally support this effort. Make no mistake that leaders are servants. Even business decisions can’t absolve them of this responsibility, particularly when someone is in crisis like Debbie. We ask Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Tim Cresswell, Dan Hitchell, Suzanne Aber, Joseph DiChristina, Michael Casey, Dickens Mathieu, Angel Perez, Angela Schaeffer, and Karla Spurlock-Evans for their personal support. You don’t have to turn your back on Debbie.
In this time where Trinity is struggling to define its soul, please know your participation in this effort does exactly that. If anything can differentiate Trinity from its peers, it’s people like Debbie.
Thank you for your generous support.
Yours truly,
Friends of Debbie
Note: This alumni campaign is not affiliated with the administration of Trinity College in any way, nor was it initiated by Debbie Cook. We hope members of the administration will support this effort. Financial support does not constitute an endorsement of her efforts to be re-hired by Trinity College.
This is how a senior member of the administration at Trinity College described the firing of Debbie Cook. After 32 years of service and less than two years away from retirement, Debbie was a simple matter of an expense on a balance sheet that needed to be cut.
For many, however, Debbie is more than a business decision. Many would say she is the voice and the face of Trinity College. Under 9 different college presidents, Debbie has dutifully served as the receptionist and switchboard operator, seated at the front desk at Mather. Over the past 32 years, it’s likely she has touched the lives of more students, alumni, parents, faculty, administrators, visitors, prospects, and friends than any single person at Trinity.
Today, Debbie needs our help.
On May 15, 2018, while Debbie had breakfast in Mather, she was terminated on the spot by the head of human resources. Minutes later, she was escorted off campus by Security. It was a cruel, humiliating end to more than three decades of service. To make matters worse, Debbie is currently suffering from cancer, so her loss of employee benefits in August comes at the worst possible time.
Only the current administration has the power to save Debbie’s job, but as alumni we can still help. By crowdsourcing this fund, we can help her at a critical time, while showing everyone the kind of alma mater we want.
The case for continuity
If firing Debbie was a business decision, it was a bad one. Debbie’s firing underscores one of the key issues degrading the institution today. For many, Debbie is a touchstone. Her dismissal shows indifference to a sense of continuity needed by the alumni community. Without people like her, Trinity is just a set of buildings under new management by administrators who have no connection to the College whatsoever. Not a single Key Officer at the school attended Trinity. Not one. And now, not even the college receptionist is a familiar face. Surely a lack of affiliation among leadership made the decision to fire Debbie easier. Who cares about a familiar face from the past when you have no personal connection to this past? Employees, longstanding or otherwise, are considered a business expense. Who would choose to work in this environment? Doesn't this undermine the long-term sustainability that was the rationale for her dismissal?
Help us make this right
Will 2018 be remembered as the year Trinity laid off its receptionist of 32 years while she battled cancer? Or will it be known as the time the community mobilized to support one of its own?
This GoFundMe campaign has a goal of raising $10,000 to help Debbie cover her mounting medical expenses. We are seeking 500 gifts of $20 each. (Of course, you can also give in any amount, or even multiple times.)
Anyone can give, but we ask that Key Officers, in particular, personally support this effort. Make no mistake that leaders are servants. Even business decisions can’t absolve them of this responsibility, particularly when someone is in crisis like Debbie. We ask Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Tim Cresswell, Dan Hitchell, Suzanne Aber, Joseph DiChristina, Michael Casey, Dickens Mathieu, Angel Perez, Angela Schaeffer, and Karla Spurlock-Evans for their personal support. You don’t have to turn your back on Debbie.
In this time where Trinity is struggling to define its soul, please know your participation in this effort does exactly that. If anything can differentiate Trinity from its peers, it’s people like Debbie.
Thank you for your generous support.
Yours truly,
Friends of Debbie
Note: This alumni campaign is not affiliated with the administration of Trinity College in any way, nor was it initiated by Debbie Cook. We hope members of the administration will support this effort. Financial support does not constitute an endorsement of her efforts to be re-hired by Trinity College.
Organizzatore e beneficiario
Alumni for a Better Trinity
Organizzatore
New York, NY
Debbie Cook
Beneficiario
