The college mistakenly sent an email while the Board of Trustees was meeting on Thursday, May 9, saying members had already voted to accept President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim’s recommendation that the college’s financial situation was bad enough to lay off faculty with tenured appointments and potentially close academic programs. 

The email, which was sent to the campus community less than 30 minutes into the scheduled board meeting at the Student Center, said Kim will move forward with the cuts outlined in his final advisory report, including trimming $18 million from the fiscal year 2025 operating budget. 

The Chronicle was outside the boardroom when the email was sent and observed Lambrini Lukidis, associate vice president of Strategic Communications and External Relations and Chief of Staff, Laurent Pernot quickly exit and consult with each other.

Lukidis told the Chronicle that the email was a “mistake” and another email will be sent out once the board votes and the meeting ends at 6 p.m.

The college sent another email less than an hour later confirming a draft message had been prepared and “erroneously sent.”

This is a developing story.

Additional reporting by Patience Hurston.

Copy Edited by Patience Hurston