Update: Serious Concerns Relating the Pacifica Graduate Institute Leadership

Today’s Events:

• Today, the Pacifica Board of Trustees posted “A Statement From Pacifica Graduate Institute Board of Trustees on the Pacifica website. The Alumni Association indeed, was expecting a statement from them by today July 1, 2024.  It is important that you please click on the link above to read their statement before reading further.

Sometime this morning a very moving, caring, and concerned letter signed by 35 Counseling Department faculty, was sent to the Pacifica Board of Trustees, the Office of the President, and the Office of the Provost.  The faculty did not include the Alumni Association in the writing or distribution of this letter.  However, a copy of it made its way to the Alumni Association.  A snapshot of the top of the letter and the addressees is shown below.  Being sensitive to the full content of the letter and the names of the 35 faculty, we are only providing a snapshot of the top of the letter with its addressees.  Below is a summary of their letter.

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A Summary of the Faculty Letter:

• A letter signed by the majority of the Counseling Department with 35 faculty members’ names attached was sent to the Pacific Board of Trustees this morning.

• The letter voiced concern over perceptions that the school’s philosophy seemed to be in the midst of change away from the values as they have existed, and away from a focus on Depth Psychology.

• Further, communications between leadership and faculty have broken down to the point of affecting the continuity of education and obstructing the administration of individual programs.

• Also, some of the choices made recently with admissions and lack of shared governance are jeopardizing the diversity and inclusiveness of programs that have traditionally prided themselves on their representation of people from all walks of life, and from all places, domestically and internationally.

• We notice a Pacifica that is getting less stable and less sure of itself, instead positioning itself to be more palatable to certain peoples and interests.

• The faculty are deeply concerned that Pacifica has become disinterested in dialogue with faculty, towards plans and visions that have not been enumerated.

PGIAA’s Response:

• The actions of the Alumni Association have not been intended to be covert. Earlier communications from the Alumni Association, which may have caused confusion and doubt for some, were necessary due to the CONFIDENTIAL NATURE of information the Alumni Association had received from faculty.  It was important that information was limited to a “Private and Confidential” letter to the Pacifica Board of Trustees requesting their statement by today, July 1^st.

• The Alumni Association in concert with counsel very quickly moved to support the faculty and students based on events that took place two weekends ago while one of the tracks of the Counseling Program was on campus. They are the Pacifica Graduate Institute and we stand by them.

• The Pacifica Board of Trustees’ statement about a cohesive body is concerning especially regarding the aftermath of information sent to them by Dr. Mattison. After reading the faculty’s letter, the Board’s statement regarding the inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims is false.

• The alumni association does not endorse this administration’s unprofessional and questionable treatment of faculty and staff.

• The alumni association interprets the faculty letter as a feeling of distrust of the current administration, necessitating the faculty to bypass the Office of the President and other internal administration groups, to go directly to the Pacifica Board of Trustees. The Pacifica Board of Trustees’ claim regarding the Board’s and Administration’s “faculty support,” suggests otherwise.  The faculty’s letter is a responsible and earnest attempt to remediate grievances with the Institute and its direction.

In conclusion:

• We strongly support and encourage the Pacifica Board of Trustees in the hope that they will, as soon as is possible, authorize an outside independent and unbiased investigation into the merits of the claims of the faculty.  We will continue to support the faculty and trust that their numerous grievances are resolved forthwith.

• We continue to support the resignation of Dr. Mattison or her dismissal for cause.

• As indicated in our first two postings, a detailed response will be emailed to alumni on Wednesday, July 3.

With warm appreciation for your good patience,

Lupe Zuniga, PhD
2024 President and Founding Member
Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association
Class of ’94, Clinical Psychology