Months after three members of Howard Community College’s Board of Trustees abruptly resigned, the county’s state senators said they will push to increase the board from seven to nine members.

While listening to testimony on their proposed legislation at a public hearing late Monday, the Howard County delegation also honored the trustees who had left. The county’s three senators plan to introduce their bill when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Earlier Monday, The Baltimore Banner reported on President Daria Willis’ turbulent tenure at the well-respected college in the center of Columbia. About two dozen current and former employees and students described high staff turnover and a toxic culture that they said has negatively affected staff and student services.

The college spokesman fired back in a LinkedIn post and a campuswide email blast that included the spokesman’s full responses to some of The Banner’s questions, saying the article “misrepresents a great number of facts.” Willis shared that post on her own LinkedIn page, adding, “I’m still not going anywhere.”

Willis has endured criticism, including from an anonymous message board with hundreds of posts, since shortly after her arrival in January 2022. Her contract recently was extended to June 2028, and she earns $325,000 annually.

The Board of Trustees in September issued a statement of support for Willis and said the message board contained “racist, vitriolic, and regrettable forms of online bullying.” Days later, HCC trustees M. Shafeeq Ahmed, Sean Keller and Christopher Marasco resigned. They have not said why, nor have they responded to requests for comment.

The three were honored Monday night by the Howard County delegation for their time on the college’s board.

“I know that they’ve been doing phenomenal work, many of whom have served on this board collectively for probably decades,” Sen. Clarence Lam said. “We really just appreciate all that they’ve done and certainly recognize the time and the effort they put in.”

Members of the Board of Trustees are recommended for appointment by local senators and appointed by the governor for six-year terms. Trustees, in turn, hire the college president.

The board unanimously chose Willis as the fifth president of the college, which opened in 1970 and serves more than 13,000 students. She is its first Black president and previously was president of Everett Community College in Washington state.

Gov. Wes Moore has been supportive of Willis, describing her last week as “one of the best leaders that I know” while attending a ribbon-cutting for the college’s cyber range.

Keller, a former board chairman, testified in favor of the proposed bill to expand the Board of Trustees. He said the current number of members is “too small” and places a burden on those who do serve, in a volunteer capacity.

Keller continued that because of how long it takes to vet and name a new board member after a departure, there can be lengthy periods of time where the remaining members have to pick up that extra work.

The board and lawmakers have not said where they are in the process of replacing the three members who recently left.

“Another reason I support expanding a number of trustees is that it greatly enhances the regular rotation of new board members,” Keller said, “ensuring the college has an oversight and governance board that is comprised of objective, diverse and competent leaders capable of bringing in fresh ideas.”

The proposed legislation specifies that the terms for the newly added members end in 2032 and 2033.

Guy Bunyard, a 30-year union faculty member, also testified in favor of the proposal, speaking on behalf of the United Academics of Maryland at HCC.

“We look forward to having a board that will ask hard questions and hold the leadership of the college accountable,” Bunyard said. “We look forward to having a board that wants to foster a positive relationship with the faculty at Howard Community College, one that wants to partner with faculty in moving the college forward in its initiatives.”

The Banner reported Monday that Bunyard and other union faculty members claimed Willis routinely ignored hiring recommendations, department organization preferences and suggestions for student resources from staff. He also said the campus had been drained of institutional knowledge.

At the hearing, Bunyard thanked the recently departed board members, saying “we miss their experience, and we miss their dedication to the college.”