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Early Thursday, Montgomery College President Brian K. Johnson sat in a plush conference room in the college's Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, gushing proudly as he told media outlets about the school's increased enrollment.

By that night, however, much of the college's full-time faculty had given Johnson a vote of "no confidence" during a closed session in Rockville. They cited a lack of leadership and vision for the community college — the state's largest, with roughly 60,000 students on its three campuses.

More than 250 of the college's 578 full-time faculty members attended the Thursday night meeting, said Rose Sachs, president of the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Some 93 percent of those on hand supported the "no confidence" resolution, Sachs said.

The resolution, obtained by The Gazette, said that Johnson has "consistently failed" to attend necessary meetings with prominent county and state officials.

According to a letter sent by the full-time faculty to the board of trustees, Johnson did not attend the November 2007 opening of the Camille Kendall Academic Center at the Universities of Shady Grove, even though Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan were there.

A year later, Johnson did not attend an economic briefing that included county public schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast and county Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson, according to the letter.

"If funding is scarce, and Montgomery College is not present, ultimately that would be a disaster for the institution," Sachs said.

Johnson, 52, would not comment for this story.

"He is focused on the fall semester and has decided not to discuss the faculty concerns with the media," said Montgomery College spokeswoman Elizabeth Homan.

In an e-mail Friday to his colleagues, Johnson tried to redirect the faculty's attention to the new school year, which began Monday.

"I consider my role as president to be a position of stewardship, standing accountable for the well-being of the larger organization," he wrote. "I remain focused on our students and ensuring that they receive the high-quality education and services that they expect and deserve."

Johnson was hired in December 2006 after a six-month national search that drew 70 candidates.

Johnson, the seventh president in Montgomery College's 60-year history, succeeded the immensely popular Charlene R. Nunley, who spent 28 years at the college, including eight as president.

Just three months into Johnson's tenure as president, several longtime faculty members and administrators left Montgomery College, according to the letter.

The letter noted that Johnson has lost two of his special assistants and two chiefs of staff during his tenure.

"At no time during his tenure has Dr. Johnson held himself accountable for executive, personnel and/or organizational decisions," the letter said. "Rather, he has made organizational and administrative changes with no clarity of ultimate structure or rationale, which has left the institution destabilized and without a viable structure of leadership."

Robert J. Hydorn, past president of the college's Alumni Board of Governors, said he spoke with Johnson about his apparent lack of visibility in the county.

"He's not as in touch with the community as he should be," Hydorn said. "We meet him, he sees us again, and he acts like he doesn't know who we are. I like the guy personally, but I just never thought he was the right fit for the college. I hate to see [the college] being torn apart like it is."

In their letter, some of the full-time faculty members also alleged abusive behavior by Johnson, including "demeaning verbal and written communications, threats of retaliation and explosive, targeted rage." In some cases, the faculty alleged in the letter, certain rooms were bugged with listening devices.

Johnson initially was hired at a salary of $220,000 per year. On Tuesday, Homan, citing a college policy on personnel, would not confirm Johnson's current salary.

A native of Jersey City, N.J., Johnson spent more than two years at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh before taking the Montgomery College job.

He began his tenure in July 2004 as vice president of the Pennsylvania school's largest campus and was promoted to CEO three months later.

John Dziak, president of the Community College of Allegheny County faculty union, worked with Johnson during his time as CEO.

The bugging allegations are "ridiculous," he said.

"My interactions were positive," Dziak said. "I cannot think of anything that was negative with him. I can't think of any instance when we had to worry about security or people looking at what we're doing. If it were done, it is inappropriate, but I can't believe it was done."

The Montgomery College board of trustees has scheduled a closed session for Thursday night. Michael C. Lin, the board's chairman, said the meeting was set up not only because of the "no confidence" vote, but also to discuss multiple concerns the board has about Johnson's leadership.

"Our priority is to act with the best interests of our college, faculty, staff and students in mind," Lin said in a statement. "We will be deliberate and decisive in our actions, and we will be fair and respectful to everyone involved."