Re: The Council Resolution and Its Delivery, 10-6-05
On
October 6, having made—with the excellent help of Senator Todd Harper—editorial
revisions desired by the Council, I emailed the following message and the
resolution:
From: "Robert
Hill" <
To: <chancellor@usg.edu>
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 09:10:27 -0400
Subject: Resolution by the Faculty Council of Kennesaw State University
Corlis P.
Cummings, Interim Chancellor
The
University System of
and
The
Board of Regents of the University System of
Dear
Chancellor Cummings and Board of Regents:
The
Faculty Council of Kennesaw State University, expressing its dissatisfaction
with the Presidential Search Committee's interview process, unanimously passed
the attached resolution on October 3.
We
are very concerned that what has been publicized
as "transparency" has failed us at a crucial juncture in the
search process, namely, in the decision not to hold open, on-campus interviews
with presidential candidates.
We
ask you and the Board to consider the ramifications for open disclosure on our
campus, for continuing confidence in USG administrative decision-making, and
for the well-being of KSU's much-touted collaborative
governance.
On
Monday, October 10, the Kennesaw State University Senate--representing faculty,
staff, and students--will meet in Open Forum with the Search Committee, at
which time, the Senate will consider its own resolution.
In
the meantime, we ask you and the Board to consider the serious faculty
dissatisfaction manifest in the Council resolution of October 3, 2005, which is
attached herewith (I have also pasted its text into the postscript of this
message).
Thank
you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Robert
W. Hill
Chair,
KSU Faculty Council
cc: Betty
Siegel, President
Lendley Black, VPAA
Chris Ziegler, Chair
KSU Faculty Senators
+++++++++++++
RESOLUTION BY THE
FACULTY COUNCIL,
OCTOBER 3, 2005,
TO THE CHANCELLOR AND THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF
THE
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF
WHEREAS
WHEREAS the university president’s leadership and service to the university community necessarily involve real interaction with all the constituencies of that community;
WHEREAS the university faculty exercise major responsibilities in the educational functions as well as the governance of the university;
WHEREAS information has lately come to the faculty that no campus interviews are currently scheduled for the presidential candidates;
WHEREAS the tardiness of this revelation, as well as its content, have led to some failure of confidence in the transparency and efficacy of the search process; let it be
RESOLVED by the Faculty Council that the search process be amended to a condition of more actual transparency, specifically to include on-campus interviews by a final set of candidates with the university faculty.
[Resolution approved unanimously by
the KSU Faculty Council, October 3, 2005]
++++++++++
It
is now quite clear from the minutes of our October 3 meeting that the Council
intended for the Presidential Search and Advisory Committee to be included. I
misunderstood and therefore, regrettably, did not include them, for which error
I sincerely apologize to the PSAC, its Chair, Joe Meeks, and to the Council.
Despite
this lapse of courtesy, though intending no disrespect, I am pleased that the
more diplomatic and efficient offices of the Staff Council, the SGA, and the
AAUP also applied their influence to good effect in the matters addressed in
the resolution.
Now
that we have all made ourselves heard, it is even more important that we engage
as fully as possible in the rest of the nomination, search, and interview
processes so that the wisdom of all constituents of this university may be
brought to bear upon the selection of our next president.—RWH, 10-11-05