To: Joe Curran, Chair, Faculty Senate
From: Kathleen Owens, President
Re: Faculty and Senate Votes of No Confidence
Date: January 15, 2021
C:
Dr. Deborah Smith-Mileski, Chair, Board of Trustees
Executive Committee, Board of Trustees
Dr. David Rehm, Vice President for Academic Affairs
On behalf of Dr. Deborah Smith-Mileski, Board Chair, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, I wish to acknowledge receipt of your memo, dated December 22, 2020, regarding Faculty Survey and No Confidence Votes. The Executive Committee, acting on behalf of the Board of Trustees, reviewed your memo and other pertinent information at its meeting on January 15, 2021.
Board members clearly acknowledge that these are challenging times for Misericordia University and for all of higher education. We also acknowledge the central role that faculty have always played and will continue to play in the life of our teaching/learning community. While Board members understand faculty concern regarding the Board’s decision to suspend tenure and the administration’s decision to execute faculty layoffs, we strongly reject the Senate and faculty votes of “no confidence”. The Board and President have the utmost trust and confidence in Dr. David Rehm, vice president for academic affairs; as well as the vice president for enrollment management and the vice president for planning and external relations. Moreover, we recognize that the majority of the 141 members eligible to vote, voted against no confidence, voted to abstain, or chose not to vote at all. [Editorial note: This is not how voting works. The US voting population is roughly 238 million people. 158 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election, and of those who voted, 81 million people voted for Joe Biden. By this same logic, then one could say that "the majority of the people eligible to vote voted against Joe Biden or chose not to vote at all." Joe Biden was still elected, and the no-confidence vote still stands. Abstentions do not change the result.]
While the Board of Trustees has ultimate authority and responsibility for the University, Trustees are also committed to the principles of shared governance including roles for faculty, Trustees and administrators. In shared governance, various stakeholders practice in well-defined parts of the process. Shared governance does not mean that every constituency gets to participate in every stage of the process. Genuine shared governance gives voice (but not ultimate authority) to concerns common to constituencies as well as to issues unique to specific groups. The concept of sharing responsibility for governance means everyone has a role but it doesn’t mean that everyone gets to participate at every stage of the decision-making.
As the governing body having ultimate authority for the institution, the Board has made a decision to suspend the awarding of tenure, to place a freeze on new tenure track appointments and to ask the administration to lead a study of tenure to ensure the near-term and long-term “academic integrity and financial health” of the institution. Once the Board’s decision was made, Dr. Rehm was authorized to communicate this action to the Senate. The Senate’s assertions that Dr. Rehm cannot be trusted and that he has demonstrated a “lack of honesty” are slanderous and uninformed. [Editorial note: The evidence for mistrust and dishonesty was provided at length in the survey results the authors of this memo appear not to have read, despite their inclusion. ] Dr. Rehm had a duty to maintain the confidentiality of executive session discussions up until the time a decision was made and a resolution was approved. The Board passed its resolution on Friday, October 23 and the Senate was informed on Monday, October 26.
Going forward, faculty will have significant roles as members of the task force that has been appointed to conduct the study. Task Force membership includes four (4) elected faculty representatives, four (4) Trustees, and three (3) administrators. As we begin this work, the Board looks forward to the thoughtful and creative discussions that will inform the group’s work and shape a collaborative working relationship among the participants.
As Trustees, Board members have a primary obligation to hold the University “in trust” for future generations. Acting in the context of their duty to be faithful to the present and future of the University, Trustees understand the need for administration to right size the faculty workforce now for the future. While we wish the need for faculty layoffs might be otherwise, we support Dr. Rehm’s decision to notify faculty about their contract status well before the March 10, 2021 deadline. However, we also understand that the need to right size the faculty workforce is ongoing.
As noted in your memo, the University’s financial health is relatively strong and Trustees seek to maintain that standing. The Board’s resolution of October 23, 2020 delineates its concerns about the imbalance between faculty positions and student enrollment. The Board also recognizes that there are other factors influencing the University’s financial status aside from faculty/student ratios, including: recruitment and marketing initiatives; declining traditional-aged student population with a low point occurring in 2026—especially impactful in the NE and Midwest; changing demographics and attention to diversity, equity and inclusive initiatives; the role of new program development; transfer student “friendliness”; adult student enrollment; inclusive and equitable online-learning experiences; proposals for “free college”; the continually escalating--and dare we say “broken”-- tuition-discount business model; and more. These and other issues are “top of mind” among Board members and support our decision to initiate a strategic planning process now, rather than waiting for another year or two. As the University tackles these multiple issues, the Board unanimously expresses confidence in Dr. David Rehm, Glenn Bozinski and Dr. Barbara Samuel. [Editorial note: This paragraph is almost word-for-word the same as the last section of Dr. Owens's formal remarks during President's Musings from October. It is galling that in a message about a breach of trust between faculty and administration, Dr. Owens appears simply to have copied and pasted this text.]
As the Misericordia University community readies for the start of the spring 2021 semester, Trustees welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with faculty and administration as together we seek to support our students and our mission. We each have a role to play in shaping the next generation of distinctive Mercy graduates, who will be well prepared to lead lives of consequence in their careers, their communities and in the world.
Best wishes.