CSU Faculty Voice: This just in.....

Sunday, April 12, 2009

This just in.....

So this just in. The university’s public affairs officer has notified the press that they cannot attend the “open” meetings when the board selected candidates visit campus on Monday and Tuesday. My curiosity is piqued now and I have some questions. First, if I read the President’s organization chart right, the PAO works for a Vice President who works for the President. Did the President approve of an employee being directed by a member of the board of trustees? If not, that is a problem. The board has their own attorney and if they wish to operate contravening their own operating instructions about the number of employees they directly manage, then they should hire their own PAO and stop burdening the university’s employees with their business. Second, the “executive session” provision they are attempting demonstrates an ineptness that is dangerous for any oversight body. Public business cannot be hidden at public institutions by gubernatorial appointees. The ‘executive session’ provision only applies when it is a meeting of the public body. If there wasn’t proper notice given then the public body is out of compliance with the OMA and subject to civil suit. Third, what possible benefit could there be to telling members of the press, who have not been sympathetic to this institution anyway, that they cannot attend a function at a public institution? The board continues to demonstrate something to the university. You can decide for yourselves what that something is.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks to Haki Madhabuti

"1. He/she must be a scholar of national note, with significant peer review publications and books in his or her field. There must be no doubt as to his/her standing in the community of scholars. This would also include a history of the candidate’s participation in the appropriate professional organizations.

2. He/she must have served with distinction as the administrative head of a major unit within an institution of higher learning or at the important position of Provost and/or Dean. Of course, prior service at the presidential level is preferred.

3. He/she must have a documented history of raising significant monies from the private and public sectors. At most major and research one universities it is not unusual to expect the president to come with a plan to raise in excess of half a billion dollars or more in the first few years.

4. The prospective president must have a consensus buy-in from the faculty, students, administration and staff, therefore, arriving with a unity mandate to lead by joining a University community that has bought into his or her vision for the future."

From an open letter to the CSU Community, 2009.