Who Should Lead

Unfortunately, the search for a new chancellor is already off to a rocky start with the BOT and admin heavy search committee determining to ignore the faculty senate resolution calling for a more open search process. Also unfortunate is the fact that there is no surprise as a result of this occurrence. Despite the fact that the head of the search firm hired to find the next chancellor has said that there is no indication that a closed search is any more likely to be successful than a more hybrid model, the search committee (with the exception of a small number of brave souls...I would currently place that number at 1) has decided to pour salt in the wounds Brady's administration created, rather than give any signal of an interest in healing.

There is a link available on the UNCG website to provide anonymous feedback and guidance to the search committee (http://chancellorsearch.wp.uncg.edu/feedback/ ) and I would encourage people to comment early and comment often. There is no excuse for the pretended ignorance and arrogant dismissal of what is best for those who work, live, and study at UNCG.

That being said, the UNCG chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has issued a list of Qualities to Look for in the Next Chancellor of UNCG and it reads as follows:

•   Supports, without reservation, the principles of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance. 
•      Has substantial academic credentials, including a PhD, or terminal degree in his/her discipline.
•   Understands and appreciates the value of research, teaching, and intellectual labor.
  
•   Understands the central role faculty members play in the university’s mission.
  
•   Understands and appreciates UNCG’s distinctive history and commitments to access
  and diversity.
  
•   Thinks creatively, critically, and independently.
  
•   Listens carefully and considers oppositional viewpoints and criticism.
  
•   Exercises integrity in decision-making and communication.
  
•   Tells the unvarnished truth with compassion and dignity.
  
•   Articulates situations, problems, and concerns clearly and transparently.
  
•   Makes decisions on the strength of the evidence, rather than trends, popularity,
  conventional wisdom, political pressure, or personal investments.
  
•   Articulates reasons for decisions in thoughtful, clear, and accurate language; avoids
  corporate jargon.
  
•   Leads by example.
  
•   Has the courage to correct and contravene misinformed executive boards, donors,
  and politicians.
  
•   Has successfully navigated a leadership post at a mid-sized or larger research
  university.
  
•   Is sensitive to the distinctive challenges of UNCG’s students.
  
•   Accepts accountability to UNCG’s students, staff, and faculty, and to NC taxpayers for
  prudent fiscal management.
  
•   Engages with diverse communities with respect and transparency.
  
•   Thinks beyond current trends to consider long-term ramifications of policy
  decisions.
  
•   Always bears in mind the academic purpose of the university.
  
•   Successfully communicates UNCG’s academic purpose to governing boards, alumni,
  students, faculty, and NC citizens.
  
•   Gives priority to nurturing a welcoming, scholarly culture over an ostentatious built
  environment.
  
•   Understands that UNCG’s primary contribution to North Carolina’s economy is the
  preparation of students in a broad–based education that equips them to be
  productive adults and citizens.
  
•   Views the public university system as the authentic “rising tide that floats all boats,”
  that is, financially accessible college education benefits not only the students, but also the society as a whole. 
  

Some have said that this is asking too much. I see it as the bare minimum. 

Some have said that we are looking for a hero. We are. Whoever can successfully repair the damage that has been done here will be a hero indeed. 

I see no reason why we do not deserve the best and I hope the search committee will not undermine that possibility by creating a faulty foundation upon which the next chancellor is expected to build. Let the sun shine in so that we can clearly see how to address what is needed because no matter how much filler is used to disguise the defects, they will come to light on their own. Better to have taken the time and effort to do things right from the beginning than to doom the future to failure before it even has a chance to start.

Chancellor Search "Listening Forums"

Of course this most likely means that they want to make sure we understand that nothing will be answered and no new information will be presented, but here are some opportunities to speak your mind (or at least hear what others are saying.) A friend has created some fantastic owl buttons that could be worn, they could be distributed there if people are interested.

Since the next task of the Search Committee is to write the "Leadership Statement" (that is, the job ad), the primary and immediate purpose of the forums is to gather views on the essential qualifications of the next Chancellor, so that these views can inform our writing. At the Staff forum on January 8, three questions guided the discussion:

            1) What challenges and opportunities will the new Chancellor encounter here?

            2) Given these challenges and opportunities, what qualifications and qualities do you think the candidates for Chancellor should have?

            3)  How do we "sell" UNCG to the kinds of candidates we'd like to attract?

The faculty forums will probably begin with these or similar questions, but they are not meant to be restrictive. Any thoughts about desirable qualities for a new Chancellor's are welcome.

Bill Funk, the owner of the search firm we've hired, will be present for the Campus Open Forums on January 20 and 21. At each forum Search Committee members from the focus constituency will facilitate and take notes.

All Forums are open to all members of the University community. The constituency focus of individual forums—staff, students, faculty, alumni—are merely focus points, not restrictions. Faculty may attend and contribute to any forum.

Campus Open Forums

Tuesday, January 20, 4:00 – 5:00 pm, Faculty Open Forum, Alexander Rm., EUC

Tuesday, January 20, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, Student Open Forum,  Cone Ballroom, EUC

Wednesday, January 21, 9:00 - 10:30 am, Staff Open Forum, Alexander Room, EUC

Wednesday, January 21, 1:00 - 2:30 pm, Campus Wide Open Forum, Auditorium, EUC Wednesday, January 21, 4:00 - 5:00 pm, Faculty Senate Forum, Maple Room, EUC

Off-Campus Alumni Forums

Thursday, January 8, 5:30 p.m., Alumni Forum, Wilmington, NC-Hilton Riverside Hotel

Wednesday, January 14, 5:30 p.m., Alumni Forum, Winston-Salem, NC-Downtown Embassy Suites

Thursday, January 15, 6:00 p.m., Alumni Forum, Raleigh, NC-NC State Alumni House

Wednesday, January 21, 6:00 p.m., Alumni Forum, Asheville, NC-Downtown Renaissance Hotel, Top of the Plaza

Tuesday, February 3, 5:30 p.m., Alumni Forum, Charlotte, NC-SouthPark Mall, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks

You can offer your views, comments, suggestions, etc. at any time through the Chancellor Search website: http://chancellorsearch.wp.uncg.edu/

As Adele Says: Rumor Has It

Word on the street is that Sherri MacCheyne is looking for a new job. She just graduated with some sort of degree, so maybe it’s time for her to move on. Or, maybe it’s just difficult for her to walk around a campus filled with people who know that she would sell them out sooner than look at them. I’ve always believed in the possibility of a fresh start. I’m sure there are any number of people who would be willing to give her a recommendation – I would hope after all she’s done for Paul Mason he at least has the dignity to serve as a reference.

It is going to have an impact on the shape of leadership at UNCG, however because Sherri was selected to participate in UNCG’s LeadershipInstitute, something others had wanted to have the benefit of but were told they couldn’t because of their SPA status, and now, she might not even be around to finish it. Sherri is an SPA employee as well, but, as we all know by now, she’s special.

Brady’s take on the Leadership Institute is that its purpose is, “to promote a culture of excellence and inclusion.” I think we can all get behind those values and I’d suggest that maybe Brady should consider going through the program during her year off with full pay. I don’t think she’ll be doing any more leading anytime soon, but it might help her to understand so much of what she has been experiencing over the last six years at UNCG. Her final project could be a letter of apology.

It’s not all bad news though, Brady has promised that there will be a letter indicating that no further property acquisition outside of the boundaries outlined in the 2010 Revised Vision Plan.

Although I know it can be a bit difficult to get excited about the promise of a forthcoming letter indicating that UNCG might not do any more damage than it already planned to do, but we have to consider how low the bar has been set. Brady also will most likely not kill or eat anybody prior to her retirement either. So, there’s that.

On another note, I sent my previous post regarding Funk’s contact with two hiring scandals on to his offices. Several hours later a comment appeared suggesting that I had mischaracterized the issue at FSU and that the piece I wrote did not constitute particularly stellar journalism. So as to not misrepresent what the commenter wrote, I reproduce it here in its entirety:

As far as the FSU search, a pretty gross mischaracterization. Funk emailed the board warning them they were conducting a "sham" search and urged them to vote yes or no on Thrasher without the façade of a search. And to compare the impact of a firm that just placed the President at Ohio State to that of Katrina..... Frankly it makes me curious to know whether your efforts are directed at riling up a faculty and poisoning the well or even anything close to a legitimate effort at journalism of any sort. Solid selective headline reading research, though! 
Hopefully this isn't representative of all your work.

I do respect the sarcasm (there’s everything but a smiley face emoticon at the end of the first paragraph!) A closer reading of my post would reveal that I had not compared the firm to Katrina but rather had suggested that vague language such as “enormous impact” does not necessarily indicated “positive impact.”

I also do have to admit that I did not read every single article ever written about both searches. Instead, I read many of them, found that after a while apparently different sources simply reprint verbatim what was written elsewhere, and so spoke directly to the people who I know at FSU and WVU about the circumstances and drew my conclusions. I have known about both of these issues, since they occurred and the only surprise to me when I first started investigating R. William Funk was that his was the firm that brought the universities these treasures.

Finally, I wanted to acknowledge that I am not a journalist. If I were, this would be a newspaper or some other form of news media. This is a blog and I am an advocate. I have a great deal of respect for journalists and do not want it to be thought that because I write a blog I fancy myself to be among them. That being said, I will issue one amendment to my previous post. I should have indicated that it was possible that Funk’s firm wasn’t guilty of back room dealings in bringing Thrasher to FSU, he might also have simply been a tool.

I’ll leave it up to him to decide which characterization he prefers and hope that he can prove himself to be neither in the search for UNCG’s new chancellor.

UNCG Leadership Search: Funk and Scandal

President Tom Ross spoke to the faculty senate and attendees regarding the upcoming search to replace UNCG’s disgraced chancellor. He stated that he was hoping for someone with integrity, courage, charisma, and vision. I think that’s a good start – it would certainly be a change. Unfortunately, he, and most members of the Board of Trustees believe the best way to get that is by conducting a search where the candidates don’t have to reveal who they are. That is exactly how we received Linda Brady, despite her history of scandal at NCSU (in fact, faculty from NCSU actually contacted faculty at UNCG to warn them of what they were going to be getting) and at Oregon State.

Add to this the fact that the search committee hired to perform this ‘service’ has its own history of scandal. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill “I used a work laptop for personal business after hours with permission of my supervisors” type of scandal. During his time as headhunter for the Florida State University presidential search R. William Funk ignored faculty input and the public advice of the university’s presidential search committee or made backroom deals that left John Thrasher, chairman of Florida Governor Rick Scott’s reelection campaign, as the only candidate.

And so, Funk received a vote of no confidence by the Florida State University’s faculty senate.

Maybe it’s time we stop taking Florida State University’s rejects. They let go Kim Record and we snatched her up…are we planning on learning from our mistakes?

However, instead of seeing the ‘egregious’ nature of this history as a hindrance, the UNCG website reads:

“During the past two decades, no higher education search firm has had a greater impact on college and university leadership nationally than RWFA and its consultants.”

I would also suggest that it would be nice to know if that impact had been positive – its simply quantity is less than reassuring as Hurricane Katrina could also be said to have had an enormous ‘impact.’

Funk was also responsible for the 2007 West Virginia University search that led to the hiring of Michael Garrison former governor’s lobbyist who, up until the announcement of the presidential candidate finalists was the chairman of the Higher Education Policy Commission – the body responsible for final say on who becomes the president of WVU. Garrison went on to ‘an early retirement’ in disgrace after less than a year because of a degree he was involved in awarding to a non-graduate who was…the then-governor’s daughter. Faculty had given a vote of no confidence in the search that netted Garrison. Do you see a pattern here?

I couldn’t make this stuff up. Well, I could, but the people would be smarter about it.

And yet, our administration, the Board of Trustees, Board of Governors, and Tom Ross seem to think that the greatest conflict of interest to have ever occurred is the occasional freelance work done by Lyda Carpen on behalf of two of her colleagues. I think we have an issue of proportion to address here.

While we’re talking about West Virginia University, another similarity existed in the rumors that ex-President Garrison would step into a teaching position after his resignation. There are similar rumors pertaining to Linda Brady who has been inquiring into the possibilities for teaching a course in the Education department. Let’s hope that we can follow WVU by rejecting such a horrifying prospect. In fact, here’s something else we might take to heart from WVU in this report from Inside Higher Ed:

Boyd Edwards, who headed a group called Mountaineers for Integrity and Responsibility, which pressured Garrison to resign, said he’s concerned the university’s recent history will deter strong candidates. That said, Edwards said he thinks members of the Board of Governors may have been sufficiently shamed into providing a fair process that will garner faculty support.

“If I were applying at West Virginia University, I would need assurances of some kind that the search would be open and transparent, but I believe that there is hope even in that,” he said. “I think the Board of Governors has learned some lessons, and I trust them not to try any tricks on this next presidential search.”

The board has an opportunity to send a message, starting with the selection of an interim president that could have a calming affect on campus, according to James Ferrare, president of Academic Search, a firm that specializes in hiring university presidents. Governing boards also have to take steps to assure candidates that the process will be fair.  He added.

“Let’s face it, everyone has their chin on the ground right now there,” he said. “And I think the faculty, and staff and students are looking for someone to carry the flag and say ‘hey, let’s show everyone who we really are.’“

Since the UNC system and the Board of Trustees seems to believe that the firing and arrest of Carpen was justified based on even the worst case scenario of what she has been absolved of committing, then if I were R. William Funk, I’d think several times before I’d set foot in the state of North Carolina.