Results of the Survey on Interim Titles

Dear Colleagues in the Bargaining Unit Faculty (BUF),

The Akron-AAUP was notified on Friday, October 14th that a Board of Trustees meeting had been scheduled five days later for the purpose of removing “interim” from the titles of then Interim President Wilson and Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Rex Ramsier. Invoking Article 10 of the CBA, the Board requested three representatives from the Akron-AAUP meet with them to discuss the change in title. (It is important to point out that the Faculty Senate and University Council (UC) were NOT invited initially; it is only after we notified Senate and UC leadership that invitations were extended to them. Chairs and student representatives were not formally invited).

At our chapter meeting on Monday, October 17th we discussed the request with our members. They approved a survey of bargaining unit faculty that would enable us to accurately represent their opinions at the meeting with the Board of Trustees. We would like to thank you for your swift response to the survey.

Three faculty represented us: Yang Yun (Biomedical Engineering), Jeanne-Helene Roy (Modern Languages; Chapter Secretary), and John Zipp (Sociology; Chapter President). In addition to sharing a short summary of the results with the BOT (see below), we made the following points:

Being given five days notice for a meeting of this significance constitutes “notification” rather than “consultation.” In the spirit of shared governance, consultation involves the sharing of information, meaningful discussion, and informed consent -- none of which occurred.
We were provided with no information about the proposed changes, except for the “intent” to remove the interim titles from Matt Wilson and Rex Ramsier.
UA appeared to be making important moves toward more shared governance in the last few months, but this action represents a significant setback.
We stressed the necessity of searches -- whether internal or external (we insisted that there had to be a national search for Provost) -- to the practice of shared governance.
After the BOT noted the urgency of needing to stabilize UA leadership, we noted that, if they had treated us as partners in shared governance (along with the Senate, UC, and Chairs), we could have worked together to devise an appropriate strategy to meet the needs and concerns of all groups.

The BOT decision, which we all learned about via the Email Digest announcement, was slightly modified from their original proposal, because it includes a mention of future searches: President Wilson’s term would go until June 2019 instead of June 2018; but by June 2018, the BOT will consult again with the Senate, UC and Akron-AAUP about whether to conduct a search for president; and after that decision is made, the BOT will initiate a search for Provost.

In the interest of transparency, we will share with you the results of the survey we conducted below:

1. Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion about the current interim president?

Matt Wilson is the right selection for president of The University of Akron………….21.0%

Matt Wilson may be the right selection for president, but it is too soon to tell………74.8%

Matt Wilson is definitely not the right selection for president………………………...…1.9%

Other.……………………………………………………………...………………..…….…..2.4%

2. Which of the following statements best reflects your opinion of the action the Akron-AAUP should advocate for in the upcoming board of trustees meeting with regards to the interim president, Matt Wilson?

The “interim” should NOT be removed from his title, and his term should continue to end in December 2017, at which point a search would commence……...........................…..44.5%

The “interim” should be removed from his title, and his term should continue to end in December 2017, at which point a search process would commence……....................................16.0%

The “interim” should be removed from his title, and his term should end in May 2018, at which point a search process would commence…………………..................................…….26.9%

Other………….………....................................................…………………..……..……..12.6%

3. Please indicate how you feel about the following statement: It is crucial for shared governance at The University of Akron to have a formal search process for President.

Strongly or Somewhat Agree………………........................................................……81.2%

Neither Agree Nor Disagree…………...................................................……….……..10.0%

Strongly or Somewhat Disagree……………….......................................................….8.8%

4. Please indicate how you feel about the following statement: I am confident that Rex Ramsier is the right selection for Provost of the University.

Strongly or Somewhat Agree ………..........................................……..…………….…21.4%

Neither Agree Nor Disagree…………..……………..........................................….…..25.4%

Strongly or Somewhat Disagree…………............................................………......…..52.2%

5. How would you rate Rex Ramsier as interim provost on each of the following criteria?

Click on the Image to see a larger version.

6. Please indicate how you feel about the following statement: It is crucial for shared governance at The University of Akron to have a formal search process for Provost.

Strongly or Somewhat Agree……………............................................................……86.8%

Neither Agree Nor Disagree……….........................................................….…………..7.1%

Strongly or Somewhat Disagree…….……..........................................................……..6.2%

Responses as of 12:30pm, 10/20/2016. N=446

Open-ended responses not included

Thank you,

The Executive Committee of the Akron-AAUP

Not a member of the Akron-AAUP?

Volunteer your skills to help secure and protect your rights and privileges as a member of the faculty.

It's hard work, and work worth doing.

Akron-AAUP
Communications Committee