[Vision2020] Statesman weighs in on ISU

[Ron Force]

February 22, 2011
Our View: Memo to ISU faculty: Just shut up and teach
 - Idaho Statesman
Seventy-six percent of Idaho State University’s  faculty senators have a problem 
with Arthur Vailas. Earlier this month,  they cast a no-confidence vote and 
urged their embattled president to  step down.
And 100 percent of State Board of Education members have a  problem with the ISU 
faculty Senate. On Thursday, the  board voted  unanimously to disband the Senate 
— at Vailas’ urging.
Well,  that’s one way to try to make a crisis disappear. Who needs allies on  
campus when you have a compliant State Board in your pocket?
The  message, for faculty and staff at ISU and other campuses, could hardly  be 
more clear. If you have a complaint or a criticism, the State Board  doesn’t 
want to hear from you or help solve problems.
Of course,  that’s not how the board spins it. “The impasse between the 
leadership  of the senate group and the administration has reached a point where 
the  prospect of any kind of progress was simply non-existent,” board  President 
Richard Westerberg said. “It’s time to start over.”
Starting over? Sure. But only after the board made sure to give Vailas all the 
leverage, and marginalize his faculty  critics.
Oh,  there will still be a place for the faculty to have a say. Just on  Vailas’ 
terms. The board ordered Vailas to set up an interim advisory  structure and 
come back in April and propose what the board calls a  “reconstituted faculty 
Senate and a new faculty governance model.”
How’s that for even-handed?
It’s remarkable that the State Board chose to choose sides, especially at this 
advanced stage of unrest. 

Vailas  has been on the job since 2006, providing ample time for tensions to  
degenerate into grudges. The problems aren’t likely to just go away.  It’s naive 
for the State Board to act as if that’s even a possibility.
Faculty  members have aired some serious issues that warrant more active  
attention from the State Board —  including complaints of closed-door  budget 
decisions and high staff turnover.
These concerns should  resonate under any circumstances — and especially during 
a funding  crisis that requires university leaders to make tough budget 
decisions,  explain policy publicly and clearly and get and keep buy-in from key  
faculty and staff.
“Sometimes we have to stand up and make our  voices heard,” said ISU Faculty 
Senate chairman Phil Cole, according to  the Associated Press. “The internal 
strife at ISU is killing ISU.”
Turns  out Cole was worried over nothing. The State Board of Education has a  
foolproof plan for handling “internal strife.” Just tell all the  naysayers to 
shut up.“Our View” is the editorial position of the  Idaho Statesman. It is an 
unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of  the Statesman’s editorial board. 
To comment on an editorial or suggest a  topic, e-mail 
editorial at idahostatesman.com.


      
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