[Vision2020] Statesman weighs in on ISU

[Dan Carscallen]

Joe, 

Did you read the editorial? From what I gather, they agree with you

DC

On Feb 22, 2011, at 17:58, Joe Campbell <philosopher.joe at gmail.com> wrote:

> Great advice! Maybe they should just shut up and stick to the news!
> 
> On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:00 AM, Ron Force <rforce2003 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 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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