Local News: Texas A&M Faculty and Student Protest Regents

Faculty, Students Say They're Losing Confidence in Regents
By Michelle Casady

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

Texas A&M faculty and students on Monday continued to criticize A&M System officials for the departure of former president Elsa Murano and for what they characterized as strongarm tactics that ignore the concept of shared governance of the university.

At a rally outside the Memorial Student Center before the Board of Regents meeting Monday morning, Bob Bednarz, speaker of the faculty senate, read a statement saying that recent actions by A&M System officials led him to believe that faculty input is neither valued nor desired.

"I fear that the events of the past month have had significant negative impacts on faculty morale, on the academic image of Texas A&M, and, therefore, on our ability to attract and retain the best and brightest people who are recruited to A&M by the faculty.

"Although every member of the Aggie family deserves to be heard, not many students, administrators, or regents spend 30 years at Texas A&M. Many of my colleagues and I have. We have devoted our professional lives to the improvement of this university."

He wasn't alone in his beliefs.

More than 100 professors gathered outside the MSC, where two protesters carried a sign reading: "McKinney and Regents: Gig 'em," but the traditional thumbs-up sign was instead pointed down. The other side of the sign had the Texas A&M logo and underneath it the words -- "Absolute mess."

Several dozen wore black ribbons tied around their arms to represent mourning the death of Vision 2020 -- the university's broad 20-year plan to make A&M one of the top universities in the country.

The gathering, which included about 15 students, was organized by the Council of Principal Investigators, a group that represents faculty researchers. Initially, it was called late last week to rally support behind the embattled Murano, but after her resignation Sunday afternoon the focus shifted to putting the spotlight on the idea of shared governance.

Murano -- who said in a statement Sunday that she hoped to stay on in Aggieland as a member of the faculty -- was not at the rally or the meeting.

A&M doctoral student Chuck Goldsmith, who made the sign with the thumbs down, said he's "sad and frustrated" by the unfolding situation.

"I don't think personal politics should guide our university," said Goldsmith, a 25-year-old from Plano who is studying genetics.

"The chancellor and board of regents have already showed their hand," he said, referring to the belief that officials had planned to oust Murano. "They're backpeddling a little, but not changing their minds. We're going down a dark path. No one is going to want to work here. No one is going to teach here."

Several professors said the regents were using the economic situation as a pretense to carry out their personal agendas.

Brandon Honore, a senior political science major from Carrollton, said he thought it was "ludicrous" to believe that the positions of president and chancellor should be combined for financial reasons -- an idea floated by the chancellor three weeks ago.

Another student at the rally felt similarly.

"I feel like some of the actions taken by the Board of Regents don't necessarily have the interests of the students at heart. It's a political move," said sophomore Alexa Rodin. "When the university just agreed to a $100 million MSC renovation," said the biomedical sciences major from Austin, pointing to the Memorial Student Center behind her, "you can't tell me this is about cutting costs."

More than 100 people packed into the Board of Regents meeting room at the MSC; another 50 were in an overflow room down the hall. Some of those who attended were less than pleased by what they heard.

"I was a little surprised that there was so little discussion," said Marty Loudder, former speaker of the faculty senate.

Other faculty expressed similar sentiments and said they wished there had been an opportunity for them to ask questions or comment on the presentations.

Two presentations were made during the open portion of the Board of Regents meeting -- one on finances, the other on combining several offices at the system and the flagship campus.

Following the financial analysis presentation, a regent asked the presenter if the numbers indicated there were more professors on staff with lighter workloads than in previous years.

"No one I know is getting lighter loads," said R. Douglas Slack, former speaker of the faculty senate, following the meeting. "I assume the implication there was that faculty don't carry their load and responsibilities to the taxpayers, but gosh, we do."

Following the meeting, a group of faculty gathered in the hall and shared their grievances.

"They've pretty much undone 50 years of progress that started with Earl Rudder in two weeks. Right now it's more like vision 1920," said Thomas McKnight, a professor and associate head of biology. "I think it's very clear that the board holds the faculty in contempt. This is a very sad day for A&M and for the Aggie family."

In moving forward, McKnight said, filling the top slot at the state's second-largest public university likely will be more difficult than expected.

"I really think that their actions over the past month have poisoned the well," he said. "No one who would be good at the job would want it now."

Loudder commented on Board Chairman Morris Foster's goal of having a new president hired within six months.

"I don't think it's possible. That's pretty optimistic," she said. "What university president in another Tier I university would want to apply for a job at Texas A&M when they know, and have seen in all the national publications, that this Board of Regents wants to micromanage the flagship university?"

She said in order to keep A&M from heading down a regressive path, immediate action is needed.

"It's going to have to start with open communication between the regents and the representative of the faculty senate," she said. "We simply want to have a voice in the decision-making process. That's what happens at every world-class university, and if it stops happening here at Texas A&M, we're doomed to be second-rate."

Published on Tuesday, June 16, 2009