ON SATURDAY, an article indicating peer criticism of Dr. Robert Frank, a presidential finalist at the University of New Mexico, stated that a faculty member “didn’t know of any faculty that liked him.” The faculty attending a public forum at the University of New Mexico implied that Frank lacks a sufficient record of teamwork with faculty.
As representatives of the tenured faculty and administration within the College of Public Health at Kent State University, we would like to comment on the broad-ranging statements.
As our provost, Frank is responsible for the development of the College of Public Health, and we have had firsthand experience working under his leadership and the teamwork required to launch a new college. Frank has made every effort to listen to the concerns of the College of Public Health faculty and to address them in a thoughtful and timely manner.
He has at no time been antagonistic to the faculty within our college.
The development of a new college requires continuous communication, negotiation, planning and implementation and a positive relationship between the administration and the faculty. The College of Public Health at Kent State University would neither exist nor be flourishing without Frank’s ability to recruit an entire cohort of founding faculty and mobilize them as a team.
SONIA ALEMAGNO
Dean and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Kent State University
Also signed by eight other Kent State academics, from assistant professor to assistant dean.
