E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Friday, February 27, 2009
Faculty Decisively Votes No Confidence
FOR THE RECORD: This article gave the wrong vote tally in a faculty no-confidence vote against University of New Mexico President David Schmidly. The vote was 329-106 in favor of the no-confidence motion, with 52 faculty members abstaining.By Martin Salazar
Journal Staff Writer
The overwhelming no-confidence vote against top University of New Mexico officials sends a loud message that faculty members believe the university is being run like "a corporation or political patronage machine," a faculty leader said Thursday.
Like many other universities across the country, UNM has adopted a corporate management model to its detriment, said professor Richard Wood, chairman of the faculty governance committee.
"I think the vote (Wednesday) is a really clear message that treating a great research university as a corporation or political patronage machine just undermines what we do for students — what students and parents are paying for," Wood said.
Faculty members on Wednesday night approved no-confidence resolutions aimed at UNM President David Schmidly, regents President Jamie Koch and Executive Vice President David Harris.
It was the first time in UNM's 120-year history that one of its presidents had suffered such a fate, although the votes are largely symbolic and Schmidly has said he is not leaving his post.
He said Thursday that he was disappointed in the faculty vote but defended decisions that he said have avoided layoffs at the school.
"While the decisions we have made may have not been popular with some, we have nevertheless so far managed to avoid any layoffs or (mandatory) furloughs, unlike so many other colleges and universities — all while increasing enrollment and diversity and adding 43 new faculty positions," Schmidly said in a written statement.
Schmidly reiterated that he will reach out to faculty members and work to gain the support and confidence of every member of the UNM community.
The faculty's no-confidence vote on Schmidly was 329-106 in favor of the no-confidence motion, with 52 faculty members abstaining. The vote on Harris was 438-24, with 26 abstaining. The vote against Koch was approved by an even larger margin, 482-7, with 3 abstaining.
Cronyism alleged
Allegations of political patronage, cronyism and nepotism have dogged UNM, particularly since Bill Richardson was elected governor in 2002. Last year, a whistle-blower complained about cronyism in the hiring and promotions of 21 employees — several with ties to Richardson.
The UNM attorney assigned to review the allegations found no evidence to support them, although his probe focused on whether hiring, promotions and raises were properly documented.
Asked whether the governor has been using UNM for political patronage, Richardson spokesman Alarie Ray-Garcia said, "I talked to the governor, and he said those characterizations are ridiculous and just simply not true."
Koch also denied the allegation.
Faculty members at Wednesday's meeting where the no-confidence votes were taken warned that UNM's academic mission is in jeopardy, partly because of the resources that have been pumped into an expanding administration.
Wood commended Schmidly for avoiding layoffs during the first round of cuts, but noted that faculty concerns go well beyond the recent round of belt-tightening.
When Schmidly arrived at UNM, distinguished professor Carl Caves said, "there was just an enormous amount of pent-up frustration with the failure of the administration over a decade, but particularly in the previous three to four years to address the major needs in the academic programs in the university. Instead of coming in and learning about those and addressing them, he came in and added vice presidents. This just really put him on the outs with a huge set of faculty. We think he made a big mistake."
Koch, meanwhile, said that he was disappointed that he didn't have an opportunity to respond to faculty allegations and that he wasn't surprised by the vote. "It was a tough meeting. I listened to them."
Koch said he liked the faculty's idea of making the provost and executive vice president of Health Sciences full members of the regents Finance and Facilities Committee.
New battlefield
The faculty motion on Koch calls for the governor to withdraw Koch's nomination to a second term. Richardson said Wednesday that he was sticking by Koch, and his office said Thursday that the results of the faculty vote haven't changed that.
Faculty members, meanwhile, are preparing to fight Koch's appointment in Senate confirmation hearings.
Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said that she has been following the unrest at UNM and that the Senate Rules Committee, which she heads, will have tough questions for Koch.
Harris didn't respond to a message left at his office.
Faculty members also approved a motion requesting that an independent audit be conducted to determine what happened to increases in state funding and other revenue since 2003.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
