I attended with interest the May 19 Faculty Senate meeting in which Scott Scarborough participated. The story the next day in the Akron Beacon Journal (“Meeting doesn’t change UA faculty opinions”) was accurate, but there are additional points to consider.
President Scarborough took one hour to make a “brief” statement. What he said made everyone think the last year had not taken place. The same story, the same arguments — it was as if he thought by just talking, he could avoid giving real answers.
Four or five faculty senators addressed Scott Scarborough with comments and questions, some of which were very pointed. He said nothing. He gave no answers, no reply, no indication he heard a word they said.
At no time did he accept responsibility for any decision or action. At one point, he blamed the Trust Navigator decision on a person who has now left the university — a stunning statement because it is known on campus that all decisions go through him.
A lot of attention was given to shared governance — a vital part of university life. While claiming he had engaged in it, it was clear from his comments that he does not understand what it is, and he has no intention of learning.
As you can imagine, many left the meeting frustrated, but few were surprised.
Scarborough has caused the greatest decline in value to a university that most connected with higher education have ever seen. There is a reason that students are choosing not to come. The student experience has been damaged in profound ways.
These are significant areas of concern.
Credibility: His is gone. I have been in meetings where the president has made statements that many faculty and staff know are not true. He will say whatever he needs to in the moment.
Competence and Communication: We have heard a lot about the poor communication by the president. I would like to know what else there is — communication is practically the entire job. He does not teach classes; people like me do that. What most faculty will tell you is that the policies of this administration are crippling our ability to educate students. It is getting worse all the time.
One of the main focuses of a university is to create knowledge through discussion and research. Clearly, the president does not listen to anyone. We see this in what he says and what he does. The most interesting indication of this is who he hires. Many he has brought to UA are unqualified. They are paid huge salaries for one important skill — the ability to say YES to the president.
Perception: The administration has tried to spin things by saying some faculty are just complainers. That is simply not true. Everyone is unhappy, and many are leaving. What we have seen in the press all these months is simply what the president is actually doing. You can name the topic: the baseball team, the $4.1 million fee refund, E.J. Thomas Hall, ITT — all of these decisions have been his.
Humility: Many people would be mortified had they committed even one of the lapses in judgment we have seen from Scott Scarborough. There are CEOs who would accept responsibility and resign given this level of discord and severe drop in performance. This does not appear to be on his radar. Ask yourself: With this number of failures, wouldn’t you be embarrassed? Most of us would.
I ask the board of trustees to have a conversation with President Scarborough about The Greater Good. Ask him to sincerely discuss with you the idea of him leaving the university and how that would look, who would benefit and the positive change that could happen. Ask him what it means to put the best interest of the community before that of one person. It is my guess that he would look at you as if you are speaking a foreign language. In fact, you might be.
The University of Akron is in serious trouble. Everyone working on campus knows the remedy. The only one who does not is Scott Scarborough.
Bordo is a professor of music at the University of Akron.