What have the University of Akron trustees learned from the mistakes of the Scott Scarborough years? Apparently, too little.
That is evident in the way they handled the decision to remove “interim” from the titles of President Matthew Wilson and Senior Vice President and Provost Rex Ramsier last week. The decision was reached with minimal consultation, meetings with the faculty hastily arranged, the minds of the trustees already made up. Shared governance? Far from it.
Most striking is that the trustees moved forward without paying enough heed to the fallout from the turmoil of the past two years. They have lost the confidence of many on the campus for understandable reasons. They are ultimately responsible for the decision-making that has put the university in such a difficult spot, enrollment down, finances under severe strain, morale low.
They have talked about the university community pulling together. Yet, at a moment when they could have reached out, recognizing the real need for healing, they pushed ahead without transparency or sufficient inclusion.
Clearly, the trustees are convinced that Matthew Wilson is making progress. True, he is more visible, engaged and starting to repair relationships.
Rollie Bauer, the chairman of the UA board of trustees, explained that Wilson is “well on his way to meeting or exceeding” the five priorities set by the board when he was tapped to serve as the interim president. One priority involves developing a “sustainable budget.” The university isn’t close to such a thing, let alone a strategic plan, or in position to see a concrete increase in enrollment.
The trustees harm their credibility in suggesting otherwise. More, they appear out of touch in elevating Rex Ramsier. His many strengths are well known, yet so are the many concerns about his leadership skills.
The good idea had been to assess Wilson for a longer period of time, at least a year in the job. As it is, the trustees have acted after just three months. They seem to overlook that Wilson is making a big leap — from running a law school to leading an entire university. If anything, Wilson would have done well to say: Let’s do this later.
In his statement, Chairman Bauer sought to answer the question: Why now? He argued that “a long and expensive national search for new leaders” may “squander the progress already made.” Yet a search hardly is imminent, and it need not upset progress.
Bauer added that the trustees were listening to “respected voices” within and outside the university urging such action. It appears those “respected voices” do not include the faculty.
That is too bad. The problem isn’t Matt Wilson. He shows promise, though he faces a steep learning curve. Rather, the trustees have missed another opportunity to advance the university, to show they have learned and recognize what is required to fulfill the broad mission of the school.
All this makes it imperative the trustees embrace the Tiger Team proposal to put nonvoting faculty members on their committees.