Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said Tuesday the vote of no confidence proposed by University of Wisconsin faculty showed “arrogance.” While Steineke’s comment is unwarranted, he does have a point.
Chancellor Blank fears division between faculty, Board of Regents
The Faculty Senate is planning on having a vote of “no confidence” in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents at their next meeting May 2. This statement comes after a lessening of shared governance, but is mainly due to changes in tenure policy, which allowed programs to be cut based on nonacademic considerations.
My sentiment is with the faculty and I am against these changes in tenure reform, but this fight is ill-advised and illogical. Saying you have no confidence in Cross and the Board of Regents is a move that has no substantial positive effects while possibly contributing a host of negatives.
Faculty Senate to vote on no-confidence resolution toward Ray Cross, Board of Regents
As Chancellor Rebecca Blank suggested in a blog post, faculty should be obstinately working to have a positive relationship with the Board of Regents and, specifically, Cross. This body is a decision-maker when it comes to university rules, regulations and finances, so it might be a good idea to at least show some faith in them.
More importantly, this resolution means nothing. Passing a vote of “no confidence” cannot compel the Board of Regents to listen to the Faculty Senate. In fact, it may inspire the opposite — a Board of Regents apathetic to UW.
“We think the students are better served when decisions about academic program changes are made on the basis of educational considerations, as determined primarily by the faculty,” Chad Goldberg, UW sociology professor and author of the resolution, told The Badger Herald.
Faculty Senate to vote on no-confidence resolution toward Ray Cross, Board of Regents
Faculty has two jobs: their own and protecting the students. What the Faculty Senate mostly takes issue with, tenure, merely affects them, the faculty, while hurting the ones they serve, us students.
Aaron Reilly ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in social work and economics.
