Tensions between faculty and college administrators have again erupted at SUNY-ESF.

After a heated debate that lasted nearly two hours, the university’s Academic Governance body on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for increased consultation between the university’s faculty and administration in the wake of what the resolution stated were repeated failures by the college’s administrators to include faculty in certain university decisions.

The resolution also urged the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Board of Trustees — when reviewing President Quentin Wheeler’s reappointment — to consider his “ongoing inability to effectively consult with faculty” on decisions related to the university’s academic mission.

Concerns about administrative consultation are “in part contributing to a sense of unease and disgruntlement among the faculty and professional staff,” according to the resolution.

“Faculty have repeatedly asked to be consulted and engaged early in the discussion concerning the academic mission and no open and transparent process has yet been established,” the document stated.

SUNY-ESF’s Academic Governance board just passed a resolution calling for increased consultation between ESF faculty and administration regarding decisions related to the university’s academic mission and student population increases, among other things. pic.twitter.com/dMLJE3q7C9

— Jordan Muller (@jordanmuller18) December 12, 2017

Tuesday’s resolution cited decisions the resolution’s writers said were made by the SUNY-ESF administration without the consultation of the body, including:

• The establishment of a Chief Information Officer search committee
• The creation of a Leadership Council and the appointment of a faculty representative to that council
• The decision to appoint a department chair made without the consultation of that department’s faculty, off of a survey that was not available to all faculty
• A recently-announced plan to increase SUNY-ESF’s student population, reduce university-based financial aid and de-emphasize “SUNY” from the college’s name

The vote came about a year after Academic Governance voted no confidence in Wheeler after faculty and staff increasingly grew frustrated over his leadership. A bill of particulars, released in February 2016, said Wheeler had a “problematic relationship” with the Board of Trustees and created “a climate of fear on campus in terms of retaliation for speaking out against his agenda.”

Tuesday’s resolution, introduced by the body’s Executive Committee, passed 59 votes to 21 votes. Eight Academic Governance members also abstained from voting on the resolution.

Debate over the vote pushed the normal hour-and-twenty-minute Academic Governance meeting past the two-hour mark. Some governance members expressed opposition to the resolution, with one professor calling it a “war declaration.”

Siddharth Chatterjee, an Academic Governance officer, said he believed some faculty “have been carrying on this campaign … to topple our president.”

After the no confidence vote, Chatterjee said Wheeler has been sharing information with the campus community in emails.

Others voiced disapproval with the creation of the resolution itself, saying the document was created without consultation from all members of Academic Governance. Wheeler, before discussion on the vote, urged the body to reject the resolution.

“As we drive potential donors, foundations that might become supporters and students who might become applicants to explore us on the web, I would like them to find the incredibly positive things we have to offer in terms of our academics, our research and our impact on the world,” Wheeler said. “This does nothing to further that.”

Wheeler said he believed negotiation and compromise would be better paths forward for the college than the passage of the resolution. He and his administration would be “eager and anxious” to sit with anyone to talk about their grievances, the president said.

Academic Governance will, in the future, also hold an electronic vote to decide whether to request a campus visitation to help resolve the conflict.

According to the SUNY University Faculty Senate governance handbook, visitation committees are created by the SUNY system’s governing body in the event of a “prolonged, serious conflict about faculty governance.” The committee would visit the campus and write a report that may include recommendations to deal with on-campus conflicts.

Published on December 12, 2017 at 5:46 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18