UCSC faculty want in on leader choice
Monterey Herald 3/1/07
"The Denton administration stimulated widespread dissatisfaction on campus... and we want more leverage over the forthcoming chancellor selection process," said Forest Robinson, an American studies professor who belongs to a group of 180 faculty calling themselves "The Coalition."
The sole authority to select a new chancellor rests with UC President Robert Dynes. Three UCSC faculty members typically are selected to join a 15-member search committee, a number the coalition complains is too few. Critics say the final slate of candidates should be made public, adding that the current search procedure is a departure from the early years at UCSC, when the process was more public and the final candidates were revealed.
UC spokesman Michael Reese said the three local faculty members, together with five UCSC students, staff and alumni on committee, have "substantial" input in the search process. Also, confidentiality is crucial to be able to recruit candidates who may not want their employers to know they are looking elsewhere, he said.
The coalition is drafting a statement that summarizes the qualities and commitments it wants in a new chancellor. In an early version, Robinson and Mary-Kay Gamel, chairwoman of the literature department, wrote that they want a chancellor who will be more proactive in engaging the community over local issues and address an "alarming deterioration of undergraduate education at UCSC." It also calls for a new chancellor with a reputation for openness, someone who is a skillful communicator and would be sensitive to the "special history, mission and current circumstances of the campus."
In her 16-month tenure at UCSC, Denton drew fire from many directions. She was criticized after $600,000 in renovations were made to her university home -- though many of the improvements were not at her request -- and for obtaining a high-paying UC job for her partner, a move that prompted protests from unions. Students criticized her commitment to diversity.
Denton had begun to fear for her safety and some faculty began to wonder if she had thick enough skin for the job.
This month, a collection of 15 regents, faculty members, staff and students serving on a "search advisory committee" will form. Its job will be to refer roughly half-a-dozen candidates to Dynes by November. Dynes is expected to make a final decision in the months thereafter, though his office has not provided a timeline.
None of the names of those candidates will be made public. Faculty members Robinson and Gamel say they distrust and dislike the idea of a confidential search process. A public vetting process -- where the final two or three candidates are invited to visit the campus and respond to questions from the community -- is needed to get the best candidate, they say.
Defending the current practice, the Office of the President insists on "strict confidentiality of the entire search process," arguing that an open search could scare away potential candidates for fear of losing their jobs and because they don't want their lives dissected in public.
"This is a classic debate that takes place all over the country," said Scott Jaschik, former editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education. "Local communities, especially after there's been some controversy with a chancellor or a search, challenge a state's authority to pick a new leader."
UCSC had an open selection process until the early 1980s, according to senior faculty members, and some California State University campuses still allow the public a chance to meet a handful of finalists.
Members of the faculty coalition, who came together after Denton's death, originally called themselves "Chemers for Chancellor," in support of reappointing Martin Chemers, a popular acting chancellor who preceded Denton. When astrophysics professor George Blumenthal got the interim job, the coalition shifted and expanded its mission to include the search for a permanent chancellor and to challenge the university's long-range academic plan, currently in the works, which they say will threaten the quality of undergraduate education.
For now, leaders of the faculty coalition mainly want some stability on campus after going through four chancellors in five years.
Robinson and Gamel have called a meeting, set for this afternoon, for the campus community and the public to finalize a statement summarizing the qualities they want to see in the next chancellor.