No confidence vote on SSU president scheduled for next week
KPIX 5/11/07
The Academic Senate voted Thursday to put the issue to a vote on a resolution stating, "We, the faculty of Sonoma State University, express no confidence in President Ruben Arminana's ability to continue as president to serve our students, faculty and staff and to uphold our University's mission of teaching and learning."
The Academic Senate said the SSU President has failed to support the institutional mission of teaching and learning; his fiscal priorities have left the financial support of student learning dangerously unstable; and he has failed to engage, utilize and support the problem-solving capabilities of faculty governance, including failure to follow the new university consultation policy he signed.
The Academic Senate's resolution gives 10 specific examples in support of a no confidence vote.
Arminana made a brief statement to the Academic Senate in which he said, "If anyone hopes that this vote will push me to retire or resign, let me assure you that it will not happen. As a matter of fact, the Chancellor wanted me to let you know of his and the Board of Trustees complete support for me and my work here."
Arminana said he has transformed the university by changing enrollment from "shaky, unstable and part-time to stable growing and full-time" and made SSU acceptable and supported by the community.
He said since its inception, SSU has been under-funded compared to others in the California State University system.
"There are a lot of the things you feel, and I agree, should be supported but they are not because of these budget cuts. I share your frustration but your anger should be directed to the State of California for the poor funding of higher education in the past decade."
Susan Kashack, SSU's associate vice president for communications and marketing, said there was a vote of no confidence in 1982 against SSU's then-President Peter Dimandopoulos. He resigned a year later.
The faculty will vote on the resolution between Monday and Friday, Kashack said.