UW Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt. (IMAGE: Courtesy of UW-Oshkosh Chancellor's Office)
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – In light of a series of budget cuts and layoffs, the faculty at UW-Oshkosh will have a no-confidence vote in Chancellor Andrew Leavitt, who issued his reply Friday to claims made against him.
The college has laid off staff, instituted furloughs, proposed a reorganization of academic programs, and made other budget changes in light of shrinking enrollment and financial woes.
There were 74 faculty members who signed a petition calling for a no-confidence vote, according to Pascale Manning, an English professor who is Faculty Senate President.
Because that figure – about 23% of the faculty – meets the Faculty Senate’s threshold, a no-confidence vote will be held. Faculty members will have a window from March 26-April 2 to cast their anonymous ballot, Manning said. The petition states:
UW Oshkosh is strong. Our top leadership is not. We are deeply invested in the success of this institution and the quality of the education we provide. Our purpose is to seek a beneficial change in management practices that will result in better decisions that emphasize educational quality and positive student outcomes. We take no joy in listing the failings of our current leadership. Indeed, we live with their impact every day. Last semester, we gave the administration the opportunity to meet a set of reasonable expectations for collaboration that were unanimously endorsed in the Faculty Senate. A top-down, opaque management style has persisted. We make better decisions together and with full information. At such a critical juncture for our institution, we feel it is important to get a sense of the views of the whole faculty on our administrative leadership.
The ballot will be a choice between two statements of “I do” or “I do not” have confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Leavitt. The result is symbolic, as the Chancellor reports to the Universities of Wisconsin president and the Board of Regents.
Manning noted the petition came from individual faculty members, and not the Faculty Senate itself.
In reply to the action, Chancellor Leavitt issued a lengthy reply Friday, in a blog post titled “Earning the confidence of future Titans.”
It’s my view they are unsubstantiated and inaccurate, and here I’ll make my case. I take no issue with our Faculty Senate or the good people who serve on it. Per their constitution, Senators felt compelled to accept and advance the petition’s call for a referendum. So, here we are,” Leavitt wrote. “At risk of amplifying its inaccuracies, I do feel a duty to now respond to the petition’s claims. It is not a personal defense but a defense of UWO and the hard, diligent work we all have undertaken to reshape and reimagine the university. Our shared goal is to preserve and earn the confidence of students, families and regional stakeholders, including the many who may not imagine themselves at UWO but would thrive here. I hope you will agree it is their confidence and vote that matters most to the university’s future.
Leavitt’s response focuses on several areas:
- On “overspending” and “ineffective enrollment management” efforts
- On “interim positions” and our CFO
- On defending and advocating for UWO state investment
- On shared governance
- On consultants and workforce reduction processes
- On administrative positions at UWO
- On diversity in faculty and staff
Leavitt notes that workforce reductions “are behind us” and there is a plan for closing the remaining budget cap.
“Forces continue to roil higher education everywhere. You are reinventing UWO, rather than be reinvented by those forces. That is stewardship. I am grateful to you. I also believe the people of this university’s region and state are grateful,” he wrote.
Comments