Timeline: The trail to no confidence

6 | News

March 19, 2014

The Hawk

TIMELINE DECEMBER

2011 February 15

2012

August 5

2013

8 million dollar shortfall discovered Saint Joseph’s University discovered an $8 million shortfall due to an unfulfilled enrollment goal for fiscal year 2013. The administration proposed to make up the $8 million through decreasing utility costs, looking for savings in departments and offices, expanding revenue in places such as the bookstore, increasing student enrollment in Winter Intercessions, and utilizing the physical capacity of St. Joe’s to its maximum abilities.

Shared governance at St. Joe’s under review A report regarding the shared governance structure at St. Joe’s was released to employees in an email sent out by Gillespie on March 21, 2013. The report highlighted issues in the system and also improvements that should be made.

Employees bear healthcare burden On Aug. 5, 2013, St. Joe’s communicated to employees that they would be responsible for covering a six percent increase in budgeted health care premiums and that the university could not pay for the six percent oversight.

September 24

2013

November

Saint Joseph’s University administration cut retirement funds for employees by one percent in December 2011. Two thirds of full time tenured faculty members petitioned against this reduction in a letter sent to the Board of Trustees, Smithson, and then president-elect Gillespie.

Faculty Senate created a resolution on Feb. 15, 2012 in response to a one percent decrease in employee retirement benefits. Faculty members were upset over not having significant input in the decision and suggested the retirement benefits remain as they are for the rest of the academic year.

2012 2013

University proposes faculty benefits cut

Faculty Senate seeks budget compromise

November

March 21

The trail to no confidence

2013

Faculty Senate votes to censure senior administrators Faculty Senate passed a resolution to censure the senior leadership team at St. Joe’s on Sept. 24, 2013. The faculty members cited issues in communication with administrators about previous retirement benefits being cut and health care budgeting issues as the reason for the censure.

Student organization budgeting change impedes planning The Office of Financial Affairs announced that the rollover accounts in student organizations were being eliminated and all saved funds would be pulled into a capital account to benefit students. This resulted in student organizations losing money from their rollover accounts; the Student Union Board (SUB) was the hardest hit, losing $56,000 from their rollover account.

Definitions Censure: An official expression of extreme disapproval in a formal statement.

Vote of no confidence: A vote or resolution that states that a person in a superior position in governance is no longer deemed fit to hold that position.

Shortfall: Occurs when spending exceeds income in a budget.

Shared governance: The decision making process of the university, consisting of faculty members, administration, and trustees.

Content contributed by Erin Raftery, ’15, news editor, Joe Cerrone, ’14, opinions editor, and Cat Coyle, ’16, managing editor

March 19, 2014

News | 7

The Hawk

Faculty, administration formulate plans regarding university budget shortfall Due to the $8.7 million shortfall that occurred in fiscal year 2013, administrators instituted a 4.2 percent decrease in expenses across the board to prevent a deficit. A team of senior administrators, including the provost, came up with final budget recommendations by Dec. 6, 2013.

Employee mass email address restricted A new mass email policy restricting the use of all employee aliases was instituted on Jan. 17, 2014. The policy restricts the use of the employee@sju.edu, empfac@sju.edu, empstaff@sju.edu, and FYI@sju.edu aliases which all employees could contact each other through.

2013

January 17

2014

Administration announces plan to increase enrollment Due to the $8.7 million shortfall and financial problems at the university, the university administration and Board of Trustees decided to increase the enrollment goal to 1,500 students for the freshman class of 2018.

Students meet with administration to discuss enrollment plan Students, faculty, and administrators met to talk about the administrative decision to increase the incoming freshman class to 1,500 in a panel hosted by the University Student Senate (U.S.S.) on Feb. 10, 2014.

Academic departments feel effects of budget shortfall The 4.2 percent across-the-board cuts in operating budgets enacted to make up the $8.7 million shortfall affected the academic departments of the university. Departments such as mathematics, psychology, and Africana Studies were among the several that were affected.

2014 February 10

2014

2014

At a St. Joe’s Faculty Senate meeting on Feb. 25, a vote of no confidence was passed against Mayer and Smithson. The senate said that Mayer was asked to resign because of his failure to manage the Office of Financial Affairs. Smithson was asked to resign because of his lack of communication on university decisions, suggesting that he is responsible for the FY13 shortfall of $8 million, FY14 shortfall of $8.7 million, and the decision to enroll 1,500 next fall.

Students protest outside of BOT meeting On Feb. 27, students organized a protest outside of McShain Hall where the Board of Trustees met in the Haub Executive Center on the fifth floor, citing a lack of transparency on budgetary cuts and the 1,500 enrollment goal for the incoming freshman class.

Who iS who ?

February

February

Faculty Senate passes vote of no confidence

C. Kevin Gillespie, ’72, S.J., university president Only in the second year of his presidency of Saint Joseph’s University, C. Kevin Gillespie, ’72, S.J., has faced numerous crises during his short tenure. These range from budget shortfalls, failure to reach enrollment projections, and growing discontent among faculty and staff. Despite the Faculty Senate’s recent vote of no confidence against two senior members of his administration, Gillespie has indicated that he supports the university’s senior administrators.

John Smithson, ’68, senior vice president Senior Vice President John Smithson, ’68, is among the top tier of advisers to the president, and was recently asked to resign by the Faculty Senate in their vote of no confidence. Smithson served as interim president during the 2011-12 academic year, but has had tense relations with the university’s faculty in recent times. In particular, a February Faculty Senate resolution asserted several accusations against Smithson, including that he is responsible for the plan to enroll 1,500 students in the fall 2014 semester and that his tenure has been marked by general mismanagement and a lack of communication.

Louis Mayer, ’79, Ph.D., vice president of financial affairs Blame for many of the university’s financial issues has fallen on the shoulders of Louis Mayer, ’79, Ph.D.,

December

vice president of financial affairs. Mayer has overseen budget shortfalls of approximately $8 million for each of the past two years. Due to these and other allegations, the Faculty Senate passed a vote of no confidence against him and asked for his resignation on Feb. 25.

Brice Wachterhauser, Ph.D., provost As provost of the university, Brice Wachterhauser, Ph.D., is the chief academic officer responsible for the affairs of students and faculty in the community.

In early February it was announced that Wachterhauser would be stepping down from his position at the end of this academic year. Later in the month, Faculty Senate President Rob Moore, Ph.D., revealed that Wachterhauser was asked by the administration to leave, and had not decided to vacate his position voluntarily.

Robert D. Falese, ’69, chairman of the Board of Trustees Board of Trustees Chair Robert D. Falese, ’69, leads this organization in its governance over the university. In response to the faculty’s vote of no confidence and student protests, Falese released a statement confirming his support of the university’s senior administrators, indicating that he is not actively considering the personnel and policy changes requested.

February 25

2014

February 27

2014

The Board of Trustees Made up of approximately 35 leaders in the academic and business communities, the Board of Trustees (BOT) is one of the central governing institutions of the university. Meeting monthly during the academic year, the BOT oversees the university and is responsible for approving and implementing proposed changes to the structure of the community.

The February BOT meeting was protested by students and faculty, who expressed their discontent with the Board’s anticipated approval of next year’s enrollment rate of 1,500 students.

Faculty Senate Representing the collective voice of the faculty at St. Joe’s, the Faculty Senate (FS) is composed of all tenured and tenure-track professors. The FS position within the shared governance system gives it influence over a variety of university decisions, such as curricular changes and issues pertinent to faculty working conditions. Citing a lack of respect for shared governance procedures and mismanagement by the university’s senior administrators, on Feb. 25 the FS passed a vote of no confidence against Smithson and Mayer, with a vote of 157 in favor, zero against, and four abstaining.