CSU Faculty Voice: What's the Worst That Can Happen?

Friday, August 19, 2016

What's the Worst That Can Happen?

So I was talking to some friends of mine who don't live in the United States and was trying to explain the situation at Chicago State. They were a bit baffled by the financial exigency because no other school declared exigency and most astounded by the president being stripped of his authority in a time of crisis. One of the questions they asked was "what's the worst that can happen now?" I paused before answering because I had not considered anything worse than what has already happened.

Two things came to mind about what the worst thing that could happen as a result of the abysmal management of the university. First, the university could lose its accreditation because it didn't and still doesn't have a plan for getting out of financial exigency. The university has already been sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission which put its accreditation at risk. If the university loses its accreditation, the university will for all intents and purposes be closed because we won't be able to accept federal financial aid. It is unlikely that the Higher Learning Commission will actually take any action to revoke the university's accreditation, however, it is possible. More likely is negative press around the possibility of revocation which invariably will drive down enrollment. HLC scrutiny is not what CSU needs but it appears that until the Governor acts, scrutiny will hang like a Damoclean sword over the neck of the university.

The second worst thing that could happen is a restock of #CSUclowncar cronies in the hundreds of now vacant positions. Could you imagine a worse situation than more incompetent, overpaid, unproductive cronies being added to the payroll? I can't.

So here we are about to open the Fall semester with the possibility of less than three thousand students and as many administrators as faculty. No other university has been as poorly run as CSU. Maybe the worst thing that can happen is that in its death throes, more cronies are hired to strip the bones of the institution as it is shut down.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks to Haki Madhabuti

"1. He/she must be a scholar of national note, with significant peer review publications and books in his or her field. There must be no doubt as to his/her standing in the community of scholars. This would also include a history of the candidate’s participation in the appropriate professional organizations.

2. He/she must have served with distinction as the administrative head of a major unit within an institution of higher learning or at the important position of Provost and/or Dean. Of course, prior service at the presidential level is preferred.

3. He/she must have a documented history of raising significant monies from the private and public sectors. At most major and research one universities it is not unusual to expect the president to come with a plan to raise in excess of half a billion dollars or more in the first few years.

4. The prospective president must have a consensus buy-in from the faculty, students, administration and staff, therefore, arriving with a unity mandate to lead by joining a University community that has bought into his or her vision for the future."

From an open letter to the CSU Community, 2009.