We Need a New Provost--Here are the Reasons

Here are the reasons Angela Henderson should be replaced immediately:

Industry Standard Qualifications for Provost

• Requirements that a Provost be a senior scholar with extensive teaching experience are typical. Currently, there are 25 Provost jobs at various universities listed on https://www.higheredjobs.com. Of these 25, 19 specifically mention a record of “scholarship” as a requirement. For example, Eastern Illinois’ job announcement requires “a record of outstanding scholarship,” for Provost applicants. Additionally, 9 other universities require a teaching/scholarly/service record that warrants tenure at full Professor. Again, Eastern Illinois requires “a record of outstanding scholarship and superior university teaching, meriting an appointment of full professor with tenure.” An additional 3 universities require that applicants be qualified to receive tenure in an academic department. Altogether, 21 of the 25 job announcements (84 percent) specify that applicants possess a scholarly track record and/or are eligible for tenure, most at the level of full professor.

Qualifications of Provost Henderson

• Angela Henderson has absolutely no record of scholarly achievement. At the time of her appointment to Interim Provost on July 1, 2013, she had not yet received a Ph.D., which the University of Illinois Chicago conferred on August 13, 2013. Given her scant academic credentials, Angela Henderson is not qualified for tenure, at best she might be able to qualify for an entry-level position as an Assistant Professor.

Material Misrepresentations on Angela Henderson’s Application Materials

• On March 18, 2011, Angela Henderson submitted an application and résumé for the position of Vice President of Enrollment Management. Both her application and résumé contained one obvious falsehood and one other material misrepresentation. In her on-line application, she claimed that she would receive a Ph.D. in “Nursing Research” on June 30, 2011. In her résumé she falsely claimed an “anticipated completion” date for the Ph.D. of “June 2011.” In March 2011, she had not even begun the major research on her dissertation project. The University of Illinois Chicago Institutional Review Board did not grant her permission to begin her project until February 13, 2012. Additionally, her résumé failed to reveal a change in job duties (a return to teaching from an administrative position with a nearly 33 percent cut in salary) that occurred in August 2001 and lasted until January 2002.

Angela Henderson’s Unsuccessful Job Performance

• Angela Henderson spent two years as the Vice President of Enrollment Management (2011-13). During her tenure, the University’s enrollment dropped from 6882 (fall 2011) to 5701 (fall 2013). Since becoming Provost, she oversaw more enrollment declines as the University’s enrollment has dropped to 3255 this semester. Particularly as Provost, she has made a number of bad decisions that have contributed to student disaffection and enrollment declines, notably the slashing of academic advisors from 35 to 4 or 5; micro-managing departmental course offerings; course cutting sessions that eviscerate schedules and often contribute to students having difficulty getting courses they need to graduate or make satisfactory progress in their programs. Her performance as Provost resulted in a “no-confidence” resolution from the faculty and Academic Support Professionals in November 2015 that passed 142-4 with 4 abstentions. Simply put, Angela Henderson has neither the confidence nor the support of the faculty and staff at Chicago State.