Over the past few weeks university administrators have sought to soothe anxious faculty, some of whom fear their livelihoods may be on the chopping block due to imminent university-wide downsizing measures. We are told the process will rather be a “bottom up,” “participatory” way of “taking stock.” “It’s healthy to look at ourselves every now and then,” the ever-optimistic administrator proclaims. And, it should therefore go without saying that efficiency expert Susan Clemmons has little, if any direct commanding role in the process. Such an evaluation would indeed be worthy of enthusiasm if faculty had a significant degree of autonomy over the process, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that that is not the case.
An email exchange secured from Florida International University under Florida’s “Sunshine” Law, FS 119, reveals that planning for a university-wide reorganization may be based along the lines of the College of Engineering’s “visioning” exercise, a scheme that culminated in the sequestering of tenured faculty into bogus units and the termination of five of these faculty. In fact, the following indicates that Clemmons is making decisive recommendations to FAU administrators on the nature of the university-wide plan and exactly how it should proceed.
March 2, 2009: “Karl Stevens has made me aware of your work with our College of Engineering,” FAU Provost John Pritchett informs Clemmons. “I am interested in discussing with you a similar activity relating to the whole university.”
March 4, 2009: “Your current situation has presented an opportunity to use a systemic approach to change,” Clemmons wrote following an apparent in-person meeting with Pritchett and former FAU Vice President for Finance, Kenneth Jessell. “I have started putting together a high level plan and will send it to you.”
March 6, 2009: Prior to a meeting with all College Deans on March 9, Clemmons recommends to Pritchett and Jessell “macro change steps … based on the Participative Design Workshop approach,” an approach that gives the appearance of a “bottom up” process that is presently being promoted by FAU administrators. She then asks, “1) How much authority do the colleges have? Hiring, firing, admissions, number of students, professors, classes, all aspects of running the business [sic]? 2) What is managed by the University for the colleges?”
March 12, 2009: Clemmons informs Pritchett and Jessell “that all communication forward will becoming from my personal AOL email account.”
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