Presented to the Mト]oa Faculty Senate by the Committee on Administration & Budget (CAB) for a vote of the full Senate on October 21, 2020, a resolution censuring the Mト]oa Chief Executive Officer (President Lassner) over failure to conduct meaningful faculty consultation in the reorganization process.フ Approved by the Mト]oa Faculty Senate on October 21, 2020 with 51 votes (85.0%) in support; 9 votes (15.0%) opposed; and 5 abstentions.
RESOLUTION CENSURING THE MトNOA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (PRESIDENT LASSNER) OVER FAILURE TO CONDUCT MEANINGFUL FACULTY CONSULTATION IN THE REORGANIZATION PROCESS
WHEREAS, the Mト]oa Faculty Senate (MFS) and its constituents acknowledge that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Hawai窶亙 at Mト]oa (UHM) must adapt, address immediate financial deficits, and evolve, and the MFS desires to be an active participant in finding new and creative solutions; and
WHEREAS, faculty are fundamental to UHM, and must, by Hawai窶亙 law and principles of shared governance, be involved in the very first steps of transforming and revisioning UHM, and faculty bring valuable knowledge, expertise, and skills to the conversation; and
WHEREAS, Chapter ツァ89-1 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes states:
窶(a)フ The legislature finds that joint decision-making is the modern way of administering government.フ Where public employees have been granted the right to share in the decision-making process affecting wages and working conditions, they have become more responsive and better able to exchange ideas and information on operations with their administrators.フ Accordingly, government is made more effective;窶 and,
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Labor Relations Board (HLRB) Decision 394, which deals with the Employer-Union-Employee consultation process,フ found that the 窶從atural consequences of the State窶冱 failure to engage in meaningful consultation constitutes a prohibited practice,窶 and HLRB Decision 394 is substantially related to the issues at hand; and,
WHEREAS, Executive Policy A3.101 calls for the MFS to review any proposed reorganization; and
WHEREAS, Board of Regents (BOR) Resolution 20-03 states:
窶徼he Administration will consult with faculty, staff, and student organizations in a cooperative and collaborative manner and approach, taking into account the interests of the individuals, groups and entities involved or affected;窶 and,
WHEREAS, the agreement between the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (UHPA), the MFS, and Administration (2017-2021 UHPA-BOR Contract, Section R-20, Part 1) specifies that: 窶弋he University will refer the following topics to Senates […]
- Initiation, review, and evaluation of proposed, probationary, or established research, instructional and academic programs;窶 and,
WHEREAS, President Lassner and Provost Bruno assembled 窶彗 small team that spent countless hours over the summer examining student enrollments, program reviews, etc, across all of the ツ鮓ケエォテスMト]oa units;窶 and,
WHEREAS, the members of this 窶徭mall team […] consisted of President Lassner and myself [Provost Bruno], along with interim [sic] Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance and Operations Sandy French, interim [sic] Vice Chancellor for Research Velma Kameoka, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Laura Lyons, and Senior Advisor to the Provost Wendy Pearson窶 (italics added, bold in original; referred to initially as 窶廴ト]oa Budget Team窶 and henceforth herein); and,
WHEREAS, in the two instances where President Lassner is mentioned in Provost Bruno窶冱 September 11 announcement, President Lassner窶冱 role is described in equal terms with Provost Bruno窶冱 in the creation of the Mト]oa Budget Team and the creation of a 窶彡ourse of action to reposition the University for FY22 and beyond;窶 and,
WHEREAS, President窶冱 Lassner窶冱 active leadership role in managing the academic concerns of UHM appear to contradict the distinct roles of the President/CEO and Provost of UHM outlined in the 窶弃hase I Reorganization of the Mト]oa Management Structure;窶 and,
WHEREAS, President Lassner did not ensure that faculty were included in the development of criteria to be used in evaluating potential stop-outs, eliminations, reorganizations, or initiations of academic or non-academic units; and,
WHEREAS, the Mト]oa Budget Team produced documents for sixteen academic deans, outlining various suggested changes, including possible program reorganizations, stop-outs, or initiations; and,
WHEREAS, around August 31, 2020, faculty were asked to engage in discussions of reorganization recommendations with no transparency, strategic summary, overall vision, methodology, timeline, or fiscal justification or budgets (as they relate to the fiscal emergency or a long-term vision); and,
WHEREAS, on Friday, September 11, 2020, Provost Bruno announced a website titled, 窶慊鮓ケエォテスMト]oa Planning for Post-Pandemic Hawai窶亙;窶 which contained, and may still contain, undated draft program review suggestions to academic units across UHM, representing the first time many faculty were notified; and,
WHEREAS,フ the Mト]oa Budget Team窶冱 recommendations that arose from this 窶徭mall team窶 imply that reorganizations are impending, and suggest that dozens of stop-outs, eliminations, or program initiations should occur, ignoring Board of Regents (BOR) Policy 1.210; and,
WHEREAS, the Mト]oa Budget Team窶冱 recommendations lack consideration of facts and context,フ lack understanding of programs, are an incomplete program review, overlook the connection between falling global rankings and a decline in ability to hire faculty, frequently reference dated external or program reviews, and lack a clear rationale or criteria for proposed reorganizations while circumventing the faculty governance processes outlined in the 2017-2021 UHPA-BOR Contract; and,
WHEREAS, the unsigned documents embedded within 窶慊鮓ケエォテスMト]oa Planning for Post-Pandemic Hawai窶亙窶 received, and may continue to receive, undated and unspecified updates, making it difficult for faculty to assess the development of such recommendations and the rationales behind each modification; and,
WHEREAS, the absence of clear, operationalized criteria and a replicable method as to how those criteria were used to arrive at the suggested program changes hinders the faculty窶冱 ability to evaluate the proposed recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, now that the Mト]oa Budget Team have shared prospective changes, without faculty consultation or input, they have unilaterally created the framework for all future discussions as it relates to transforming and revisioning the University; and,
WHEREAS, meaningful faculty consultation cannot occur if President Lassner identifies or implements prospective changes and then seeks faculty input after-the-fact, often continuing forward despite legitimate faculty concerns; and,
WHEREAS, some of the recommendations brought forth by the Mト]oa Budget Team for academic units may have merit, and could lead to developing a stronger, more prestigious UHM; and,
WHEREAS, it remains to be seen if President Lassner or Provost Bruno will bring forth similar recommendations regarding non-academic units (such as student support services, university libraries, ORUs, athletics, vice chancellors窶 and deans窶 offices among others) and whether meaningful consultation will occur in the creation of criteria and the evaluation of such recommendations; and,
WHEREAS, President Lassner窶冱 actions circumvent meaningful faculty shared governance and consultation to the detriment of scholarship, students, and the greater ツ鮓ケエォテスcommunity (including taxpayers of Hawai窶亙), despite the MFS repeatedly raising this concern; and,
WHEREAS, President Lassner has knowingly allowed, and participated within, a practice and culture of non-compliance with shared faculty-governance.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mト]oa Faculty Senate censures President Lassner of the University of Hawai窶亙 at Mト]oa; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Mト]oa Faculty Senate, and principles of shared faculty governance, requires that Provost Bruno and President Lassner share all relevant data necessary (including the replicable method used to make conclusions for suggested program changes and, especially, fiscal justification in light of the ongoing fiscal crisis) for the identification, evaluation, and recommendation of potential reorganizations.