Botman changes tune
Faculty will help draft USM plan
Dan MacLeod
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: News
President Selma Botman last Wednesday invited three faculty senators to serve on the restructuring committee, reversing her previous avowal that no faculty would be involved in drafting the plan to reorganize the university.
"This is an exciting, encouraging development," said Senate Chair Jerry Lasala in a letter to faculty. "President Botman has heard what we had to say at Friday's meeting and is responding positively. This is where the Faculty Senate can have major influence on the ultimate restructuring plan and one venue where we can exercise our governance responsibility."
The announcement came after an emergency Senate meeting on Jan. 22, where Botman and senators clashed over faculty inclusion in USM's restructuring process. Botman maintained that allowing faculty to help draft a plan potentially calling for cuts to academic departments and colleges could put them at odds with their union and violate others' privacy. She repeatedly told faculty at the meeting they would only serve as advisers and would not help write the restructuring plan. "We want you to help us grapple with the momentous choices that have to be made. I take your advisory choices very seriously," she said at the time.
But last week, Botman said she was swayed by the senators' passion.
"I was deeply impressed with the Senators' deep commitment to playing a more substantive role in the process and willingness to assume the heavy responsibility of participating in efforts to design a new academic structure for USM," said Botman in the invitation sent to the Senate.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Shaffer, who will head the committee, said the administration altered the process to include faculty.
"The system officers, particularly Tracy Bigney [chief HR and organizational development officer] thought it was a bad idea to have union people participating in administrative retrenchment," he said. "We split the process into two parallel efforts: the restructuring on one end and the budget balancing on the other."
"This is an exciting, encouraging development," said Senate Chair Jerry Lasala in a letter to faculty. "President Botman has heard what we had to say at Friday's meeting and is responding positively. This is where the Faculty Senate can have major influence on the ultimate restructuring plan and one venue where we can exercise our governance responsibility."
The announcement came after an emergency Senate meeting on Jan. 22, where Botman and senators clashed over faculty inclusion in USM's restructuring process. Botman maintained that allowing faculty to help draft a plan potentially calling for cuts to academic departments and colleges could put them at odds with their union and violate others' privacy. She repeatedly told faculty at the meeting they would only serve as advisers and would not help write the restructuring plan. "We want you to help us grapple with the momentous choices that have to be made. I take your advisory choices very seriously," she said at the time.
But last week, Botman said she was swayed by the senators' passion.
"I was deeply impressed with the Senators' deep commitment to playing a more substantive role in the process and willingness to assume the heavy responsibility of participating in efforts to design a new academic structure for USM," said Botman in the invitation sent to the Senate.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Shaffer, who will head the committee, said the administration altered the process to include faculty.
"The system officers, particularly Tracy Bigney [chief HR and organizational development officer] thought it was a bad idea to have union people participating in administrative retrenchment," he said. "We split the process into two parallel efforts: the restructuring on one end and the budget balancing on the other."
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