A Case of Alleged "Veep Creep"

Recently some faculty have been asking me privately about a case of "veep creep," by which they mean the establishment of more administrators at the vice presidential level. The reason? After the first of the year they learned that the University has a new CIO (Chief Information Officer)--and indeed it was rumored that this position was at the VP level. I recently corresponded with Beth Patrick about the matter, and a few days later the Senate Executive Council was also able to ask the President about the hiring. I want to clue you in to some important facts here.

1. The position is an Assistant Vice President for Technology. The difference may be subtle, but it is not a full VP position. As the President notes, we are actually down one VP with the retirement of Keith Kappes.

2. This position is actually an existing position. The position was formerly held by Gary Van Meter. When Gary Van Meter retired, the position was not filled, and in fact Beth Patrick performed all of the functions of this position for several years.

3. The approval for the position was granted about a year ago (before the most recent fiscal crisis came to a head), and the new Assistant VP (Gary Holeman) was hired about six months ago. Because of some compelling personal reasons, Mr. Holeman asked to have his start date delayed to 1 January. Thus, although some faculty were surprised to learn we have a new administrator when they returned from break, the hiring had actually been in the works for quite some time.

I put all this information out there so that you know all the facts and can judge for yourself what to conclude about this hiring. I am personally satisfied with the answers I have received, but I would welcome comments from anyone who wants to weigh in.

I do think the faculty has a right and an obligation to keep an eye on such matters, and I pledge to help you to answer any questions you might have. Many of us have heard the President talk of "right-sizing" the University, and it seems crucial that we not only "right-size" the student body and the faculty but the administration as well. And, as I have noted before, I definitely want the faculty to have some significant input into the question of what "right-sizing" actually means.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and questions.

Ron

Answering a Question Regarding the Space Science Center

Sorry to be slow answering this question. I'm sort of new to this blog format, and I didn't notice the question until recently.

An anonymous readers asks:

"I have heard from a few very reliable sources that the administration tried to move the Program of Distinction designation from IRAPP to Space Sciences but that they were blocked by CPE. Is this true?"

The CPE is not currently funding new programs of distinction. It is possible that the administration inquired about the Space Science Center becoming a program of distinction or perhaps about the future of state funding for such programs. But I don't think it is accurate to say that a request to make the Space Science Center a program of distinction was "blocked by CPE."

I hope this helps.

Board of Regents Work Session

Before I was elected to the Board of Regents, I was a little puzzled about the "work sessions" that are scheduled roughly a month before the quarterly meetings. Work sessions are used to accomplish a variety of things. The Board is required by state law to provide a fairly extensive orientation for new members, for example. And quite typically, major items for discussion and approval are reviewed prior to the quarterly meeting. Although Regents do not typically have much involvement in the day-to-day operations of the University, work sessions do allow them to ask questions and make suggestions on policies and other important initiatives.

Keep in mind that work sessions are public meetings. You are indeed welcome to attend any work session. Indeed I wish that at least a few faculty would attend every work session if at all possible. The President typically brings many of his cabinet members, and they are often asked questions and contribute to the discussion in various ways. I see no reason why faculty cannot contribute in the same sorts of ways. Senate Chair Cathy Thomas has been a regular attendee at work sessions and quarterly meetings, but I would love to see more of you attend, and indeed I think it would be very good for the Board to have more contact with faculty.

The next work session is Thursday, 19 February at 9:00 a.m. in the Riggle Room. Typically the work session lasts for several hours (but you should feel free to come and go as your schedule permits). I do not have an agenda at the present time for the upcoming meeting, but I am going to ask the President to comment on the Academic Program Audit process, since that important item will be on the agenda at the quarterly meeting in March.

Please note that the Regents will not be voting on the Academic Program Audit (more on that issue after I talk with the President). They will simply be briefed on the issue and will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments. Once the results of the audit (and restructuring) are released, I am hopeful that there will be some opportunities to ask questions and to make comments directly to the administration. But, as always, feel free to contact me through the various channels, including this blog.

I hope your semester is off to a great start. The month of January seems particularly busy this year. Hang in there, and I'll try to do the same.

Ron

Answers from the President

Right after the new year, President Andrews sent an e-mail response to the two questions posed by readers of this blog (details below). I was very pleased that he also addressed these two concerns at Convocation on Wednesday, 7 January.

The two questions and answers are as follows:

1. Is literally "everything" on the table as we discuss budget cuts. His one-word answer is "yes."

2. What constitutes a "Program of Distinction" and how is this designation approved? Here, I'll cut and paste his e-mail response:

"We have one official program of distinction on our campus. It is IRAPP. That program resulted from the Higher Education Reform Act of 1997. In this legislation, each comprehensive institution was asked to develop and submit a proposal to create a program that had the potential to achieve national distinction. The past president and provost worked with the campus community to solicit proposals. My understanding is that IRAPP was selected from three or four proposals submitted. The proposal was reviewed on campus and by the BOR and submitted to the CPE and was approved. Annual reports of progress are submitted to the CPE via Academic Affairs. An institution may have additional programs of distinction. However, the CPE is not approving new programs with funding."

At Convocation, Dr. Andrews noted that the Space Science Center is not a "Program of Distinction," although he reiterated that the program is a valuable part of MSU's future.

I hope these answers help. Please continue to let me know what is on your mind. If you haven't read my posting on Presidential Evaluation and Compensation, please see the archives.

Ron