Faculty Senate Meeting

13,889 Views | 129 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by TallTexan
SFAJack_76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I don't like posting this, but it's on the local news. I won't speculate how it plays out.

https://www.ktre.com/video/2021/09/08/sfa-faculty-senate-meeting/
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Holy crap, that seems worse than I've heard.

I'm not 100% sure why he needed a raise, much less in a pandemic while they were furloughing people, but this seems like deeper problems.

It's pretty tone deaf and even worse to pretend it was to put him on level with peer institutions when our professors aren't on level salary wise.
Ljacks&Longnecks
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Sounds like his raise, which he did rescind, is the very least of the issues there. Talk of retribution, retaliation and "don't know why we keep coming to work" is more than unpleasant to hear when it concerns the team of educators that are already underpaid in comparison to other Universities.
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
For anyone's interest:

https://www.acct.org/page/trustee-talk-issue-3-votes-no-confidence
SFAJack_76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
If the Board doesn't continue to support Dr. Gordon, and Ivey, the critical need for change at SFA won't happen. The silos are real, and destructive. Expect more behind the scenes, and public, attacks on athletics next.

I like Dr. Gordon a lot. I don't doubt that there are things that he needs to be doing better. I fear the chances are very high that if he is not successful, SFA will continue to be "stuck" for the balance of my life.
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
From reading between the lines by my conversations with faculty, my perspective is that there seems to be a fear that Gordon's vision is one of changing the university from a "transformative residential educational" experience to a "commuter la carte transactional" experience.

One is a traditional, idealized view of a university as a place where like-aged, like-minded individuals are all striving to better themselves at a critical juncture in their lives. The mainly on-campus experience becomes a formative development step in their personality. They change their world and the world around them as Lumberjacks.

The other is a low-cost, fast road to an academic degree. It is a realization that in today's world that a degree helps with your business leverage and earning potential. Helping students complete this goal as quickly and efficiently as possible makes us more marketable. It is the understanding that education is like the Amazon marketplace where those who deliver will be successful.

I think both those viewpoints are actually false conceptions of both traditional and modern collegiate experiences. However, I do believe the disconnect between Gordon and the faculty keeps being framed this way. There has to be common ground made up between the two sides in the terms of appropriate financing and workplace communication. I think it can be resolved, but it's going to take work by both sides. Hopefully the last few days are the start of good changes and not lines in the sand.

Like 76 said, change is needed. Here's to the board, administration, faculty, and staff all finding a way to see a brighter future for SFA together.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
The entire episode is disappointing.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
nacluth said:

From reading between the lines by my conversations with faculty, my perspective is that there seems to be a fear that Gordon's vision is one of changing the university from a "transformative residential educational" experience to a "commuter la carte transactional" experience.

One is a traditional, idealized view of a university as a place where like-aged, like-minded individuals are all striving to better themselves at a critical juncture in their lives. The mainly on-campus experience becomes a formative development step in their personality. They change their world and the world around them as Lumberjacks.

The other is a low-cost, fast road to an academic degree. It is a realization that in today's world that a degree helps with your business leverage and earning potential. Helping students complete this goal as quickly and efficiently as possible makes us more marketable. It is the understanding that education is like the Amazon marketplace where those who deliver will be successful.

I think both those viewpoints are actually false conceptions of both traditional and modern collegiate experiences. However, I do believe the disconnect between Gordon and the faculty keeps being framed this way. There has to be common ground made up between the two sides in the terms of appropriate financing and workplace communication. I think it can be resolved, but it's going to take work by both sides. Hopefully the last few days are the start of good changes and not lines in the sand.

Like 76 said, change is needed. Here's to the board, administration, faculty, and staff all finding a way to see a brighter future for SFA together.


Gordon is trying to thread the needle. This faculty senate movement seems to come every 7-8 years. I hope we can develop a more robust platform for non traditional students. We need them.
SFAJack_76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Good stuff, nacluth. Thanks.
SFA Jack Fanatic
How long do you want to ignore this user?
nacluth said:

From reading between the lines

That was a lot of reading between the lines. We shall see if you're clairvoyant.
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
nacluth said:

From reading between the lines by my conversations with faculty, my perspective is that there seems to be a fear that Gordon's vision is one of changing the university from a "transformative residential educational" experience to a "commuter la carte transactional" experience.

One is a traditional, idealized view of a university as a place where like-aged, like-minded individuals are all striving to better themselves at a critical juncture in their lives. The mainly on-campus experience becomes a formative development step in their personality. They change their world and the world around them as Lumberjacks.

The other is a low-cost, fast road to an academic degree. It is a realization that in today's world that a degree helps with your business leverage and earning potential. Helping students complete this goal as quickly and efficiently as possible makes us more marketable. It is the understanding that education is like the Amazon marketplace where those who deliver will be successful.

I think both those viewpoints are actually false conceptions of both traditional and modern collegiate experiences. However, I do believe the disconnect between Gordon and the faculty keeps being framed this way. There has to be common ground made up between the two sides in the terms of appropriate financing and workplace communication. I think it can be resolved, but it's going to take work by both sides. Hopefully the last few days are the start of good changes and not lines in the sand.

Like 76 said, change is needed. Here's to the board, administration, faculty, and staff all finding a way to see a brighter future for SFA together.
I kinda figured that there was some "he's an agent of change" disagreeableness that got blown up here. Anytime you change things, folks will react.

And I think you're right that there's a happy middle ground between the traditional college experience and being WGU. Might come back and expand on that later in a longer post.

But I also think the faculty and staff are rightfully PO'd at the regents and president for proposing and accepting a raise while folks were getting furloughed.

I hope he can turn it around because that fundraising announcement in Oct is supposed to be big, but he needs to avoid stepping on any more landmines and the raise was certainly in poor judgement for all decision makers.
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Very very specific list of grievances.

SFA Jack Fanatic
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Eminent student protests based on some of their social media communications? Sounds about right for the college students these days. Are these the same professors who talked the easily-molded minds of mush into voting down the increase in student fees a couple of years ago? Probably.
sfajack05
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wonder how much of this has to do with him being an outsider and the faculty/staff upset because that's not how things were done for 12 years. It seems like they've brought in more people from outside SFA in recent years as well.

Just my thoughts.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
SFA Jack Fanatic said:

Eminent student protests based on some of their social media communications? Sounds about right for the college students these days. Are these the same professors who talked the easily-molded minds of mush into voting down the increase in student fees a couple of years ago? Probably.


Eminent protests. Follow social media pretty thoroughly. Haven't seen any indications. I do think Scott Gordon is in need of some real help right now. Clear disconnect between him and his academic deans , etc. That spells trouble. Deep problems is they aren't fixed quickly.
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Regents are meeting today at 3 to discuss the matter. I'm not expecting any bombshells out of their meeting, but it's definitely going to be a closely watched event.
SFAJack_76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I am deeply disturbed by stories I am hearing about professors publicly berating, belittling, and bullying student-athletes. Simply because they are athletes, and they are blaming almost all of the fiscal difficulties on athletics.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
SFAJack_76 said:

I am deeply disturbed by stories I am hearing about professors publicly berating, belittling, and bullying student-athletes. Simply because they are athletes, and they are blaming almost all of the fiscal difficulties on athletics.


Seems a common faculty approach. Not just at SFA. Everywhere. Our fiscal issues, as always are related to enrollment. The state funding formula is a mess. Does no good for most of the states public universities.
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
201 people watching the blank "executive session" screen for the last 4 and a half hours.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Any audio ???
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Not while in executive session. They have to come back to public session to close the meeting. Most people are expecting some kind of statement though.
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
nacluth said:

Not while in executive session. They have to come back to public session to close the meeting. Most people are expecting some kind of statement though.
Dang they're still meeting?
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wow. I wonder what brought this to a head ???? I've read the article(s) and the faculty declaration. I was not overwhelmed with the faculty statement. Other than the unanimity from the faculty senate (which says a lot) I felt the details were lacking.
Jacks4460
How long do you want to ignore this user?
SFAJack_76 said:

Good stuff, nacluth. Thanks.

Yes sir thank you nacluth.. helps me understand so much more..
Jacks4460
How long do you want to ignore this user?
SFAJack_76 said:

I am deeply disturbed by stories I am hearing about professors publicly berating, belittling, and bullying student-athletes. Simply because they are athletes, and they are blaming almost all of the fiscal difficulties on athletics.


Holy cow!!! You gotta be kidding me?? This is the craziest thing I have heard yet.. Would love to sit down and chat with these faculty memebers and the athletes.. I am not coach I am a fellow alumni that has contact with our athletic department.. I love our student athletes.. if they are doing something wrong then I know 100% that our staff handles them and make it right.. Can I talk to these faculty members.. this can't be so
Pilotgirl
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Yeah, I would also be pissed off if my boss/supervisor took a generous raise while the rest of us were underpaid, had to take furloughs, and overworked.

I shared my Intel from friends who had worked with Gorfon before...and here we are. I'm not saying that Sfa shouldn't move forward in terms of tech/programs/etc, you just have to do things strategically & get people on board.

Our professors are grossly underpaid. That is something that should be addressed. Salary, work conditions during a pandemic, and the amount of work assigned...is why public educators have left positions in DROVES recently. I'm sure this has bled over to higher ed as well. I get multiple emails daily about open positions in my district. Can't keep subs, bus drivers. Then, for your President/Leader to go and get a raise? Yeah, that's a sh*t move, 100%.

As far as belittling/bullying athletes, that's crap, too.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Pilotgirl said:

Yeah, I would also be pissed off if my boss/supervisor took a generous raise while the rest of us were underpaid, had to take furloughs, and overworked.

I shared my Intel from friends who had worked with Gorfon before...and here we are. I'm not saying that Sfa shouldn't move forward in terms of tech/programs/etc, you just have to do things strategically & get people on board.

Our professors are grossly underpaid. That is something that should be addressed. Salary, work conditions during a pandemic, and the amount of work assigned...is why public educators have left positions in DROVES recently. I'm sure this has bled over to higher ed as well. I get multiple emails daily about open positions in my district. Can't keep subs, bus drivers. Then, for your President/Leader to go and get a raise? Yeah, that's a sh*t move, 100%.

As far as belittling/bullying athletes, that's crap, too.


Well reasoned.
nacluth
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Board basically said that they are going to audit the budget again. Start a financial council to oversee finances in the future. And regents will try to be on campus more to interact with community groups.

Anything about Gordon happened behind closed doors.
Pilotgirl
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Just calling it like I see it (and have lived it) for the past couple of years...
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Pilotgirl said:

Our professors are grossly underpaid. That is something that should be addressed. Salary, work conditions during a pandemic, and the amount of work assigned...is why public educators have left positions in DROVES recently. I'm sure this has bled over to higher ed as well. I get multiple emails daily about open positions in my district. Can't keep subs, bus drivers. Then, for your President/Leader to go and get a raise? Yeah, that's a sh*t move, 100%.
Ya that's what gets me. The reason they gave "to put him on level with peers" was so BS.

Our professors need to be on par with our peers. Our tuition needs to be. But what we pay the President? Doesn't change SFA one iota if he gets paid 85k less. That irked the heck out of me, and even more tone deaf with furloughs.

I've heard the fundraising campaign is going well, I know their plan is to announce the campaign's public phase at homecoming. Admin & BOR might want to play it cool so they make it that long without pissing off faculty further.

Change is always tough. And it's easier to do with diplomacy than an iron fist.
TallTexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
nacluth said:

Board basically said that they are going to audit the budget again. Start a financial council to oversee finances in the future. And regents will try to be on campus more to interact with community groups.

Anything about Gordon happened behind closed doors.
Not quite sure what that's gonna accomplish unless you thought the first audit was bad.

I see that we have an interim VP of Finance, maybe that's an area to find a full timer with judicious input from the Deans to help smooth things over?

MinnJack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I've followed this forum for years and I felt this was the time to jump in because this topic makes my heart sad. I was one of the 200+ who watched a blank screen for 6 hours. I've worked in higher education my entire career, the last 14 as a VP for both private and public universities. Some observations: 1) however the Regents want to play the PR game, a no-confidence vote in a president ends his effectiveness. The faculty control academics and there will be no new programs or changes if the faculty and the president can't get along; 2) a president who is on thin ice is a very ineffective fundraiser; 3) my best man worked with President Gordon at another university. How he is being portrayed is not how I thought he would be.

Thanks to everyone for helping an alum from a thousand miles away stay connected to my beloved SFA. I hope this turns out well. Go Jacks!
Jacks4460
How long do you want to ignore this user?
If faculty controls academics then why dont they get an Engineering degree.. I hate sending my money to College Station for my sons education.. There is no excuse now that I know they control the academic side of things..

Pretty sure he is raising some serious funds too..

SFAJack_76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
A professor went on a rant in class about Dr. Gordon and the budget, putting a lot of the blame for budget issues on athletics. He then called out a freshman, female student-athlete as being "exhibit A" for what is wrong.
BigJack85
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Jacks4460 said:

If faculty controls academics then why dont they get an Engineering degree.. I hate sending my money to College Station for my sons education.. There is no excuse now that I know they control the academic side of things..



Pretty sure he is raising some serious funds too..





I understand the frustration.
Last Page
Page 1 of 4
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.