Youngstown State Trustees Hire President w/o Faculty or Student Input

[Wahoo Redux]

I think their last president was a football coach----I'm not kidding.

This time it looks like a COVID-and-election-denier, former military, hard-right politician apparently hired in secret. 

Another Round of Campus Budget Turmoil

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In the days leading up to the announcement that U.S. Congressman Bill Johnson would become the next Youngstown State University president during the board's special meeting on Tuesday, several groups of students, faculty and alumni voiced their concerns about the hiring process and Johnson's experience.

Shortly after the board went into an executive session, groups of students, faculty and alumni gathered outside of the board room to voice some of their concerns. Many say that when the university announced that it had offered Johnson the presidency last week it was unexpected.


"Initially, confusion right off the bat," Student Government President Alexander Papa said. "I know in the past I've been approached by many students, many faculty, many staff, obviously I wasn't here last time they picked the next president, but they were included that conversation and this time that just didn't happen."

"Everyone was just really shocked," said AJ Sumell, a professor and lead negotiator for the faculty union at the university, said. "I mean, not specifically just because it was Bill Johnson, but because it was anybody, because we had the reasonable expectation that we would be involved in some capacity before an announcement was made."

The concerns lay mostly with an alleged lack of transparency and vetting in the hiring process. Sumell has been at YSU since 2005 and has been a part of previous hiring processes.

"The last four presidents that have been chosen have been through the process of collaboration," Sumell said. "You bring the candidates to campus, you have an opportunity to meet with the different stakeholders on campus - students, faculty, staff, alumni, concerned community members - and they get to talk and answer questions and hear our input."

Historically, from the student perspective, Papa said the relationship between the SGA and administration has been strong.

"Traditionally, it's been a fantastic relationship and honestly, even now, I still think it's a fantastic relationship," Papa said. "I'm glad they're willing to listen to us."

Monday, the SGA did pass a resolution asking for the board to consider the students' frustration and confusion about how the trustees went through the hiring process. According to Papa, the board did take the resolution into consideration.

[jimbogumbo]

Much the same way that Mitch Daniels was hired at Purdue.

Last President ay YSU was Jim Tressel, the former football coach there and before that Ohio State. He was forced out at Ohio State for the typical OSU reasons (as well as some NCAA issues), but the process of hiring him as Prez was normal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Tressel

[kaysixteen]

I think I may have asked this before somewhere, but methinks it behooves a redux-- exactly what are the proper minimum criteria to be had by a would-be uni prez, and why?

[Wahoo Redux]

I think I may have asked this before somewhere, but methinks it behooves a redux-- exactly what are the proper minimum criteria to be had by a would-be uni prez, and why?

I do not even pretend to know because such things are/were so far above my paygrade that I am essentially a hobbit trying to comprehend Lothlorien.  But a college prez, it seems to me, should be able to wear many hats, and it seems that a college prez should legitimately be an academic, someone who has worked themselves up from an assistant professor, through tenure to full, and then up through the admin ranks.  In other words, we should have a highly successful academic running an academic institution.  You wouldn't have an English or Classics professor running General Motors or Google, at least I wouldn't think so, you'd have an engineer with business sense---the same dynamic which exists with running a college: you should have an industry expert at the helm.  At least that is what I would think.

Peeps with more experience and admin experience, what say you?

[dlehman]

I think I may have asked this before somewhere, but methinks it behooves a redux-- exactly what are the proper minimum criteria to be had by a would-be uni prez, and why?

I do not even pretend to know because such things are/were so far above my paygrade that I am essentially a hobbit trying to comprehend Lothlorien.  But a college prez, it seems to me, should be able to wear many hats, and it seems that a college prez should legitimately be an academic, someone who has worked themselves up from an assistant professor, through tenure to full, and then up through the admin ranks.  In other words, we should have a highly successful academic running an academic institution.  You wouldn't have an English or Classics professor running General Motors or Google, at least I wouldn't think so, you'd have an engineer with business sense---the same dynamic which exists with running a college: you should have an industry expert at the helm.  At least that is what I would think.

Peeps with more experience and admin experience, what say you?

There are many examples of companies that hire their CEOs that come up through the ranks and many where the CEO comes from a different industry entirely.  And there are examples of both that work and don't work.  I would hesitate to adopt any hard rules as to what the president of a university "must" have as a background - it will vary according to each institution and their current situation.  I think the focus on their qualifications is misplaced - I would focus on the process instead.  It is wrong to hire a president with a significant input from the faculty (as well as other groups).  I think transparency is also important.  But I don't think it is always necessary (or even desirable, in some cases) for the president to have a proven academic record.

[Mobius]

I get the frustration, but it's also funny that the same folks who don't think students are in a position to evaluate their job performance should have input on whom the president should be.

[eigen]

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

[dlehman]

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

While I don't support the idea that a president MUST have any particular experience or credentials, I find your position unacceptable.  Yes, the board hires the president and I wouldn't support having the faculty decide who the president should be.  But input is different from decision making authority.  The Youngstown case seems like an egregious disregard of important input.  Just because the board has the power to make unilateral decisions doesn't mean they should.  Have you ever heard of "shared governance?"

[Wahoo Redux]

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

Put the school into Google.

The trusties are receiving Yuge pushback.  Ed O'Neil is apparently a grad of Youngstown; he gave back his honorary doctorate.

[Mobius]

Shared government is great in theory, and works for grunt work, but when cuts come, it doesn't mean a thing.

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

While I don't support the idea that a president MUST have any particular experience or credentials, I find your position unacceptable.  Yes, the board hires the president and I wouldn't support having the faculty decide who the president should be.  But input is different from decision making authority.  The Youngstown case seems like an egregious disregard of important input.  Just because the board has the power to make unilateral decisions doesn't mean they should.  Have you ever heard of "shared governance?"

[dismalist]

Shared government is great in theory, and works for grunt work, but when cuts come, it doesn't mean a thing.

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

While I don't support the idea that a president MUST have any particular experience or credentials, I find your position unacceptable.  Yes, the board hires the president and I wouldn't support having the faculty decide who the president should be.  But input is different from decision making authority.  The Youngstown case seems like an egregious disregard of important input.  Just because the board has the power to make unilateral decisions doesn't mean they should.  Have you ever heard of "shared governance?"

Shared governance is terrible, even in theory. It means that no one can be blamed for any missteps, financial or academic. The Trustees certainly have no great incentive to oversee their creature, the President.

The student founded [ca. 1088] and run University of Bologna eventually had to give way to other governance. That had to be and has to be by the faculty, because they know more than the customers. Translated to contemporary U.S. conditions, the faculty must appoint the President. [My only wish would be that the faculty have to put up their homes to buy voting rights, but -- no worries -- that ain't gonna happen. :-)] 

[eigen]

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

Put the school into Google.

The trusties are receiving Yuge pushback.  Ed O'Neil is apparently a grad of Youngstown; he gave back his honorary doctorate.

And because it was a unilateral decision, they have to deal with the fallout rather than being able to hide behind some sham search that "included" faculty and student feedback in some non-representative non-voting way like many schools do.

It was within the purview of the board to make a decision, they apparently made a horrific one, and now the board needs to figure out how to deal with it.

I'll be honest, while I get the frustration... it's worth remembering that the president isn't the representative of the faculty.

They're the representative of the Board, and serve at the pleasure of the board for every institution I've worked at. As such, the board deciding who it is... makes a lot of sense, pragmatically.

While I don't support the idea that a president MUST have any particular experience or credentials, I find your position unacceptable.  Yes, the board hires the president and I wouldn't support having the faculty decide who the president should be.  But input is different from decision making authority.  The Youngstown case seems like an egregious disregard of important input.  Just because the board has the power to make unilateral decisions doesn't mean they should.  Have you ever heard of "shared governance?"

In my experience, all "input" does is give the board an ability to dodge responsibility for bad hires. I've never actually seen faculty or student input into the president make an iota of actual final difference in the hire.