Governor Brown reappoints all UO Trustees, including Susan Gary (Law)

The Oregonian has the story, here.

The reappointment of Gary is a bit of a slap in the face to the UO Senate, which voted unanimously on March 11 to reject the decision by Board Chair Chuck Lillis and Interim President Scott Coltrane to recommend that Gary be reappointed as the sole faculty trustee, without consulting first with the faculty.

Gary has been away on sabbatical all year, the board did not even put her on the presidential search committee, and she has done little to keep the faculty informed about important Board decisions such as the delegation of authority, policy on policies, etc.

Legislation:

1.1 WHEREAS in 2013 the State of Oregon established the University Board of Trustees as the governing board of the University of Oregon[i]; and

1.2 WHEREAS section 6.1(c) of SB 270, which established the board, gives the Governor authority to appoint board members, subject to confirmation by the Oregon Senate, and states that “the governing board must include one person who is a member of the faculty of the university”[ii]; and

1.3 WHEREAS the law does not give the University President or Board of Directors any special role in making nominations to the Governor; and

1.4 WHEREAS the purpose of including a faculty member is to represent the views and interests of the faculty, not those of other bodies or persons; and

1.5 WHEREAS the interim President of the University and the President of the Board have made recommendations to the Governor without asking the opinion of faculty members; and

1.6 WHEREAS the term of the current Faculty Trustee expires on June 20, 2015;

Section II

2.1 BE IT THEREFORE MOVED that the UO Senate Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations for the position of Faculty Trustee; and …