After months of concern, UNL Faculty Senate to consider 'no confidence' resolution

Nebraska Public Media education reporter Jolie Peal joined Jackie Ourada on All Things Considered to discuss the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's upcoming 'no confidence' vote against Chancellor Rodney Bennett.

Jackie Ourada: University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty are set to vote on a “no confidence” resolution in a meeting scheduled Tuesday. Nebraska Public Media education reporter Jolie Peal is here to tell us what’s brought us to this point. Before we get into this conversation, we should note that some staff at Nebraska Public Media are UNL employees, including reporters in our newsroom, but we cover the university just like any other college. Jolie, let’s start with primary concerns from the faculty and what’s pushed them to consider a no-confidence vote.

Jolie Peal: This vote comes as UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett finalized a budget cut proposal for the Board of Regents to vote on next month. The latest proposal eliminates four programs instead of the six that were initially on the chopping block: earth and atmospheric sciences, educational administration, statistics and textiles-merchandising-and-fashion-design. The faculty senate motion says Bennett has “eroded faculty trust, destabilized the university’s strategic direction and jeopardized the institutions standing within Nebraska and among its Big Ten peers.” It also states that Bennett has missed a significant number of meetings and lacked communication with faculty during the budget process. UNL Faculty President John Shrader says they want the entire campus community to have input on this motion, so senate members have been looking to their departments and colleges for feedback ahead of the vote.

John Shrader, UNL Faculty President: I think it's pretty clear that that a lot of people on this campus are concerned about the leadership of the campus, concerned about the leadership in the system as well. It's not just the way the budget process or budget cutting process was handled, and that's been upsetting to a lot of people here. But there's also other leadership issues about where the campus is going and and where the system is going and and input from the faculty is important and valuable. And I think a lot of people on this campus feel like through the budget process, and in other ways, we hear about decisions that are being made after the fact and not before the fact.”

Peal: And just a reminder – the faculty senate members voted 55-4 to bring forth this no-confidence vote.

Ourada: This all comes during a whirlwind year for UNL – changes in federal grant funding, a decrease in appropriation from the Nebraska Legislature, and subsequently, that new plan from University leaders to chop the budget. Can you bring us up to speed on the financial hole UNL is seeing?

Peal: This year, the university lost chunks of important funding in several areas. The Trump administration cancelled billions in research funding across the country - some of that is making its way through the courts right now. On the state level, the university system got a smaller-than-hoped-for allocation for the next two years. They wanted a 3.5% increase for each year, but got 0.625%. The Nebraska campuses are looking to cut $40 million total across the system. UNL is aiming to cut $27.5 million - $6.5 million of that is proactive cuts. Executive vice chancellor Mark Button spoke with reporters about the process following the initial proposal. He says it started with a metrics review in various research and instruction areas, like how fast a program is growing, what the demand is and research awards.

Mark Button: It was also combined with a comprehensive, holistic review of every program, because we are very mindful that the data can't tell you everything. It can't capture all the things that a unit does, and it wasn't designed to do so.

It’s also important to note that a financial analyst from the American Association of University Professors took a look at UNL’s finances and deemed they were in “good financial health.”

Ourada: Ok – more on that: faculty seems like they’re not going down without a fight, and have poked many holes in the justifications that the university is making.

Peal: That’s right. Many faculty have said they take issue with the process used to come up with the cuts, citing faulty data, a lack of faculty involvement and a short timeline to come up with alternatives. Following hearings in early October, the Academic Planning Committee recommended keeping most of the programs. The two departments with more votes against keeping them were still pretty close - educational administration had a 11-10 vote, and textiles-merchandising-and-fashion-design had a 12-9 vote. And in their letter to the chancellor asked him to delay the process so alternatives could be fully explored. Faculty, staff and students held a town hall, and they protested before one of the football games last month.

Ourada: So what’s next in this whole process?

Peal: If the no-confidence vote on Chancellor Bennett passes, a formal request to review his leadership will go to the Board of Regents and NU President Gold. That motion also urges university leadership to remove Bennett from his position or negotiate his resignation. If that were to happen, the motion further asks that the budget reduction process stop until an interim chancellor is picked. None of that is set in stone, though. If the no-confidence vote passes, it will be up to university leadership what they do with it. The other date to keep an eye out for is Dec. 5. That’s when the Board of Regents is expected to vote on the budget cut proposal.

Ourada: That’s Jolie Peal, Nebraska Public Media’s education reporter briefing us ahead of the UNL faculty senate’s ‘no confidence’ vote. That’s expected Tuesday against Chancellor Rodney Bennett. We’ll keep you updated on how that shakes out and what happens next. Thanks for stopping by, Jolie.

Peal: Thank you, Jackie.