UNL Faculty Senate approves historic no-confidence resolution

Members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Senate voted 60-14 to pass a no-confidence motion about Chancellor Rodney Bennett.

Faculty have criticized Bennett for a proposal to cut four academic programs on campus, saying there are issues with the process and that faculty voices have been left out. They also have expressed other concerns about his performance. Chancellor Rodney Bennett did not attend the vote.

Beth Lewis represents the department of teaching, learning and teacher education on the Faculty Senate. She presented the motion earlier this month. Lewis said she didn’t author the motion on her own, though.

“It was contributions across colleges, across departments,” Lewis said. “Having taken a slice of the faculty's opinions, and having listened carefully to what people were saying, I'm not surprised that it passed.”

Lewis said she works with people in the departments up for elimination, especially earth and atmospheric sciences, to help educate future science teachers in Nebraska.

“This semester has been especially difficult, and watching how our colleagues have been experiencing this really stressful situation in which we were really not asked to provide any kind of input, and so it's a real measure of trying to be in solidarity with our colleagues,” Lewis said.

There was an earlier motion in the meeting to table the vote until a later date, which Lewis said she believes stems from faculty feeling nervous about the vote. That motion did not pass, and the vote went on.

“There's a lot of unknowns and a lot of socio-political factors that we don't have crystal balls for,” Lewis said. “We don't know what's going to happen, and you hate to make a misstep. You don't want to make things worse, so I completely understand why some people might have wanted to table the resolution to see what happens.”

She went on to say there were some talks about actions potentially going on behind the scenes, but those aren’t set in stone yet.

John Lindquist, a professor in the department of agronomy and horticulture, said his department sent out a form about the motion, and everyone who responded supported the no-confidence motion.

“Moreover, during the discussion, whether or not, more than the chancellor is in there, we consider this to be a vote of no confidence in all of the upper administration who are involved in this process,” Lindquist said. “While I understand that this vote has no direct impact on the chancellor or anybody else, it will make the news locally and nationally, and that is where the influence is beneficial.”

Chris Bilder, a professor in the department of statistics, which is proposed for elimination, said there have been flaws throughout the budget reduction process. Although the statistics department has reached out to UNL administration to discuss its concerns, Bilder said they have been ignored. The statistics department held a seminar earlier this month about the metrics, which they invited administration to, but, according to Bilder, the invite was declined.

He said the no-confidence motion is a step in the right direction.

“It shows that the other faculty are sticking up for us,” Bilder said. “They see that there have been a lot of flaws in this process, and again, hopefully the Board of Regents takes that into account.”

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Chapter of the American Association of University Professors said in a statement that the no-confidence vote is a historic moment for the university system.

“For the first time, we are delivering a united message to the Regents: We will not accept a lack of transparency, the exclusion of faculty from decision-making, or the erosion of our university’s 156-year-old mission to educate Nebraska’s students,” UNL AAUP President Sarah Zuckerman said. “This university deserves a leader who prioritizes our core teaching mission for all Nebraskans. We hope President Gold and the Regents understand that we expect our leaders to protect our academic mission and to listen to those closest to its heart — our faculty and students.”

The Board of Regents is expected to vote on the budget reduction proposal at its Dec. 5 meeting. There is a special Regents meeting Friday at noon, but there is nothing about the cuts on the agenda.