Governors, step out from behind the closed doors, and put the public back into the public university.
Uncertainty is hanging heavy, not just for students and faculty, but for the entire community. And, it comes at a time when MSSU is pursuing the laudable goals of a new medical school and increased enrollment.
The board, not individually, but collectively, should revisit its priorities and make a public statement of where our university is headed. That should be followed by a commitment to full public disclosure in the interest of serving the greater good of the students, faculty, staff and community.
I would suggest it is also time for the Joplin Globe to gets its act together. The Globe has written strong editorials and made blanket requests for documents, but what it has not done is provide consistent investigative reporting. The future of Missouri Southern State University is at stake, whatever happens with Bruce Speck, and the Globe's staying on the sidelines since the resignation (dismissal) of Julio Leon, has played a key role in bringing the situation to this point.
Regardless of whether you side with Speck or the faculty, one thing is clear: Dwight Douglas has certainly made a mess out of the entire situation. His hamhanded approach to serving on the Board of Governors, coupled with his gigantic ego, has now placed the university in complete chaos.
ReplyDelete5'3":
ReplyDeleteIt was not just Douglas but also Ansley, Jones, Perry, Walters and former governors Wyman and Brooks. The only one who seems to want answers but never gets them is the dentist.
After the Board ordered Speck to mend fences and begin the process of reconciliation with the faculty, KOAM quoted him as attacking the faculty's academic professionalism, essentially saying his own faculty weren't fit to teach!
ReplyDeleteThis is not your best recruiting pitch, Bruce! Furthermore, it hardly seems an auspicious beginning to the reconciliation process.
How about if a faculty representative and Speck, who proudly tells us he was a school-yard bully in his youth, simply meet in the squared circle, put on the gloves, and settle everything there.
I think Carla could take him in three!
Regarding Dwight Douglas' role on the board ... from those present at the Board Meeting, he was extremely effective as Speck's defense attorney. One wonders, however, if that is his proper role on the Board, or should he rather be more even-handed, and even let the president speak in his own defense.
ReplyDeleteThat, of course, would be damaging to Dr. Speck's tenure at Southern, since, when challenged, when he feels threatened, Dr. Speck reverts to type: displacing blame (usually on loyal subordinates) rather than seeking causes; seeking vengeance rather than solutions, defending his own fragile ego rather than defending the honor of Missouri Southern.
There is still time for the board and the president to redeem themselves: arrive at an accommodation, set an early departure date, and begin seeking a replacement with the input and support of the faculty and staff.
If Speck truly believes members of his own faculty aren't fit to teach, then he should be a leader and get rid of these terrible teachers, then recruit other more-qualified ones to fill their posts.
ReplyDeleteOr is this merely Speck doing the age-old two-prong tactic of diversion and CYA?