The Observer, March 24, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 21
Free Speech Zone: Plan needed to address issues, employee morale
To the Editor:
Recent events at Case leave little doubt that difficult times lie ahead. Troublingly, much of the community seems largely unaware of where things really stand with the university. But who can blame them? Part of the problem is undeniably the stranglehold that administration is keeping on information. A significant factor in the no-confidence votes was the administration's refusal to give the Faculty Senate meaningful budget data, even after a financial crisis at the university was public knowledge.
When President Hundert resigned, I saw it as a reasonable move to escape the battle. After all, it's hard enough to captain a ship that's taking on water without worrying about mutiny above-decks. Unfortunately, there's a bigger problem – a rot in the ship's timbers that will sink it faster than any political struggle, left unaddressed.
Ask your department administrator. Ask the worker who cleans your floor. Ask those who actually keep the university running so that students' and faculty's projects can succeed. Morale among employees has never been lower at Case. The knowledge that keeps everything from Human Resources to IT operating smoothly is vanishing as employees leave for opportunities in more stable environments. Those who remain fear daily for their careers, because information from above is virtually nonexistent.
This absence of transparency reaches beyond campus, affecting the foundations and donors Case relies upon for funding. Unrestricted giving has dried up in favor of restricted money – matching donations or funds contingent upon performance of certain acts. This reflects a fundamental mistrust that Case is willing or capable of fulfilling its promises or visions. University Development's most ambitious donation goals for 2006 were 40 percent lower than those of the late 90s, and yet they continue to stonewall, or outright alienate, some of their best donors of the last 20 years.
While the veneer of restaurants and lawns on campus might pacify the uninformed observer, Case's success must eventually be measured in its ability to consistently replace outgoing faculty with bright new minds. By departments having enough information to confidently promise graduate students positions next year. By retaining and supporting experienced staff to keep the university infrastructure effective and advancing. By creating relationships with faculty and alumni that keep the schools vibrant – and solvent – for decades to come.
By any of those measures, the last five years were unmitigated disasters. If there's a realistic plan to address that, current management isn't saying.
James Kilmer
Undergraduate and Graduate
Alumnus and former Case
employee
