Dive Brief:
- Faculty at the University of Alaska - Anchorage have voted no confidence in the University of Alaska System President Jim Johnsen, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
- Citing the lack of shared governance in the development of a new system-wide strategic plan, faculty said they were blocked from providing input on efforts to save costs and to increase academic and operational efficiencies in the system.
- The 28-9 vote calls for a reversal of the strategic plan implementation process or for Johnsen, appointed in 2015, to resign.
Dive Insight:
Presidents and chancellors of public systems have to find ways to engage faculty from all campuses in any strategic planning process. Failing to do so gives professors and instructors the ammunition to make accusations of institutional bias, political agendas, and disinterest in the academic enterprise. Even if the intent is to create more efficient systems of technology and service delivery, or to minimize the number of vendors used for services, transparency and vision remain the priority in cutting resources or jobs.
Alaska may not be a nationally-recognized hotbed for higher education, but as a state system with many students and resources, it has the potential to draw comparisons to similar scenarios in California and New York for media scrutiny and public discourse.