[POST-CEIT-facultycouncil] FW: [Post-faculty] FW: Please distribute to all faculty

[Jeongeun Rhee]

Hello, all
Please see the letter below from the UFS to Chairman of the Board Eric Krasnoff.

Best,

Jeong-eun Rhee, Ph.D
Professor
College of Education, Information, & Technology
LIU Post
320 Library
720 Northern Blvd
Brookville, NY 11548-1300
(O)516-299-2193
(F)516-299-3312

Editor of Educational Studies
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/heds20/current#.VE_DT-d9nLw






From: Hildi Hendrickson
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2016 2:04 PM
To: Rebecca States; John Lutz; Michele Dornisch
Subject: Please distribute to all faculty



From: Hildi Hendrickson Hendrickson <Hildi.Hendrickson at liu.edu<mailto:Hildi.Hendrickson at liu.edu>>
Date: Monday, December 12, 2016 1:55 PM
To: ek <erickrasnoff at aol.com<mailto:erickrasnoff at aol.com>>
Cc: Kim Cline <Kim.Cline at liu.edu<mailto:Kim.Cline at liu.edu>>, Jeff Kane <Jeff.Kane at liu.edu<mailto:Jeff.Kane at liu.edu>>
Subject: Open Letter to the Board

Dear Chairman Krasnoff,
Attached you will find an Open Letter to the Board reporting on the Dec. 2 meeting of the Executive Committee of the UFS with you and President Cline.  In it, the UFS asks the Trustees to undertake and discuss with faculty a formal assessment of President's Cline management of LIU, taking into account the issues of deep concern that have been repeatedly raised by faculty.  We ask you to ensure that it is read by all the Trustees.

Thank you,
Hildi Hendrickson for the UFS

Dr. Hildi Hendrickson
President, Long Island University Faculty Senate (UFS)
Chair, Department of Sociology-Anthropology
LIU Brooklyn
hhendric at liu.edu<mailto:hhendric at liu.edu>
718-246-6440





December 12, 2106

Dear Members of the Board of Trustees of Long Island University:

At the request of LIU Board of Trustees Chairman, Eric Krasnoff, the Executive Committee of the University Faculty Senate (UFS) met with Chairman Krasnoff and LIU President, Kimberly Cline, on Friday, December 2, 2016, at the Post campus. The UFS representatives in attendance included a total of eight (8) faculty members from LIU Post, LIU Brooklyn, and the College of Pharmacy.

During this meeting, UFS representatives shared the general opinion of faculty members from across the university, that President Cline’s management has led to a sense of chaos on the ground at both Post and Brooklyn.   While LIU has made marked improvement in our economic condition since President Cline’s arrival—the rise of LIU’s Moody’s rating being one indicator of such improvement—realized gains have been simultaneously undermined by falling enrollments, administrative dysfunction, and cuts to critical student services.

In the interest of supporting further improvement of LIU’s condition, the UFS chose to discuss three primary issues, among many, at the meeting: admissions, transparency and sustainability.  The following are important points, and concerns, raised at this meeting:

1)      Enrollment data from Fall 2011 through Fall 2016 show that enrollment declines continue unabated after President Cline arrived at LIU in Fall 2013, with no clear plan for improvement.

o   The President explained enrollments continued to drop after her arrival because SAT scores of our students have risen, suggesting that we may have fewer students, but they are better prepared and more likely to graduate. The faculty, however, contend that SAT averages have risen primarily because we no longer require our lowest tier admitted students to provide SAT scores with their applications.

2)      President Cline announced that a new administrator was hired to oversee admissions across campuses.

o   The UFS is concerned that it has taken so long to hire a chief admissions officer, and we wonder whether there was an appropriate search conducted to fill this critical position.

o   The new Chief of Admissions and Enrollment Strategy does not have the appropriate experience to suggest he can successfully implement a plan to increase enrollment. He has never worked in admissions, serving last as Chief Student Affairs Officer at Mercy College. He also spent one year as Senior Associate Director of Athletics at SUNY Stony Brook, after serving as Director of Athletics at SUNY Maritime.

o   The new Chief of Admissions and Enrollment Strategy, hired in August 2016, has still not been introduced to faculty and has made no effort to communicate with us about his plans for improving admissions and enrollment in the programs for which we design, and implement, the curricula.

3)      Furthering a lack of transparency, top and mid-level staffing has been in constant turnover since President Cline’s tenure began, making it difficult to know who is responsible for essential university functions, and how candidates are being selected for positions.

o   The main distinguishing qualification of three of the five latest hires to LIU’s leadership appear to be close association with Dr. Cline at previous institutions. In the absence of more information, the faculty are unsure if these selections were the best-qualified candidates.

o   The UFS has asked President Cline to provide an updated organizational chart with the names and contact information of individuals responsible for carrying out significant university business.  The President has promised to provide such a document by the end of the Fall 2016 semester.

4)      Over the past three years, many highly skilled personnel (including Deans, upper level administrators, and staff from admissions, registrar, financial aid and student services) have left LIU for similar jobs at other institutions, leaving a gap in service to our students.

o   Faculty received feedback that many left because decisions appropriately left to those in their title/position were often made above them, without their input.

5)      Recent university surpluses used to build the endowment are largely derived from consolidation of administrative positions and reduction in scholarships, both of which deprive our students of necessary support. Such means for generating savings are unsustainable over the long-run.

o   The faculty have been demanding university investment in support of other forms of revenue generation, including grants. Current staffing for this initiative is woefully insufficient, leaving LIU disadvantaged in all efforts to identify and apply for outside funding.

o   The faculty would like to know when the university will be ready to reinvest in existing academic programs.

6)      President Cline has demonstrated little capacity to work collaboratively with faculty members, alienating hundreds of academic professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to the university over many years.

o   As a result, Deans’ candidates and potential new faculty are reluctant to consider, or commit, to LIU.

o   Tenured faculty members, committed to the university but troubled by the trajectory set by President Cline, are beginning to seek employment elsewhere.

The UFS Executive Committee brought up all the foregoing points to Chairman Krasnoff and President Cline at the meeting.  President Cline provided little information to assuage our worries.   She asserted that there was evidence that her methods are working, but provided little to support her claims. She promised to share information more clearly and regularly with faculty.  She asked faculty to be patient and to work in good faith with the team she has assembled.

After more than three years of patience, and significant faculty contributions on projects such as the Strategic Plan and the Academic Program Review document, the UFS asks the Trustees to undertake a comprehensive evidence-based assessment of the President’s impact on the university, taking the issues raised here into consideration.  For the good of the institution, we ask that members of the Board meet with faculty representatives to discuss that assessment.


Sincerely,

Hildi Hendrickson, UFS President, Associate Professor of Anthropology, LIU Brooklyn
Larry Banks, UFS Vice-President, Associate Professor of Media Arts, LIU Brooklyn
Orly Calderon, UFS Co-Secretary, Associate Professor of Social Work, LIU Post
Kathryn Krase, UFS Co-Secretary, Associate Professor of Social Work, LIU Brooklyn
Ed Donahue, UFS Executive Committee, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry, LIU Brooklyn
Kathy Hill-Miller, UFS Executive Committee, Professor of English, LIU Post
Glenn Magee, UFS Executive Committee, Associate Professor of Philosophy, LIU Post
Shaireen Rasheed, UFS Executive Committee, Professor of Education, LIU Post
Selenay Aytac, UFS Member, Associate Professor of Library, LIU Post
Christopher League, UFS Member, Associate Professor of Computer Science, LIU Brooklyn
Helisse Levine, UFS Member, Associate Professor of Public Administration, LIU Brooklyn
Scott Youmans, UFS Member, Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, LIU Brooklyn




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