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The public interest in Connecticut
ACTA has been following for several weeks a controversy involving the Connecticut State University System. The gist is that on October 1 of last year, the system's chancellor received authority to "non-continue" any president of the system's four campuses with the prior concurrence only of the board chairman. Under the policy change, only after the chancellor has notified the campus president and then the board's executive committee of his intentions does the full board get a chance, at its next meeting, to overturn the decision by a majority vote. According to the minutes of the executive committee meeting in question, "only Executive Committee approval of the revision was required." Minutes of the next meeting of the full board indicate that the chairman "wished to share with the Board that the Executive Committee...approved a revision to Article 10.2 of the Human Resources Policies for the Chancellor and Presidents (noting that a CD containing an updated copy of those polices was in each Board member's folder)" but record no vote.
As Inside Higher Ed reported in April, CSU System chancellor David G. Carter promptly used this new authority to "non-continue" the president of Southern Connecticut State University, Cheryl Norton, in November of last year. But the full board never voted on the issue because -- according to a public records request and reporting by the Connecticut Mirror -- Norton signed a separation agreement on December 9, one day before the next board meeting. Carter went on to appoint an interim president from outside the institution -- a move many faculty members oppose, according to testimony at a recent legislative hearing -- and under the terms of the separation agreement, both Norton and the interim president will receive full salaries for a year.
Numerous voices have weighed in already on this dispute. The local AAUP leaders are understandably upset, and our friends at FIRE have rightly noted the due-process issues raised by Norton's "non-continuation." From ACTA's perspective, though, the main issue here is something a bit broader: the public interest.
This is clearly a moment when the CSU System Board of Trustees has not only an opportunity to do its job -- which includes asking tough questions and ensuring transparency -- but an obligation to show the legislature (which is quite concerned) and ultimately the taxpayers of Connecticut that it is, to quote from its own website, "oversee[ing] the universities and...guid[ing] them in effectively serving the public." That's what the public is, well, trusting these trustees to do.
In that vein, we are pleased to see the board has called a special meeting for June 14 to discuss the matter. We urge the trustees to hold a full and public discussion and to do their best to ensure the students, parents, and taxpayers of Connecticut are being well served by their state university system.
Posted by Charles Mitchell on June 09, 2010 at June 9, 2010 03:54 PM
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