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Promises made.... promises kept?

In response to a movement by several senior OU faculty to hold a vote of no confidence in his leadership of the university, OU President Gary Russi held an "Open Forum" on November 19, 2009 in which he made several promises to change the climate of the OU campus. Encouraged by these promises and in the spirit of working together, the vote of no confidence has been postponed until late in the Winter 2010 semester. The promises made by President Russi are listed below, along with updates and visible progress towards fulfilling those promises.

We need your help in keeping this list as current as possible. Please send any updates, evidence of progress or other information you have in emails to any AAUP Executive Committee member. We will update this list as we receive information.

At the Oakland Update presentation held in the early morning of February 1, 2010, President Russi announced a new OU web resource, the President's Office Information and News Terminal, or THE POINT. Here you'll find copies of President Russi's broadcast emails, video of Dr. Russi delivering the 71-slide Oakland Update Powerpoint presentation and lots of other fascinating information. Make sure to check it out.

Statement to March 2, 2010 Board of Trustee’s Meeting – Joel W. Russell

As you read through the list below, please keep in mind that leadership and moral character are not measured by checking items off a list, lip service and platitudes are not communication, and promises are not actions.  You will soon be asked to vote on whether you are willing to follow President Russi's leadership, given his long history at Oakland of questionable ethical behavior, his repeated attempts to circumvent shared governance and his perennial lack of commitment to the academic mission of Oakland University.

1. Improved communications and consultation
   1. Hold two meetings per semester with chairs and program directors
      Status: According to an email from the President dated 12-17-09, two meetings have been scheduled with the chairs and the SVPAA/Provost on February 16, 2010 and April 13, 2010.
   2. Hold two meetings per semester with AAUP leaders
      Status: The President´s office has scheduled two meetings with the AAUP Executive Committee and the SVPAA/Provost, February 4, 2010 and April 13, 2010.  At the February 4 meeting, several Executive Committee members expressed grave concerns about the future of the university.
   3. Hold two meetings per semester with deans
      Status: According to an email from the President dated 12-17-09, three meetings have been scheduled with the deans and the SVPAA/Provost on December 9, 2009, February 5, 2010 and March 12, 2010.
   4. Hold one open forum for discussions with faculty each semester
      Status: According to an email from the President dated 12-17-09, a Faculty Forum has been scheduled on March 11, 2010.
   5. Open the Leadership Meetings to anyone wishing to attend
      Status: According to an email from the President dated 12-17-09, a Leadership Meeting open to VPs, deans and faculty will be held 8-10 a.m. on February 1, 2010 in the Banquet Rooms, OC. 
      UPDATE: The "Leadership Meeting" has been renamed "Oakland Update" where the president and other administrators "share current information on selected university initiatives," followed by a Q&A session. However, the actual Leadership Meeting (yes, the one that was supposed to be "open") took place in closed session on January 18, 2010 with the VPs and Deans - Agenda and Handouts
      UPDATE: We have reports from several administrators that the usual meetings of the academic deans, the co-called Dean's Council, has been turned into mini leadership meetings attended by all of the VPs and time is spent on other than academic business.  We understand that the academic deans have objected to this change in procedure, but no word has been received whether these meetings will return to their previous academic focus.
   6. Enhance electronic communications with faculty
      Status:
      • Weekly email announcements of campus activities continue. On December 10, faculty received an animated (and expensive?) electronic holiday greeting card (which many faculty reported as spam and deleted without opening) from a list of "friends," including administrators who are openly hostile to faculty. The following day faculty received a "Holiday Message" from the President which referred to faculty as "employees" who "devote countless hours both on and off campus to guide and facilitate student achievement."
      • On January 4, 2010 the faculty were sent an email by President Russi, which linked to a scanned copy of an 12-31-2009 Oakland Press op-ed that he wrote touting Oakland's accomplishments in 2009.
      • On January 6, 2009, the faculty was sent an email by President Russi titled "Communications Update." Highlights: Documents that President Russi believe support his case and that were readily available are now also available in the Library, a full copy of the NCA report (received by Oakland several months ago) is in the Library and a summary is online, the LCME accreditation application has not yet been delivered to the Library. There was also a statement hinting that some athletic division administrators and coaches may have received pay raises after the "salary freeze" was announced, but those raises were mandated by the guidelines of the athletic league to which Oakland belongs (this, of course, is being investigated).
   7. Announce willingness to meet with faculty and groups of faculty upon their request
      Status: On March 2, 2009, the President, Provost and several members of the Board of Trustees met with four faculty members hand-picked by the Provost.
2. Open direct communications channel between faculty and trustees
   1. Request trustees to establish immediately an Academic Affairs Committee and have committee offer open forum for discussion with faculty
      Status: unknown.
   2. Intensify effort to get trustees to establish two faculty liaison positions similar to current student liaison positions
      Status: At the February 4 meeting with the AAUP Executive Committee, President Russi made it clear that he believes that the Board of Trustees is not interested in having faculty liasions and that he will not pursue the matter with them.  Instead, he will try to arrange lunch meetings with subsets of the Board and "a few" faculty members (see I.g above).
3. Open "security corridor" in Wilson Hall to help reduce the perception of isolation of upper administration from campus community
   Status: Many faculty report attempting to gain access to the security corridor in Wilson Hall, with mixed success. Sometimes the corridor is locked, sometimes it is not. Faculty report that the doors on the east end of the corridor are nearly always locked.
4. Initiate new model for negotiations with labor unions - proposed joint working groups to tackle complicated issues that could delay or prolong negotiations with goal of achieving timely settlements without job actions
   Status: At the February 4 meeting with the AAUP Executive Committee, President Russi revealed his plan to push for Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) to be used for all negotiations.  IBB is a non-traditional bargaining technique that requires very open communication and an atmosphere of complete trust between the parties.  Some will recall that the AAUP and the Administration used IBB during the 2000 negotiations, resulting in a settlement on June 30 that was immediately tainted when it became obvious that that Administration withheld vital information from the bargaining teams.  The AAUP Executive Committee expressed their grave doubts that such a bargaining model could work at Oakland, given the present atmosphere on campus.
5. Announced one-time donation of $100,000 by the Russi family to the university
   Status: At the February 4 meeting with the AAUP Executive Committee, President Russi admitted that this donation had not yet been made, stating that "these things take time, it's not as simple as writing a check."  When asked exactly when the donation would be made, he could only say that it would most probably not be complete before the end of the Winter 2010 semester.
6. LCME application with confidential Beaumont material redacted will be made available in a room in the library for inspection by any party
   Status:
   • Attempts to contact the Libray are referred to the School of Medicine, who refer to the office of the General Counsel, who report that they are not involved. As of 12-16-2009, the LCME report is still not available in the Library, the FOIA filed last August has not been delivered and the various lawuits are still pending.
   • In his email to the faculty dated 1-6-2010, President Russi reported that "We’re continuing our efforts to make the School of Medicine’s LCME application materials available as quickly as possible. In cooperation with Beaumont Hospital, we expect to provide documents that AAUP leaders have deemed highest priority within the next few weeks. Additional materials will follow." Therefore, nearly two months after the promise to release the 100-page application and over 4 months since it was requested through FOIA, it has not been delivered. The lawsuits continue to make progress through the court system.
   • On Tuesday January 19, 2010 it was announced that a portion of the LCME documents had made it to the Library, with more promised shortly. Upon inspection, the redacted documents appear to not meet the legal definition allowed under FOIA. A mediation on this issue took place at the Oakland County Courthouse on January 26, 2010, but produced no agreement. More motions will be filed by both sides as the issue proceeds to court.
   • In a meeting with Dean Folberg on March 1, 2010, the AAUP Executive Committe learned that, despite what we have been told by the Provost's office and the General Counsel, the SOM is not redacting this document.  In fact, Dean Folberg said that as soon as the preliminary accreditation was received from the LCME, he "directed" that the entire document be made public, claiming that he had no idea that it was not and that he had no idea whose responsibility it was to do so.  The lawsuits continue.
7. Enhance transparency and consultation in budget development and allocations
   1. Provide formal role for Senate Budget Review Committee in budget process
      Status: unknown (see next item below).
   2. Have Vice President for Financial Affairs attend SBRC meetings
      Status: In his 1-6-2010 email to the faculty, President Russi reported "Vice President for Finance and Administration John Beaghan, for example, will meet soon with the Senate Budget Committee to discuss the Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget forecast." We are told by members of the SBRC that this meeting has yet to be scheduled.
      UPDATE: Members of the SBRC report that this meeting will take place on March 5, 2010, but no agenda or materials have been supplied. It is currently unclear what the role of the SBRC will be in developing the next fiscal year budget, especially considering the late meeting date.
   3. Provost and deans to develop procedures to give deans more budgetary authority
      Status: Members of the Senate Budget and Planning Committee report that they have been told that the deans are not actually developing a new budgeting model, as reported by President Russi, they are merely revising their "wish lists" for the next budget year.
   4. Deans to expand consultations with chairs and program directors on budget
      Status: unknown.
8. Change culture in Office of General Counsel
   1. Eliminate perceived anti-faculty attitudes and actions
      Status: unknown.
   2. Make public the line-of-authority for Diversity and Compliance Officer is to the President and not General Counsel for those aspects of her duties.
      Status: This officer's title has been changed to Director of Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives/Attorney. There is no indication as yet whether the change in title reflects a change in practice.
   3. Charge Diversity and Compliance Officer with developing a non-discrimination policy that does not discriminate against LGBT employees
      Status:
      • The LBGT ERG and the Diversity and Compliance Officer are currently drafting a new anti-discrimination policy for the University and a new Board policy that will include other eligible adult coverage for all benefits, leaves, etc. There will be a qualifier in the language because Oakland has underwritten health plans that do not include coverage for other qualified adults.
      • In the 1-6-2010 Communcations Update, President Russi reported "...preliminary meetings have already begun to lay the groundwork for development of a non-discrimination policy that recognizes the LGBTQ community on campus," but without a timetable for development or of Board of Trustee approval of such a policy.
   4. Give Provost, rather then General Counsel, ultimate decision on wording for pre-tenure review letters
      Status: President Russi has claimed that he has directed that this be done, but we have not received independent verification.
   5. Fix process that has caused extended delays in approval of standard software license agreements
      Status: A new committee, the Academic Software Process Review Group has been established to address this concern and has been filled with faculty volunteers from the Senate and several administrators.  It is unknown if this committee is meeting or if they will have a substantial voice in the process.

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