UNI faculty denounce president

CEDAR FALLS - University of Northern Iowa professors called and backed a rare no-confidence vote in the school's leadership on Friday, signaling their strong opposition to a rapid series of cuts to academic programs and demanding they be consulted before such decisions are made.

During an all-faculty meeting, professors voted overwhelmingly for resolutions saying they had no confidence in the leadership of President Ben Allen and Provost Gloria Gibson and urging administrators to reconsider plans expected to be released next week to eliminate and merge several academic disciplines. Their call was backed by a national group, the American Association of University Professors, which sent Allen a letter urging him to consult with faculty before making cuts or face the possibility of being censured by the group.

“It's stunning to me how quickly things have changed, and I can't imagine what sort of decision-making went into this kind of a decision,” said physics professor John Deisz, who said a proposal to eliminate his department made no sense because it brings in millions of dollars in grant funding. “We know that difficult choices have to be made, but these are not good choices that are being made.”

Allen and Gibson, who said they had no immediate comment, showed no signs of relenting despite the symbolic rebuke.

The Iowa Board of Regents called a special meeting for Monday to consider UNI's proposal to offer early retirement incentives, which are meant to avoid layoffs as programs and jobs are eliminated.

Allen received words of support from a few dozen students who gathered outside the campus performing arts center, where more than 250 professors met minutes later to denounce him.

Friday's developments came amid big changes Allen is pushing that will shape the future of UNI, a school of 13,000 students in Cedar Falls. He contends that the campus must get rid of inefficient programs and direct its limited resources toward other priorities. But critics say the cuts could irreparably harm the quality of education the school offers, and that Allen is acting without input from professors or studying the impact.

On Monday, the regents approved Allen's recommendation to close UNI's laboratory school, which had been at the center of its teacher training program for decades. The vote came five days after Allen announced the plan, which angered the students, parents, and employees. Allen also announced the closure of a natural history museum that dates back to the 1890s.

Next week, Allen is expected to propose merging and eliminating academic programs with low graduation rates. Faculty leaders say majors such as philosophy, physics, religion, some foreign languages and the teaching of English as a second language are being considered for such action.

In the resolution approved Friday, the professors complained that the Price Lab closure came without consulting those affected or a detailed plan for replacing the education and research activities conducted at the lab. It said the administration has not considered how small programs facing cuts “serve the wider interests of the university.” The resolution also said the university has not made an effective case for the cuts, which are being made in secret.

After two hours of discussion, the faculty voted 197-53-4 to rebuke Allen and 172-69-9 to send the same message to Gibson. Allen, who has led the university since 2006, has dismissed his critics as trying to cling to the past while he makes tough decisions in the university's best interest. The regents and Republican lawmakers have praised what they call Allen's courage.

But Adam Butler, a professor of psychology, asked the crowd how many of them had been consulted about the decision and only a handful raised their hands. “That is not adequate,” he said, receiving loud applause in the auditorium.

Among those who backed the no-confidence vote was religion professor Betty DeBerg, who said the administration has shown “utter contempt” for faculty. She said she worries the university will suffer by cutting the study of religion, which she said is more important than ever given religion's central role in many current conflicts.

But the faculty was not unanimous. Jeffrey Funderburk, a member of the Faculty Senate, said Allen had met recently with the group and the talks had led to late progress. He urged his colleagues to back off the no-confidence vote.

“I'd hate to see anything we did today derail the next opportunity, and I'm not sure how much difference it makes,” he said.

Sophomore Megan Britt, an elementary education major, recently completed fieldwork teaching lessons in a third-grade classroom at Price Lab, and she worries about the effect its closure will have on students. But she showed up to support Allen, saying he was trying to do his best in a difficult position.

“It's easy to point the finger at Ben Allen but I truly believe he has a lot of UNI pride,” she said. “He wouldn't do this if it wasn't necessary.”