SUNY-ESF Graduate Student Association expresses ‘disappointment’ in department chair removals

SUNY-ESF’s Graduate Student Association on Friday night released a statement expressing “disappointment” in the university’s decision to abruptly remove three faculty department chairs from their positions.

GSA also expressed concern over SUNY-ESF’s decision to release a draft of a major academic plan without consulting the student organization.

“While we remain committed to working with the greater ESF community towards a brighter future for this institution, it is imperative that we all commit to the practices of clearer communication moving forward in order for that to happen,” GSA said in the statement.

The announcement comes two weeks after university leadership ousted three faculty department chairs as part of an abrupt policy change limiting chairships to two three-year terms. The move, which occurred days before the start of the spring semester, drew criticism from faculty and students, who were concerned about the speed of the chairs’ removals.

“We are very disappointed by the abrupt decision to remove these three Department Chairs, especially considering the inopportune timing and the failure to pre-determine interim chairs,” GSA said in the statement. “Such forethought would have provided more stable departmental environments for returning students to start off their semester, and possibly could have avoided the mass frustration experienced on campus.”

SUNY-ESF announced the interim chairs on Jan. 18, more than a week after the chairs were told in a meeting with President Quentin Wheeler and Provost and Executive Vice President Nosa Egiebor to step down from their positions. The chairs will remain on as SUNY-ESF faculty.

In an interview with The Daily Orange on Jan. 18, Wheeler said he understood why people might be upset by the decision to remove the chairs, given partial information.

“But I would always caution people to be careful drawing conclusions or reacting on partial information,” Wheeler said. “It’s tempting to do that, but usually there are at least two sides of every story and usually there’s a lot of additional background information that would be relevant to understanding it but wouldn’t be appropriate to necessarily share in a public setting.”

He said some information about the department chair’s removals was withheld “out of respect for individuals,” and to not embarrass “anyone.”

The organization noted that it understood and respected that decisions are made “within the purview of the administration.” But it also said it believed communication of those decisions should come with:

• An announcement of the proposed decision or plan
• A period of public consultation and engagement of any appropriate Academic Governance committees
• Communication of the final decision, along with an implementation timeline

A draft of the university’s Pursuit of Excellence Plan, a major academic initiative that SUNY-ESF released on Jan. 11, was created without consultation from GSA, the organization said.

Academic Governance, SUNY-ESF’s governing body, in December passed a resolution calling for increased consultation between faculty and administrators. The resolution stated that administrators repeatedly failed to consult faculty on decisions related to student population increases and financial aid cuts, among other things.

In 2016, AG voted no confidence in Wheeler after faculty grew increasingly frustrated with his leadership.

GSA invited Wheeler to attend a future Q&A forum with the organization’s senate to discuss with him its concerns about the Pursuit of Excellence Plan.