George Mason University AAUP Chapter Resolution on Presidential Searches

Background

In 2012, when Ángel Cabrera was named President of George Mason University by the Board of Visitors (BOV), he had not been vetted by the faculty, students, staff, or the broader Virginia community he would serve. Indeed, his installation was in direct violation of the GMU Faculty Handbook, which states:

“The faculty plays a vital role in the appointment and reappointment of senior academic administrators and other leadership positions related to the academic mission of the university. The Board of Visitors provides for participation on presidential search committees by faculty who are elected by the General Faculty. The search and selection process must include opportunities for the General Faculty to meet with candidates who are finalists for the presidency…” (1.2.5 Faculty Participation in the Selection of Certain Members of the Central Administration)

When members of the Faculty Senate protested being shut out of the presidential search process by the BOV, they were told that the BOV did not have to abide by the Faculty Handbook. The actions of the BOV thwarted any commitments to shared governance and were in direct contradiction of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)’s recommendation on Presidential Searches:

“The AAUP thus calls upon colleges and universities to resist calls for closed, secretive searches and reaffirm their commitment to transparency and active faculty engagement in the hiring of higher administrative officers. Faculty members should demand that their institutions observe established norms of shared governance by involving faculty representatives in all stages of the search process and by providing the entire faculty and other members of the campus community the opportunity to meet with search finalists in public on campus.”

The AAUP also offers a checklist on searches here: https://www.aaup.org/issues/governancecolleges-universities/presidential-search

According to a 2019 article published by Inside Higher Education, in recent years one of the greatest points of contention between faculty members and their institutions’ governing boards has been over the increasing secrecy of presidential searches and selection processes. The identities of potential candidates are kept under wraps until a sole finalist is brought forward or an appointee is announced. Under either circumstance, the faculty and community at large are excluded from the process.

Governing boards typically rely on executive search firms to carry out presidential searches, which increases the secrecy of the search. These firms often require members of the search committee, including faculty, to sign confidentiality and/or non-disclosure agreements, arguing that it is the only way to recruit talented candidates. Under such secret proceedings, candidates do not have to face public scrutiny and the community at large is not able to participate in candidate vetting. Research suggests that search firms may also not be held accountable to do their own vetting and due diligence to ensure final candidates are in good standing and not embroiled in controversies or engaged in activities that would compromise their ability to lead.

Jan Greenwood, partner and president of Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc., has been contracted by the GMU BOV to conduct our current presidential search. Recently, she said that search firms “themselves benefit from a search being open. A known candidate is vetted in a more public manner, by the news media and people on campus. And that scrutiny can help protect a search firm by preventing a bad hire or from not getting necessary background information on a job candidate to the hiring committee.”

Secret searches not only violate the most basic tenet of the university—shared governance—but also compromise the future success of the finalist because of the lack of trust and support among the university community engendered by a secretive, BOV-only process.

According to the 2016 and 2017 annual “Faculty Evaluation of Administrators,” only 38% of participating Mason faculty felt that President Cabrera effectively addressed the concerns of the faculty, and only 36% thought Cabrera was transparent in his actions and decision-making. In the 2018 survey, only 39% of faculty felt President Cabrera did enough to involve faculty in important decision-making.

Per this resolution, we demand that all finalists for the position of President of George Mason University must be subjected to a public search where faculty, staff, students, and the community-at-large can adequately vet and scrutinize the finalists during a public forum and provide feedback to the Board of Visitors.

September 29, 2019

Resolution of the GMU Chapter of the AAUP Regarding Presidential Search

WHEREAS the GMU Faculty Handbook states that “The search and selection process must include opportunities for the General Faculty to meet with candidates who are finalists for the presidency…” (1.2.5 Faculty Participation in the Selection of Certain Members of the Central Administration);

WHEREAS the AAUP recommends that all faculty representatives be involved “…in all stages of the search process and by providing the entire faculty and other members of the campus community the opportunity to meet with search finalists in public on campus”;

WHEREAS the principal of the search firm hired by the GMU Board of Visitors, Jan Greenwood, recently acknowledged that search firms “themselves benefit from a search being open” because open searches allow for public scrutiny and protect against “a bad hire”;

BE IT RESOLVED that the AAUP chapter of George Mason University calls on Rector Tom Davis and all members of the Board of Visitors to uphold the GMU Faculty Handbook and create public opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and the community-at-large to meet with and vet all finalists for the presidency; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AAUP chapter of George Mason University ask the George Mason University Faculty Senate to join us in calling for public forums to meet with all finalists for the presidency.

Resolution Endorsements

Bethany Letiecq

Betsy DeMulder

Tim Gibson

Alan Abramson

Mark Addleson

Geir Agnarsson

Susan Allen

Marisa Allison

Katrin Anacker

Eric Anderson

Jennifer Atkinson

Supriya  Baily

Angela Barajas

Mandy Bean

Michael Behrmann

James Bennett

Rei Berroa

Christine Bobal

Johanna Bockman

Mary Lucille Boland

Carl Botan

Derek Boyd

Kurt Brandhorst

Rick Brigham

Joan Bristol

Brack Brown

Beth Bullard

Jacqueline Burek

Jo-Marie Burt

Ahsan Butt

Meagan Call-Cummings

Benedict Carton

Pablo Castagno

Danielle Catona

Jack  Censer

Jane Censer

Michael Chang

Rose Cherubin

Carlos Chism

Long Chiu

Christopher Clarke

Carol Cleaveland

Richard Coffinberger

Benjamin Coffinberger

James Conant

Michelle Conklin

Dina Copelman

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Richard Craig

Susan Crate

Jennifer  Crewalk

Delton Daigle

Warren Decker

Susanne  Denham

Rutledge Dennis

Aimee Dixon Anthony

Stephanie Dodman

sharon doetsch-kidder

Basak Durgun

Maria Dworzecka

John Earle

Lisa Eckenwiler

Robert Ehrlich

Eric Eisner

Heba El-Shazli

Esther Elstun

Douglas  Eyman

Daniel Ferguson

Lourdes Fernandez

James H. Finkelstein

brian fitzpatrick

Kevin Flanagan

Toya  Frank

Lee Fritschler

Cynthia Fuchs

Austin Gallas

Justin Gest

Geoff Gilleaudeau

Lisa Gilman

Leslie Goetsch

Ariel Goldenthal

Jack Goldstone

Rachael Goodman

Nathaniel Greenberg

Michele Greet

Lois Groth

Andrew Guccione

Barry Haack

Anna S. Habib

Nancy Hanrahan

Emma Harries

David Hart

Tamara Harvey

Kingsley Haynes

Mark Helmsing

Susan Hirsch

Emmett Holman

Mack Holt

Lois Horton

Billy Howell

Keith Howell

Virginia Hoy

Michael Hunzeker

Mark Jacobs

Kathryn Jacobsen

Rosemary Jann

Sarah Jenkins

Joyce Johnston

Robert Jonas

SARA JORDAN

Deborah Kaplan

Matthew Karush

Mark N. Katz

Richard Kauzlarich

Sally Keith

Con Kenney

Cynthia Kierner

Joseph Killiany

Dae Young Kim

Sara King

Ted Kinnaman

Lisa Koch

John Kotcher

Jenna Krall

B. Robert Kreiser

Gary Kreps

David Kuebrich

Kerri  LaCharite

Michelle LaFrance

Meredith Lair

Harbir Lamba

Roger Lancaster

Alison Landsberg

Debra  Lattanzi Shutika

Susan Lawrence

Heidi Lawrence

Ray LeBlanc

Sam Lebovic

Hun Lee

Jennifer  Leeman

Elizabeth Levine Brown

Ronnie Levy

Lisa Lindley

Lisa Lister

Siona Listokin

J. Samaine Lockwood

Cynthia Lukyanenko

Anton Lukyanenko

Kimberly  MacVaugh

Julianne Mahler

Ed Maibach

STUART MALAWER

Peter Mandaville

John Marvel

Courtney Massie

Sara Mathis

Jessica Matthews

April Mattix Foster

Jeremy Mayer

Eric McGlinchey

Kumar Mehta

James Metcalf

Char  Miller

Katherine Miscavige

Chritopher Mitchell

Alexander Monea

Robert Nadeau

Esther Namubiru

Tonya Neaves

Jennifer Novick

Lucas Nunez

Kara Oakleaf

James Olds

Kristina  Olson

Agnieszka Paczynska

Kristy Park

Wayne Perry

Audrey Pettibon

Frank Philpot

Brian Platt

Thomas Polk

Anna Pollack

Harris Quesnell

Brandon Quiles

Lisa Rabin

Kathleen Ramos

Miriam Raskin

Jane Razeghi

Claudia Rector

Kenneth Reinert

Stacey Remick-Simkins

Jonathon Repinecz

Sarah Rickless

Janine  Ricouart

John Riskind

Jennifer Ritterhouse

Esperanza Roman Mendoza

Jessica  Rosenberg

Matthew Rossheim

Katherine  Rowan

Rita Rowand

Richard Rubenstein

Robert Sachs

Kristin Samuelian

Deborah Sanchez

Ana Sanchez

James Sanford

Catherine  Saunders

james savage

Jessica Scarlata

Matthew Scherer

Laurie Schintler

Lance Schmeidler

Zachary Schrag

Sylvia Schreiner

Kelly Schrum

Joe Scimecca

Laura Ellen Scott

Elizabeth Scott

Randolph Scully

Linda  Seligmann

Beverly Shaklee,

Alan Shark

Louise Shelley

Kimberly Sheridan

Jagadish Shukla

JP Singh

Margaret Slavin

Sue Slocum

Paul Smith

Bob Smith

Lesley Smith

Sheri Sorvillo

Jessica Srikantia

Param Srikantia

Amanda Stack

Wayne Stalick

Cristiana Stan

Peter Streckfus-Green

Kim Stryker

Pavithra Suresh

Amykate Sweeney

Dean Taciuch

Regine Talleyrand

Faye Taxman

Art Taylor

Tojo Thatchenkery

Wayne Thomas

Eva Thorp

Ellen Todd

Stefan Toepler

Susan Trencher

Levi Van Sant

Colleen Vesely

Jenice L View

Janine  Wedel

Ali Weinstein

Laura Wheeler Poms

Jacquelyn Williamson

Martin M. Winkler

Patrice Winter

Michael Wolf-Branigin

Shelley Wong

Courtney Wooten

Catherine Wright

Margaret Yocom

Kristien Zenkov

Amy Zhang

Ketian Zhang