What causes a vote of 'no confidence' in a college president?
In another article in today's Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required), the president of a community college of 15,000 students in Washington state resigned, six months after receving a vote of no confidence from the faculty.
The reasons for the vote: Rachel David, chairwoman of the senate, cited a top-down management style, poor communication, a lack of accountability, and favoritism as reasons for the vote. She also said that faculty members had been angered by a $25,000 raise Ms. Moore received in the spring of 2004, even as state appropriations for the college were in decline.
While the president had worked hard in the months following to reach out to the faculty, which included weekly meetings with staff and faculty to hash out concerns and come up with resolutions, faculty still saw concerns with her leadership style; faculty have had no input into a planned reorganization of the college's division of advising and counseling.
It seems that the president did make an effort to change. But when a top-down leadership style has been implemented, no matter how hard a leader tries to change the level of trust always remains low. All it takes is one decision that reveals a leader's old ways and followers will forget all about the changes and focus on that one decision.
The reasons for the vote: Rachel David, chairwoman of the senate, cited a top-down management style, poor communication, a lack of accountability, and favoritism as reasons for the vote. She also said that faculty members had been angered by a $25,000 raise Ms. Moore received in the spring of 2004, even as state appropriations for the college were in decline.
While the president had worked hard in the months following to reach out to the faculty, which included weekly meetings with staff and faculty to hash out concerns and come up with resolutions, faculty still saw concerns with her leadership style; faculty have had no input into a planned reorganization of the college's division of advising and counseling.
It seems that the president did make an effort to change. But when a top-down leadership style has been implemented, no matter how hard a leader tries to change the level of trust always remains low. All it takes is one decision that reveals a leader's old ways and followers will forget all about the changes and focus on that one decision.
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