U of L faculty group pass vote of non-confidence in management
By Lethbridge Herald on May 2, 2022.
Herald file photo by Al Beeber
Picketers carry signs along University Drive during the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association strike in February.Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Nearly 300 University of Lethbridge faculty members are supporting a non-confidence vote in upper management at the school.
In an email to media Monday, the Faculty Members Governance Group said as of April 28 296 faculty members had supported the motion, 25 have abstained and seven have voted against it. The email said 328 faculty participated in the vote, 322 of them being full-time staff. It was also stated that support amounted to 97.7 per cent of those who took a position on the motion.
The motion states “I, a faculty member at the University of Lethbridge, have no confidence in President Michael Mahon, Vice-President (academic) Erasmus Okine and Vice-President (Finance) Nancy Walker to perform their respective duties as senior administrators at the University of Lethbridge. I have no confidence in their decision-making, leadership and manner of governing the University of Lethbridge.”
A letter was sent on April 12 presenting initial results of the vote to U of L board chair Kurt Schlacter. The letter said that 316 faculty members had so far participated in the vote. Of those 310 were full-time faculty.
By April 12, 284 faculty had voted in favour of the motion, seven against while 25 abstained.
“We were deeply disappointed to learn of this development considering the recent resolution of a significant labour disruption that negatively affected our entire community, and particularly our students. The board’s hope was that after faculty overwhelmingly supported the ratification of a new collective agreement, there would be a collective focus on allowing us to again move forward as an institution,” said University Board of Governors chair Kurt Schlacter in an email.
“The board has a robust process for annually evaluating our president, which includes a request for feedback from the entire university community. During the course of my term as board chair, which is nearing six years, no negative comments have ever been shared through this activity. Feedback throughout the years has been overwhelmingly positive.
As a result of our comprehensive evaluation process, and our extensive ongoing work with President Mahon, the board confirms its complete confidence in Dr. Mahon and our entire senior leadership team, with whom we also work closely.
The board looks forward to working closely with these leaders as they complete their terms. As has been publicly shared, the search process is already underway with respect to the university’s next president, and a similar process has recently been announced with respect to our next provost,” Schlachter wrote.
The board chair also stated the university is committed to undertaking the work needed to strengthen the school following the recent labour disruption and ensuring it meets the expectations of its students and the communities it serves.
“Re-establishing strong relationships on campus is in the best interest of our community and will demand compassionate and focused leadership, patience and a commitment from everyone to move forward,” added Schlachter.
Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter
14-13
That is an eye-popping level of support from U of L faculty for the non-confidence motion – stronger than the support for the strike. The Board Chair’s dismissive response makes it clear that those in charge of U of L want a continuation of crisis, not a reconciliation. Seems like serious trouble is ahead.