According to Dr. Jane Elza, professor of political science and the member of the Faculty Senate who proposed the invitation, the PSAC doesn t truly represent the faculty because only three of the seven-committee members are faculty. Dr. Elza has also said that keeping the search open is important because in the end, the incoming president will make decisions that affect the faculty, staff and students, and the university should not hire a president who is not prepared to share governance. By meeting with the faculty before taking the position, a president will have the chance to demonstrate his willingness to work with faculty and students, according to Dr. Elza. Our position is that it is not representative, Dr. Elza said. Dr. Portch said, They can have that view if they want to.
Schools are an artificial construct.
The executive secretary was asked for two nominations for each available position on the committee. Even though Dr. Elza expects that the Faculty Senate will withdraw the invitation and simply register a complaint with the Chancellor s office, she said this would not be an effective course of action. The other course of action available to the Faculty Senate is to sue the Board of Regents. The court said that the public s right to know outweighed the candidates rights to confidentiality. The ruling, however, was made moot by a legislative ruling in 1992 that such open records laws do not apply to university presidential searches.