Statement presented at meeting of Auburn Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) by chapter president Gary R. Mullen, Dec. 9, 2003:
STATEMENT
Today's meeting of the Auburn University Chapter of AAUP has been convened by the executive committee to address the events of November 20, 2003, and subsequent information that has come to light concerning the recent trip by William F. Walker and company to the environs of Louisville, KY, on that date.
The story of the infamous meeting and the participation in that covert rendevous with University of Louisville coach Bob Petrino by Dr. Walker, two members of the Auburn University Board of Trustees, and the AU Director of Athletics does not need to be recounted here. What took place has been graphically detailed in the news media, once again drawing national attention and public ridicule to an administration that has gone completely awry.
Were this simply an isolated incident of poor judgment, or an overzealous reaction on the part of a handful of Auburn fans disappointed with this year's football season, perhaps one might be more understanding and forgiving. However, the sad reality is that, rather than an isolated incident, the events of these past few weeks reflect the same disturbing pattern of administrative arrogance, irresponsible behavior, duplicitous statements, and misrepresentation of facts that has, for years, seriously undermined Auburn University's reputation as a first-class academic institution. The only difference is that this time the perpetrators were caught in the act.
It's time things changed.
It's time to bring to a halt to the deterioration of Auburn's image and the damage that continues to be felt each day, as one administrative embarrassment after another is played out in the regional and national media.
It's time to stop hiding behind lawyers, lawsuits, and litigation as routine ploys to circumvent administrative accountability and adherence to standards of conduct befitting any respectable institution of higher education.
It's time to stop filing lawsuits against the accrediting agency to which we, as an academic institution and by our voluntary membership, have pledged to uphold time-honored standards of professional and ethical conduct in matters of university governance and academic integrity.
It's time to stop squandering staggering sums of money in hiring consultants and public relations firms in an effort to polish an administration's tarnished image and that of a president and wayward board of trustees who have lost touch with what an institution of higher learning is all about.
It's time to end board appointments of university presidents without even the semblance of a search, in the process bypassing the role of faculty in university governance and violating the University's own guidelines and procedures relating to affirmative action and equal employment opportunities.
It's time to hold top-level administrators to the same ethical standards of professional conduct and accountability expected at all other levels of the University
It's time to recognize that athletes at Auburn University are also students and that, as students, the education and experience they gain while attending this university during the most formative years of their lives will significantly affect their values and sense of right and wrong long after they leave this campus.
It's time to restore the honesty, integrity, trust, character, and distinguished leadership that marked the administrations of such former presidents as Harry Philpott, Wilford Bailey, and William Muse.
It's time for the Faculty to stand tall with the Alumni Association in calling for change in the way this university conducts its business and in removing from office and other positions of influence those individuals who by their actions have defamed and dishonored this institution.
In short, it's time for some significant changes. And those changes need to start right at the top.