Summary of AAUP Executive Committee meeting, October 6, 2003

The AAUP Executive Committee met on October 6, 2003 at 12:00 p. m. in Thach.

The following members were present: Wayne Brewer, Glenn Howze, Robin Jaffe, Jeff Jakeman, Gary Mullen, Virginia O'Leary, Judy Sheppard, Isabelle Thompson, and Bill Trimble. Absent were Jim Bradley, Larry Gerber, Renee Middleton, and Christa Slaton

Discussion

Failure of Senate Confirmation Committee to Appoint New Trustees

AAUP members tried to persuade the University Senate Steering Committee to sponsor a resolution asking for Mr. Barron's resignation from the Board of Trustees because the appointments of new Trustees were not made during the legislative special session. The Steering Committee opted not to sponsor a resolution. This is a draft of the resolution introduced at the October 14 Senate meeting without Steering Committee support.

Resolution

Whereas Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron waited until the recent special legislative session was nearly over to refer the nominations for new Auburn University trustees to the Senate Confirmations Committee, and

Whereas, when a meeting of the Senate Confirmations Committee was finally called to act upon the nominations in the waning moments of the legislative session, the meeting failed to achieve a quorum when known political allies of President Pro Tem Barron failed to attend, and

Whereas, knowledgeable observers such as Auburn University Trustee Selection Committee member Andy Hornsby and State Senator Ted Little have been publicly quoted as blaming President Pro Tem Barron for the failure of the Confirmations Committee to achieve a quorum and thereby blocking confirmation of the three new trustees, and

Whereas, these recent events have cast further doubt on the integrity of the nomination process and have once again demonstrated the conflict of interest inherent in Senator Barron serving as both President Pro Tem of the Senate and a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees,

Therefore be it resolved that the Auburn University Senate calls upon Senator Barron immediately to resign his seat on the Auburn University Board of Trustees.

Scheduling an AAUP Chapter Meeting

Members of the Executive Board decided to call a meeting of the Auburn Chapter to present its own resolution asking for Barron's resignation. This resolution was as follows:

Whereas the American Association of University Professors supports a trustee selection process that provides "serious attention * to obtaining properly qualified persons," and

Whereas the constitutionally-mandated Auburn University Trustee Selection Committee engaged in an open and fair process to select three qualified persons to serve on the Auburn University Board of Trustees and submitted the names of the nominees to Alabama State Senate in a timely manner, and

Whereas President Pro Tem Lowell Barron withheld the nominations from the Senate Confirmations Committee until almost the end of the special legislative session, and

Whereas, the Senate Confirmations Committee failed to achieve a quorum because known political allies of Mr. Barron failed to attend the committee meeting, and

Whereas, knowledgeable observers such as Trustee Selection Committee member Andy Hornsby, State Senator Ted Little and the editorial boards of numerous state newspapers have publicly attributed the lack of a quorum and the subsequent blocking of confirmations of these three new trustees to Mr. Barron, and

Whereas, these recent events cast further doubt on the integrity of the nomination process and once again demonstrate the conflict of interest inherent in Mr. Barron serving as both President Pro Tem of the Senate and a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees,

Therefore be it resolved that the Auburn University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors calls upon Mr. Barron, without delay, to resign his seat on the Auburn University Board of Trustees.

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Note "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities,"Policy Documents and Reports, American Association of University Professors, 9th Edition, 2001, p. 220. This statement on university governance was jointly formulated by the American Council on Education, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and the American Association of University Professors in 1967.

AU/AUM Committee Investigating Allegations of Board of Trustees' Influence on Grade Changes at AUM

Executive Committee members were concerned that faculty appointed to this ad hoc committee were not nominated or approved by the Senate Rules Committee. We are also concerned about the fairness of the investigation. The Executive Committee considered assigning "Committee A" to investigate the grade change. Most of the concerns related to an email sent by John Mouton, Chair, University Senate that explained the charge of the committee. Dr. Mouton's communication that was sent via the AUProf listserv is below:

Charge of the Joint AU/AUM Committee Investigating Allegations of BOT Influence on Grade Changes at AUM

It has been alleged that members of the Auburn University Board of Trustees attempted to intervene in one or more grade assignments at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) during the term of Chancellor Dr. Roy Saigo. These allegations were detailed in an interview with former President W.V. Muse by Dr. Wayne Flynt, and in articles posted to the Internet by Mr. Paul Davis. The allegation of trustee interference in the assignment of grades is of serious concern to all faculty members. The responsibility and authority for evaluation and grading, as a matter of governance, resides with the faculty. A six-person joint AU-AUM committee has been formed to investigate the allegations. The committee will report to the Faculty at both universities when their work is completed. The committee members are:

Clara Young, AUM Faculty and Senate President (cyoung@mail.aum.edu)

John Mouton, AU Faculty Chair and Senate Chair (moutojo@auburn.edu)

Rosine Hall, AUM Faculty and Senate Past-President/AUM Faculty Advisor

to the Board of Trustees (rhall@mail.aum.edu)

Barbara Struempler, AU Faculty and Senate Immediate Past-Chair/AU

Faculty Advisor to the Board of Trustees (struebj@auburn.edu)

AUM faculty member to be appointed

AU faculty member to be appointed, in the interim: Conner Bailey, AU

faculty (cbailey@acesag.auburn.edu)

To the extent possible, the committee will investigate whether there is any evidence that any trustees improperly intervened or attempted to intervene in the assignment of grades. Improper intervention would consist of undue pressure, influence or threats directed against members of the faculty, staff, or administration. Although the sources above do not allege that any grades were changed, the committee will attempt to satisfy itself that no grades were, in

fact, changed, while complying with all applicable laws concerning student privacy.

Alabama Humanities Foundation Luncheon

Jeff Jakeman suggested that AAUP members should attend the Alabama Humanities Foundation Luncheon on October 23 in Birmingham. Former Auburn University President, Dr. Harry Philpot is being honored at the luncheon.

Schedule for SACS Visit

The SACS Visiting Team will be at Auburn on February 22-25. The Executive Board would like to meet with the Team.

Bradley Report

In early December, Auburn University administrators and SACS representatives are scheduled to meet in Nashville to discuss the revised Bradley report. The report was sealed on September 8 by US District Court Judge J. William Forrester (Atlanta).

AAUP Website

The Executive Committee agreed that important articles about shared governance on campus should be posted on the Auburn Chapter's website.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:51 p. m.