A no show
Board of Trustees Chairwoman Gail Torreano recently accepted a position with AT&T as senior vice president, which moved her to Dallas. While the accomplishments of all our Trustees should be positive for Central Michigan University, the most recent one by Torreano may leave CMU suffering.
Torreano began work in Dallas June 8, meaning more than a month to begin work and settle. Steve Smith, director of public relations, said her relocation would not affect her state-appointed duties. Yet, she was not at the meeting last week because of work-related reasons. Board Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Comai chaired last week's meeting because of Torreano's absence.
Torreano must make a decision whether or not to stay on the Board with her recent relocation. Being in Texas is much different than being in Michigan, and she won't be able to see the problems the state is dealing with firsthand to know how CMU should confront them.
If she decides to continue her work as Board chairwoman, she needs to pay extra attention to her duties here to keep up and needs to be back to campus whenever she is needed. But if she cannot continue to provide CMU with that type of service, she should look to resigning her position to someone who can be there.
Torreano's absence Thursday meant one less voice to discuss an important topic when it comes to CMU: tuition. CMU's students can't afford to have its leaders not present when discussing events that will directly affect them. After all, the students are still here.
