EDITORIAL: A little less conversation, a little more action
The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees acknowledged the need for greater transparency and communication during its meeting Thursday.
It was an important step taken by the board, especially Chairman Sam Kottamasu, who explicitly spelled out areas in which the administration has recently fallen short.
"We are concerned with rebuilding the mutual trust and confidence that has been damaged on many fronts. I believe we can all agree with the point regarding the need to improve communication, transparency and decision-making,” Kottamasu said. “Improving in these areas can and must be the top priority of faculty, administration and staff as the university moves forward.”
The board then reasserted its confidence in the administration of University President George Ross. While they are free to do as they please, it is concerning that Kottamasu's statement was not followed up by a plan of action.
Where were the plans to revamp University Communications, which is implicitly responsible for two-thirds of the problems laid out: communication and transparency.
Where, especially, was greater comment on the topic of "decision-making," particularly as it pertains to recent lax spending? It certainly seems as if the university has embarked on massive projects without being fully confident in its fundraising targets to support them.
The Events Center? Yes, that cost the university $10 million. Meanwhile, College of Medicine fundraising remains stuck at 52 percent, Vice President of Development and External Relations Kathy Wilbur reported.
Kottamasu's statements amount to a kind of reactive oversight that is certainly better than the silence that came before but still falls short of active stewardship. Proactivity is needed in cases like these. Had Trustees been proactive initially with the votes of no confidence against Ross and Shapiro, there's a chance the campus climate would be much different.
Instead, they continued to beat around the bush, telling people it was time for a healing process to begin in December and February meetings and barely acknowledging people were doubting the leadership at the top.
With progress being made in the Shared Governance Committee, there is still hope that progress might be made.
We can only hope Kottamasu's statements were not too little, too late.
