EDITORIAL: Candidate for director of student publications poses major conflict of interest
In a professional sense, Jim Knight sounds like a great candidate for Director of Student Publications at Central Michigan University.
Working as a Human Resources consultant at the University of Michigan, Knight is a CMU and Central Michigan Life alum.
But the search committee neglected to wholly consider the glaringly obvious conflict of interest when naming him one of the four finalists for Director of Student Publications: his wife, Sherry Knight, serves as CMU's Vice President for University Communications.
Though members of the search committee informed CM Life Friday they were aware of Knight's conflict of interest, this editorial board is taking a firm stance that with such a significant conflict of interest, he shouldn't have been named a finalist in the first place.
We want to be clear that we are not speaking poorly of Jim personally, nor are we saying he isn't qualified for the position. There are many other factors, such as this significant conflict of interest, that must be considered when hiring somebody to fill a major position at a public university.
As an adviser to student publications, aside from the students who run it, the director has the most influence to what is printed in CM Life.
This is worrisome, because actions speak louder than words. So, although Jim and Sherry might promise up and down that they will not let their personal lives affect their professional lives, there is no way that is feasible in reality.
The director of student publications and the VP of university communications are two extremely influential positions at this university that play a tremendous role in how the CMU community receives information.
For more than 90 years, CM Life has kept those in power at CMU in check, and those who graduate have had the peace of mind that this vision will not be compromised when they no longer have a hand in what ends up on the pages.
If Jim is hired for Director of Student Publications, CM Life alums will cease to carry this peace of mind.
In addition, it's not rare to see the administration unhappy with something CM Life runs, yet the publication continues to ask the hard-hitting, controversial questions to dig for truthful answers.
If Jim becomes the adviser, who knows how that process will be impacted.
Also, when would personal conversations become on the record? The line separating Jim and Sherry's personal and professional lives would begin to blur, and that would undoubtedly impact Jim's performance as a fair and unbiased adviser.
The clear separation between CM Life and the administration is the foundation upon which our entire publication is built. If the board picks Jim as one of their final two candidates and Provost Gary Shapiro ultimately chooses him, that foundation will crumble.
