“(This) suggests that Dr. Frank is, in fact, naming a successor rather than conducting an objective search for a new chancellor to lead the CSU system,” the AAUP’s letter reads. “It is part of a broader pattern of administrative behavior that includes the presidential ‘searches’ for CSU-Fort Collins and CSU-Pueblo, both of which resulted in the appointment of people close to the current chancellor with little to no input from stakeholders in the broader university communities. The latter, it should be noted, ultimately resulted in major embarrassment to the system. The current situation cannot be attributed to ignorance of national precedents or the best practices outlined by AAUP; Dr. Frank and the BOG have been informed in the past about the problematic nature of this course of action by local AAUP chapters and, in the case of Pueblo, also by the national AAUP Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure and Governance.”
“This is the second time in half a year that I’ve been compelled to attend the Board of Governors meeting to voice my concerns about blatant disregard for the principles of shared governance and egregious disrespect shown to the faculty staff and students of CSU,” Munsky said in public comment. “Last September, it was about illegal and draconian changes in the free speech policy, and today it is about an embarrassing and shamefully inappropriate search for the next chancellor of the CSU System. There needs to be a full external search. The Colorado State System is a public institution that serves almost 50,000 students and employs over 7,500 faculty and staff. We deserve a chancellor who has undergone a rigorous selection process that is based on nationally recognized best practices.”
