
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993                   TAG: 9312140094
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

RADFORD VOTE ON HOLD

The Radford University faculty, proclaiming the success of its tenure committee, voted Monday to table a motion for a "no confidence" vote against the school's board of visitors.

Tensions seemed to have eased for now, but by tabling "indefinitely" - and not quashing the motion completely - the faculty sent a strong message that it intends to keep a close watch on the board.

"It doesn't hurt to have a reminder," said Sidney Pearson, the professor who headed the committee. "Now, if something else happens, then we just have to take it off the table and vote on it."

The standoff was triggered when some faculty members became upset with the board's handling of a tenure appointment for Charles Wood Jr., a longtime aide to president Donald Dedmon.

The faculty set up a committee in September to look into the appointment because Wood's position wasn't eligible for tenure, according to the faculty/staff handbook.

"Everything that the committee set out to accomplish was accomplished," Pearson told the faculty. "[The faculty] was not harmed one iota by this controversy. . . . The strength of the faculty relies in their courage and integrity to stand up for their academic institution."

A scheduled vote on the no confidence motion was canceled last week after a late-night meeting between the faculty committee and members of the school's board.

In an unusual move, the board has agreed to meet regularly with faculty committees - bypassing the school's administration - to discuss tenure and other issues.

"We will have direct access, a direct line of communication," Pearson said.

Pearson said the flap over Wood's tenure wouldn't have escalated if such committees had been in place.

"Direct communication is the essential ingredient," he said.

Tom Mullis, president of the faculty, said he was happy with the compromise.

"I do take credit for one thing, and that's the appointment of a superior committee," he said.

While he is pleased with the truce and believes the board has good intentions, Pearson said only time will tell if the agreement is the right solution.

"We will not know for some time the actual fruits of this," he told the faculty members.

by CNB