Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG LENGTH: Medium
James Madison University's faculty repudiated its president Tuesday, delivering a 3-2 vote of no confidence in Ronald Carrier's leadership.
In a referendum that was watched across Virginia as a test of just how difficult it will be for universities to carry out state-mandated cutbacks, 61 percent of JMU's faculty declared they lacked faith in Carrier to lead "responsibly."
The final vote was 305-197.
Carrier's opponents rose up when he announced 12 days ago he was merging two colleges and abolishing the physics department in a cost-cutting move. They called on him to resign.
"It's going to be very difficult for Dr. Carrier to lead this university with that kind of massive outpouring," said Dorn Peterson, the speaker of the Faculty Senate and one of 10 physics professors who would lose his job.
He said faculty cast their ballots against an autocratic management style "not acceptable at a university."
Carrier said he "regretted" the faculty vote but vowed academic restructuring would continue. "We are dealing with basic changes in higher education. It is the job of a college president to deal with these changes."
Some Carrier supporters on the faculty quietly speculated the referendum might strengthen Carrier's hand, because it underscores the administration's contention that faculty would not have implemented any changes on their own.
Some critics conceded the faculty vote would have little effect, because JMU's governing board has stood squarely behind Carrier's latest reorganization.
The leader of a student group that has collected 3,000 signatures opposing the move vowed to press on. Colin Rushing, a senior history major from Vienna, said he hoped to mount a letter-writing campaign among parents to persuade the board of visitors to rescind Carrier's changes.
"The prime target is the board," he said. "We believe the academic integrity of the institution has been compromised."
Meanwhile Peterson, who has led opposition to the administration since last fall, said he expected to take legal action.
At the root of the controversy is a dispute over who should control a university's curriculum - the faculty or the administration - and how much a liberal arts school should bend its programs to fit the state's economic interests.
Campus critics say Carrier has devalued the worth of a JMU diploma by abolishing a major in a key science. "The business world would look very askew at someone from a university without a physics degree," said English professor Robin McNallie.
However, state officials are demanding that Virginia's universities "restructure" to educate more students, with less funding. The State Council of Higher Education says that means colleges should emphasize popular programs and drop others.
"Does every college have to have a major in physics?'' asked administration spokesman Fred Hilton. "We're not eliminating physics as a discipline. We're just saying you can't get a degree in it. There are a lot of other things you can't get a B.S. or B.A. in here."
He described the faculty referendum as a vote on change. "The faculty doesn't want to change; the administration does."
by CNB