NO CONFIDENCE VOTE PASSES BUT MOST WSU PROFS SIT OUT
Less than half of those eligible cast ballots, and it’s far from a landslide.
FAIRBORN — A portion of Wright State faculty members voted “no confidence” this week in university President Susan Edwards, but less than 40% of eligible members voted, according to results posted by the WSU Faculty Senate
on Friday.
Of the 651 faculty members eligible to vote, 258 did, according to the results posted by the WSU Faculty Senate leadership.
About 53% of the faculty who voted cast a ballot of “no confidence,” while the remaining 47% voted they had confidence in Edwards.
Copies of the vote were forwarded to Edwards and to the board of trustees. The process is not legally binding.
The Wright State Faculty Senate facilitated the vote but did not call for it. Leadership sent a letter to Edwards on March 23, informing her of the vote and allowing her a chance to respond.
“Collectively, this list of grievances speaks to the lack of integrity and leadership ability of
President Edwards,” the petition to conduct the vote says.
The petition cites 14 reasons claiming why the vote should be taken, including: enrollment declines that have accelerated under her leadership; hiring practices the petitioner felt were not fair; the lowest faculty morale in years; and using what the petition called “deceptive language” to announce temporary reductions in compensation for members of university management, among other reasons.
Edwards said in her rebuttal that she saw “a great deal of similarities between the information shared as justification for this vote and the criticisms leveled directly against me by the (American Association of University Professors)-wsu leadership.”
She added, “Let me say again the allegations are inaccurate and while they may make great theater, the information is purposely misstated and I see no productive value in again legitimizing them any further through this Faculty Senate process.”
Edwards also rebutted the accusation that she had lied about a salary reduction.
Wright State Board of Trustees Chair Tom Gunlock said he was aware the vote was happening.
“I’m aware the process is underway but, to be clear, the outcome of the faculty vote has absolutely no bearing on the board’s view of President Edwards,” Gunlock said. “Sue is doing a remarkable job leading Wright State University through a very difficult period and we are blessed to have her. The board has complete confidence in her and her team.”
Gunlock noted that the student government at Wright
State passed a resolution of confidence in Edwards on Tuesday.
D. K. Adrian Williams, president of Student Government Association, said the resolution is a gesture of support.
“In my short time here, I’ve experienced faculty pursuing votes of no confidence on three separate occasions,” Williams said. “They seem to happen so often I’m not sure of their effectiveness. But I can say, as the president of student government at Wright State, our resolution of confidence in Dr. Edwards is intended to let everyone know we support her because she is a president who has students’ best interest at heart.”
In 2019, the faculty held a vote of no confidence in the WSU board of trustees. Of 735 faculty eligible to vote, 440 voted, and 87% placed a vote of no confidence in the board of trustees.