Straws in the Wind - Part 286

From Tuscon.com: Arizona’s public universities are required by state law to make decisions collaboratively between administration, faculty and staff, but faculty leaders say University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella has declined to sign a memorandum of understanding providing more detail on how that should work. Garimella is the first UA president “who has refused to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the faculty governance structure,” said Mona Hymel, chair of the UA Shared Governance Review Committee.

“If you don’t sign anything, you can’t be held to account,” Hymel said, adding, “It has absolutely hindered shared governance” not to have a document signed by Garimella, “because decisions, which used to be made together, are being made unilaterally.”

UA Faculty Chair Leila Hudson said Garimella’s first year as president led to some dissatisfaction among professors because he did not have elected faculty leadership participate in high-level hiring decisions. Mitch Zak, UA spokesperson, said Garimella and the university decline to comment on questions from the Star about Garimella’s reasons for not signing the memorandum, how important he thinks shared governance is to the functioning of a public university, and if he thinks memorandums such as this are necessary to practicing shared governance...

Full story at https://tucson.com/news/local/subscriber/article_89a864ca-fc24-42a4-8f00-f2e59a665b96.html.

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From the NY Times: In the Bay Area, at least two universities have student centers named for Cesar Chavez. In the San Diego area, at California State University San Marcos, a plaza and a statue honor Mr. Chavez. And the University of Texas at Austin similarly honors Mr. Chavez in a bronze likeness. But the outpouring of anguish about sexual misconduct accusations against Mr. Chavez may not lead to his swift erasure from American college campuses.

...At the University of California, Berkeley, where the student center has celebrated Mr. Chavez since 1997, a committee reviews proposals from students, employees and graduates about rechristening buildings. If the panel advances the proposal for wider consideration, a lengthy process of public feedback begins before the committee prepares for a recommendation for the campus’s chancellor. The final decision rests with the president of the University of California system. A spokeswoman for the university system, Rachel Zaentz, said Wednesday that the 10-campus U.C. system was “deeply concerned about these troubling reports.” She added: “We stand firmly with survivors and are evaluating these findings internally. We will communicate updates when appropriate.”

...Fresno State’s president, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, said Wednesday that the campus would keep a statue of Mr. Chavez covered “while we determine appropriate next steps for its removal.”

“At Fresno State, our values are grounded in dignity, respect and care for one another,” Dr. Jiménez-Sandoval wrote. “When we become aware of reports of such a serious nature, we must acknowledge their weight and hold space for those who have been harmed.”

Cal State San Marcos did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. David Knutson, a spokesperson for San Francisco State, where the student center carries the Chavez name, said the university was “committed to thoughtful dialogue around complex historical legacies while continuing to foster an inclusive and supportive campus environment.”

In a separate statement, the Cal State system, which has 23 campuses, said that it was “considering appropriate courses of action” and that it was “firmly committed to fostering university environments centered on respect, integrity and the safety and dignity of all members of our campus communities.”

The University of Texas at Austin declined to comment on Wednesday. The university, though, has previously removed statues with little warning. In 2017, soon after the violent unrest in Charlottesville, Va., campus workers took down several Confederate monuments overnight at the direction of the university’s president at the time.

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/18/us/cesar-chavez-fallout.