Straws in the Wind - Part 295

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Faculty members and students at the University of Kansas recently voted no confidence in the institution’s chancellor, Douglas A. Girod, by an overwhelming margin — but the university is sharply disputing the vote’s validity. The results of an online survey were largely critical of Girod, with nearly 80 percent of respondents saying they didn’t have faith in his leadership. But Kansas administrators are calling the survey an “entirely unscientific, informal straw poll” created by two rogue faculty leaders and “shared only with a small subset of the university population — specifically a subset the authors knew would support their narrative.”

The survey results, and the university’s denunciation, arrive at a tumultuous time for Kansas. Changes in nationwide rules governing payments to athletes and a $450-million renovation to the football stadium have prompted questions about the university’s sports spending. And while the poll was live, the university was negotiating its first contract with the faculty union. While the parties have since come to a tentative agreement, a university spokesman characterized the vote as a “pressure tactic” designed to influence the process.

The poll was disseminated by the presidents of Kansas’ Faculty Senate and University Senate, two elected positions. But the faculty leaders acted independently in sending it, and the survey “does not represent a formal action of governance,” said Joe Monaco, associate vice chancellor for public affairs. The survey did not require respondents to verify their affiliation with Kansas, and allowed multiple submissions by the same user, casting doubt on its legitimacy, he said. The poll was also emailed directly to “specific groups the authors assumed would be aligned with their predetermined narratives” and posted on social-media accounts not affiliated with the university, Monaco added...

...The flow of funding between the university and its athletic department was a particular cause for concern. Historically, the athletic department has sent the university about $15 million each year as a kind of reimbursement for the free tuition, housing, and other benefits athletes enjoy, according to The Lawrence Times. But a landmark settlement in 2025 allowed universities to pay athletes directly for the first time, up to about $20 million per institution. That new expense has made athletic departments’ budgets tighter, including at Kansas, which has stopped the $15-million payments to the campus to help it make ends meet. In the memo to Girod and the board chair, Kansas’ Faculty Senate referenced “funds from a general fund or any academic pool of funds” being used to cover stipends for athletes. Monaco said no tuition or taxpayer money is being used to pay athletes...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-kansas-faculty-and-students-voted-no-confidence-in-the-chancellor-or-did-they.