West Virginia University image.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va.–Members of West Virginia University’s Faculty Senate soundly rejected a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the administration of WVU President Gordon Gee and Provost Maryanne Reed.
The motion was rejected 20 to 103.
The vote came after Gee and Reed defended recent changes at WVU including an academic transformation process and hiring practices.
“I understand that change is hard but it is necessary,” Gee said. “If we do not change we will not survive. It’s that simple.”
Speaking before the vote, WVU Professor Scott Crichlow said the resolution was about shared governance. He said faculty members don’t have much of a say at WVU.
“Our shared governance position in terms of what the (Faculty) Senate is allowed to do and basically the overall role of the faculty at the institution is very, very, very limited compared to your average R-1 (Research-1) university,” Crichlow said.
Reed said she was proud of the administration’s efforts to regularly communicate with the faculty through the pandemic and now especially in the area of academic transformation.
“Have we done everything perfectly? Certainly not. Is there room for improvement? Certainly. Have we acted in ways that are unscrupulous, unethical, untoward? Certainly not,” Reed said.
Crichlow also criticized Gee, who is in his eighth year in his second stint as WVU president, for his selection Reed as provost in 2019. He said Gee chose Reed without feedback from the university or Faculty Senate.
Gee said there was wide consultation before he selected Reed.
“One of the reasons that kept coming back to me is that Maryanne was recognized among our deans and among our faculty as one of the best leaders we have,” Gee said.