No confidence for Austin

As Thomas Jefferson has taught us, when a leader violates and abuses the ends he was appointed to complete it is the job of the people to voice grievances and to reform the system.

The words of Jefferson apply to the institutional structure at UConn. The university has a president who has violated the goals of the public institution. In the process, he has disgraced the university, its students and faculty. When any university president is destructive of the ends he was appointed to fulfill, it is the job of university to declare the objections and voice opposition to the current administration.

For this reason, the faculty, staff and students of the university should voice the concerns against the president so the media and legislature can note the grievances. The history of university President Philip E. Austin is a history of repeated inactions, violations, corruptions and decisions that have hurt the name of the university. To prove this, I list the following grievances against Austin.

Austin has disgraced the university through UCONN2000 - a project he repeatedly triumphs - as evidenced by a report of the state auditors of Connecticut. He has approved of construction policies that directly violate Connecticut state statute. The president has selected contractors with no basis of selection or formal procedure established. The president has wasted state dollars by incurring additional costs to construction contracts. The president has failed to establish a standardized record keeping system and selected contractors before the project details were finished. Because of this negligence regarding construction issues, he has subjected the student body to endure fire and safety violations. His failed actions have incurred additional multi-million dollar costs to the university and state in order to remedy the problem.

In the process, he has repeatedly denied he has done anything wrong. He has e-mailed the university community claiming the state auditors and the Hartford Courant are entirely wrong and he is right. Two weeks later, after further pressures from the legislature and the governor, he reversed his original statements and admitted faults.

Because of his malfeasance, the university is in jeopardy of not receiving additional 21st Century UConn bonds. Because of his actions, the most atrocious buildings on campus - Montieth and Arjona - are in jeopardy of not being renovated. Because of his scandals, administrators and faculty at other universities across the country have heard of the problems at UConn. He has hurt the university's outstanding reputation in the academic and workforce communities.

He has elected to renovate his own house at a cost to the university and to private donors. He has sought out private donors to build himself a hot tub before seeking out private donors to contribute to the academic and research mission of the university.

Austin has also neglected the operating budget of the university and failed to prioritize resources to benefit faculty and students. It is the job of a president to raise money for the university and he has failed to substantially raise the share of contributions from the state legislature. Instead, he has balanced the budget on the backs of students and denied graduate students better health care.

He has forced the university to lower academic standards during his term as president. He has failed to see the dropping of a third "W" requirement as a direct lowering of academic standards. The president has allowed this to happen because he has failed to hire the necessary full-time faculty to staff the university.

He has told the legislature the university does not have a surplus fund to pay for additional operating expenses, and thus no money to support a tuition freeze. He has repeatedly told the legislature this despite the governor and the Commissioner of Higher Education affirming the university does have the money. Only weeks later, he demonstrated the university did really have a surplus fund, for which he would tap millions of dollars for maintenance expenses. He has run the university like a for-profit business.

He has surrounded his administration with yes-men. Most shockingly, he has repeatedly called on departments to go through full searches for additional faculty despite not following the rule himself. He has hired a university vice-president without a search. More shockingly, the person the president hired for that position was someone he had a working relationship with at a previous university.

He has lost touch with the students and faculty members. He has repeatedly addressed academic awards ceremonies only to say he needed to leave early to attend a basketball game. He has made it difficult for faculty and students who voice concerns to meet with him. The president is out of touch and there are junior faculty members on campus who do not recognize him. He has made it hard for students and faculty to contribute feedback and in doing so, he has failed to consult with the people who know the most about the inner workings of the university.

Alone, these grievances are not severe. Taken together, they have tarnished UConn's reputation. Administrative oversight and malfunctions are not a problem until they begin to hurt the university community. The reality of the situation is that Austin's actions are now beginning to harm the entire university.

We, the faculty and students of this community, have repeatedly extended the olive branch to Austin. He has repeatedly rejected our calls for reform and instead claimed his actions are entirely right. He has failed to meet in the middle ground and has failed to accept our suggestions.

Whereas the most recent construction issues have demonstrated the gravity of the situation and have most hurt the university's name, Austin has lost the confidence of the university community. I now ask committed student leaders and faculty members to pledge their names along side mine to protecting this university - because ultimately it is the university's name, and not Austin's, for which we must worry.

For this reason, I call on the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and Graduate Student Senate (GSS) to cast a vote of no confidence against Austin. I also call on the University Senate and the faculty members who sit on University Senate to cast a vote of no confidence in Austin.

Voting no confidence is a serious matter and should only take place under dire circumstances. We have attempted to make peace, we have attempted to call for reforms, we have constantly voiced objections. Yet, we were not heard because the administration was blinded in glory and sought infallibility. It is now our sacred duty to call for the dissolution of the existing political institution. It is time we cast a vote of no confidence against Austin so that we - students and faculty - can take back the university community and restore it to a path of academic excellence with responsibility and respect.