Spectators at an MSU Board of Trustees meeting, especially when they're 70-strong and standing shoulder to shoulder, are fairly reliable indicators of some palpable unrest in the MSU community.
On Monday, The State News reported that last Friday's meeting of the university's board of trustees was peppered with jabs at administrators, a general restlessness among attendees and even "cheap shots" directed at Provost Lou Anna Simon. The concerns were expressed explicitly and sometimes passionately. They stemmed from, but weren't limited to, the recent reconstruction of MSU's colleges, the College of Human Medicine's relocation to Grand Rapids and worry that budget woes will force teaching assistants out of work. All viable concerns, all very prevalent and voiced accordingly on Friday.
The headline of our article read, "Anger shows at meeting." The smaller text just below read, "Public criticism aimed at provost; trustees upset by 'cheap shots.'" To say people are upset at the university's administration is an understatement, regardless of the levels of professionalism with which those angers are displayed. And the thread common to these concerns points at an apparent information gap growing between the trustees and university staff, faculty and students.
When the MSU medical school was given a Grand Rapids ZIP code, our opinion was that the motivation to do so wasn't fully disclosed nor celebrated after an agreement with Grand Rapids officials was met. When Simon introduced a drastic realignment of our colleges and gave faculty, staff and students two weeks to assess the plan before it became permanent, we said that wasn't enough time. When university TAs held protests to remind the administration that they were a vital cog in our education, we chose to dissent, but only because their brand of protest was at the expense of education. All three issues point to one underlying current flowing through this university's students, staff and faculty, whether it be just or just misinformed - the MSU Board of Trustees is acting with an air of detachment when determining the future of the MSU community.
In absolute fairness, the MSU Board of Trustees is in the middle of an exhaustive and meticulous semester.
A "belt-tightening" budget makes us wonder if professors will have chalk this fall, and the colleges in which students are enrolled today will have different names - or not exist - in coming semesters. But when board meetings are reduced to "cheap shots," heads need to be raised from the trappings of a full work docket, realize the climate on campus and work to fix it.
Trustee Joel Ferguson probably said what both sides of this gap are eager to hear. His quote below was said in reference to concerns only about the medical school relocation, but killing two - or three or four - birds with one public hearing would cool a lot of heads at this point.
"I'd like to ask the board that we have a truly aggressive public hearing," he said. "The more light we give to the subject, the less heat we'll get."
Well said. Now, let's see it happen so things will get better.
