February 2, 2021
Letter from distinguished professors urges rescinding of new KBOR termination policy
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
The following is a letter from more than 100 university distinguished professors of K-State and the University of Kansas Medical Center and distinguished professors of Wichita State University and the University of Kansas.
Dear Members of the Kansas Board of Regents,
We, the undersigned distinguished professors from Kansas Board of Regents universities, strongly urge the immediate rescinding of the KBOR's new termination policy. We applaud Allison Garrett (Emporia State), Tisa A. Mason (Fort Hays State), Richard Myers (Kansas State), Steven A. Scott (Pittsburg State), and Richard Muma (Wichita State) for refusing to use the policy. It is harmful to our individual campuses and to the Regents system as a whole.
As Regent Shane Bangerter notes, these are indeed “extreme times.” The chronic underfunding of Kansas higher education has become suddenly acute. However, Regents universities already have a policy crafted specifically to address such extremity--declaring financial exigency allows universities to downsize in the face of financial emergency. In consultation with KBOR, each campus has already developed, via shared governance, the necessary procedures: these should be implemented if a campus determines that they are needed. Best practices for university management require transparency and proper procedure.
To jettison best practices with this substitute policy not only reveals a lack of respect for each campus' system of shared governance, it threatens long-term damage to the missions of each institution. It undermines the purpose of tenure, which is to allow faculty to pursue their scholarship without fear of repercussions. Academic freedom is the foundation upon which we build discovery, robust research, scholarship and creative activities. It also fosters an environment essential to recruiting and retaining excellent faculty in the future. Finally, the new policy undermines the morale of current staff and faculty at precisely the time when each campus needs extraordinary effort and resilience from them.
Sincerely yours,
Christer B. Aakeröy, Chemistry, K-State
Christine Aikens, Chemistry, K-State
Perry Alexander, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KU
Beth Bailey, History, KU
William A. Barnett, Economics, KU
Thomas J. Barstow, Kinesiology, K-State
Alice Bean, Physics and Astronomy, KU
K. Christopher Beard, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, KU
Itzhak Ben-Itzhak, Physics, K-State
James D. Bever, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, KU
Raj Bhala, School of Law, KU
Monica Biernat, Psychology, KU
John Blair, Division of Biology, K-State
Frank Blecha, Anatomy and Physiology, K-State
George R. Bousfield, Biological Sciences, WSU
Nyla Branscombe, Psychology, KU
Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez, American Ethnic Studies, K-State
Joyce Castle, Music, KU
M.M. Chengappa, Veterinary Medicine, K-State
C. Lewis Cocke, Emeritus, Physics, K-State
Bernard Cornet, Economics, KU
David Darwin, Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering, KU
Lynne Davis, Music, WSU
Sarah Deer, Women, Gender, and Sexuality, KU
Elizabeth Dodd, English, K-State
Walter Dodds, Biology, K-State
Jolynn A. Dowling, School of Nursing, WSU
Michael S. Engel, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, KU
Charles Epp, Public Affairs and Administration, KU
David Farber, History, KU
Victor S. Frost, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KU
Randall Fuller, English, KU
Keith Gido, Biology, K-State
Bikram S. Gill, Plant Pathology, K-State
Richard Godbeer, History, KU
Robert Goldstein, Department of Geology, KU
Wayne Everett Goins, Music, K-State
John W. Head, Law, KU
Anne D. Hedeman, Art History, KU
Dale Herspring, Emeritus, Political Science, K-State
Stephen Higgs, Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, K-State
Duy H. Hua, Department of Chemistry, K-State
Andrew C. Isenberg, History, KU
Ryszard Jankowiak, Chemistry, K-State
Hartmut Jaeschke, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, KUMC
Michael Kanost, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, K-State
Barbara A. Kerr, Educational Psychology, KU
M.B. Kirkham, Agronomy, K-State
Kimberly Kirkpatrick, Psychological Sciences, K-State
Phillip E. Klebba, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, K-State
John F. Leslie, Plant Pathology, K-State
Richard E. Levy, Law, KU
Susan Lunte, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, KU
Rolfe Mandel, Anthropology, KU
Richard Marston, Emeritus, Geography, K-State
Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan, Emeritus, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, K-State
TG Nagaraja, Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, K-State
Joane Nagel, Sociology, KU
Philip Nel, English, K-State
David Nualart, Mathematics, KU
Randolph J. Nudo, Rehabilitation Medicine, KUMC
Berl Oakley, Molecular Biosciences, KU
Rosemary O’Leary, School of Public Affairs and Administration, KU
Dennis H. O’Rourke, Anthropology, KU
Anil Pahwa, Electrical and Computer Engineering, K-State
A. Townsend Peterson, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, KU
William D. Picking, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, KU
David C. Poole, Kinesiology, Anatomy and Physiology, K-State
P.V. Vara Prasad, Agronomy, K-State
Harald E.L. Prins, Emeritus, Anthropology, K-State
Bharat Ratra, Physics, K-State
Charles W. Rice, Agronomy, K-State
Mabel L. Rice, Child Language Doctoral Program, KU
Dan Rockhill, Architecture & Design, KU
David Roediger, American Studies, KU
Robert Rohrschneider, Political Science, KU
Chistophe Royon, Physics and Astronomy, KU
Christian Schoneich, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, KU
Paul Selden, Emeritus, Geology, KU
Prakash P. Shenoy, Business, KU
James E. Sherow, Emeritus, History, K-State
Tom Skrtic, Special Education, KU
C. Michael Smith, Entomology, K-State
Yan Soibelman, Mathematics, K-State
Steven A. Soper, Chemistry, KU
Christopher Sorensen, Physics, K-State
Paulette Spencer, Mechanical Engineering, KU
Brian S. Spooner, Biology, K-State
S. G. Sterrett, Philosophy, WSU
Sandra M. Stith, Emeritus, Applied Human Sciences, K-State
Xiuzhi Susan Sun, Grain Science and Industry, K-State
Karan S. Surana, Mechanical Engineering, KU
Uwe Thumm, Physics, K-State
Barbara Valent, Plant Pathology, K-State
J. Douglas Walker, Geology, KU
Stephen Ware, Law, KU
Steven F. Warren, Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences and Disorders, KU
Robert Warrior, American Studies and English, KU
Mary A. Waters, English, WSU
Ruth Welti, Biology, K-State
Robert E. Weems, Jr., Business History, WSU
Yong Zhao, Education, KU
Kun Yan Zhu, Entomology, K-State
Dean Zollman, Emeritus, Physics, K-State