Its been an eventful month for Ohio University President Roderick McDavis, whose tenure has drawn competing letters of condemnation and support, spawned rival student protests and rallies, and generated open forums, administrative changes and a show of unwavering support from the board of trustees.
Despite one biting letter by a group of critical faculty stating “that there is a serious and accelerating decline in Ohio University’s reputation and in its ability to recruit excellent undergraduates,” board vice chairman C. Daniel DeLawder on Tuesday reaffirmed “without a shadow of doubt” the board’s support of McDavis.
McDavis, who is finishing his third-year at the helm, is trying to implement his strategic plan, solve problems he inherited and balance the budget, despite a decline in state funding and the recent wave of criticism that’s hitting his administration.
“Those funding limitations, reductions in fact, have required the university to take some fairly drastic steps to address budget challenges,” DeLawder says.
“Those steps have included increasing tuition fees significantly. They’ve also included reductions in expenditures in some areas of the university. Whenever that happens, it is not unusual for affected parties to become vocal, some more than others.”
Jessie Roberson Jr., president of OU’s Caucus of Educators, Administrators, and Staff of African Descent, or COESAD, says McDavis may be enduring this criticism because he didn’t allow the faculty the level of input that they thought they deserved when he developed his strategic plan.
“It wasn’t that they were foreclosed from participating,” says Roberson, an associate professor of management systems. “They didn’t get the level of participation they wanted, so they are slamming him for that.”
