“Include faculty…to make tough decisions wisely”—Kate Rousmaniere

Speech to Miami University’s Board of Trustees at their meeting on February 23, 2024:

First, I want to congratulate my colleagues on their promotion and/or tenure. This is a great day.

I am Kate Rousmaniere, Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership. I’m also former Chair of University Senate, and about 10 years ago I last came to speak to you in th capacity. I am the 2016 Benjamin Harrison Award winner. I teach about the history and politics of education, and I have also been very involved in local government for the past 12 years, as a locally elected member of Oxford City Council, Mayor of Oxford for two terms, and now Oxford Township Trustee. And given this experience, I have some things to say about the role of democracy and decision-making with the Board of Trustees and Miami University faculty.

Faculty on this campus know a lot— we often know more than visiting consultants do. So, for example, we know that of the 45 people on President Crawford’s ambitious THRIVE initiative, only 6, or 13% are faculty, even though that process is “designed to strengthen teaching, research, and service missions”—which is the work of faculty.

We also know that of some of the majors that are being considered for abolition at Miami, some of them cost the university nothing because faculty are already teaching these classes for other programs. We know that by cutting such majors, all Miami would lose would be students who might be interested in those specific programs. We know our students and what they are interested in and worried about.

We also know that there is a lot of national and local press about universities that are cutting majors and faculty, and that this press is not always good, and that we, as faculty, are not interested in being part of that news story. We have colleagues at Wright State and the University of Toledo and the University of North Carolina where many of these cuts are happening, and we also understand many of the programs at those institutions and the strength of our existing programs in comparison to theirs. We understand the pressing issues around funding for higher education and enrollment challenges and political pressures against higher education—we understand all that all too well, and we understand all that at the ground level better than high-priced consultant firms from out of town. Our main request here then, is to include faculty expertise in the significant decision-making that is going on at this critical time.

Including faculty, working with faculty, is an opportunity for the Board to make these tough decisions right, fairly, and wisely. As we like to say (and we hope you do too) work with us, not against us.

Read more speeches to the Board.