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The West Virginia University Faculty Senate on Monday will hold a no-confidence vote on both university President E. Gordon Gee and Provost Maryanne Reed.
Monday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m.
According to the resolution that will be presented to the Senate on Monday, the lack of confidence in Gee and Reed comes from five areas:
— Gee and Reed’s administration “has refused to institute a COVID vaccine mandate despite calls that they do so by a 85%-15% vote of the Faculty Assembly, a joint WVU/Marshall Faculty Senate resolution, a 59%-38% vote in favor of the vaccine mandate by the WVU student body and a formal 20-7 vote of the WVU Student Government Association.”
— They have “refused to engage in open, inclusive, systematic practices for hiring qualified candidates for its senior administrative team, including in units and positions that are as crucial for ensuring safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces as the Provost's Office, the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and campus president.”
— They have “failed to carry out a transparent Academic Transformation process that avails itself of the expertise of the faculty, Chairs, and
Directors, considers and respects professional norms, respects the administrative time and effort spent on these mandated tasks, references the full scope of disciplines associated with other R1 universities, or is centered within a larger framework that clearly communicates the future vision of the university, the efficient allocation of resources therein, and why programs that are eliminated are of especially limited value.”
— They have “failed to respect either professional norms or relevant academic qualifications and expertise when filling top-tier university positions leaving it in a weakened position to effectively carry out its mission with respect to poor communication and implementation of initiatives, damaging campus culture and morale, and inherently devaluing the credentials it is asking students to pay for.”
— They have “exhibited a pattern of failing to respect shared governance and working outside of professional norms that has broad implications for campus climate, the reputation of the university, and the university's commitment both to providing a high-quality education and to carrying out first-rate scholarship.”
WVU spokeswoman April Kaull told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that the university would have no comment until after Monday’s vote.
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