By Michael J. Pollack, The Westfield Leader.
UNION – Myriad issues have ensnared Kean University, and many on campus believe embattled University President Dawood Farahi is at the epicenter.
In addition to the controversial retaining of Mr. Farahi, after he admitted to “careless errors” in his résumé, the school is dealing with the potential loss of its accreditation, NCAA athletic probation and an entire faculty operating without a new contract.
In February, Kean’s Board of Trustees voted, 7-4, to keep Mr. Farahi on board despite the accusations that he falsified his credentials. In response, one trustee, Lester Aron, resigned, and many faculty members are frustrated about the decision.
Kathleen Henderson, president of the Kean University Adjunct Faculty Federation wrote to The Westfield Leader and The Times in an e-mail, asking, “If a most-dedicated and ethical Board of Trustee member had to resign on personal grounds of conscience because of what he was privy to in Kean’s continual image and creative cover-ups by the board and senior administrators, what chance do we adjunct faculty have for our voices to be heard?”
James Castiglione, president of the Kean Federation of Teachers, confirmed that “morale is extremely low” on the campus.
Meghan Gill, an adjunct communications and public-speaking teacher, told The Leader and Times that when she got wind of the decision to retain the president, she was “disgusted.”
“[Hearing that] was the lowest point of my teaching career,” she said.
Mr. Castiglione believes that the story does not end with Mr. Farahi; rather, that is where he said it begins.
“There really is a unifying theme tying everything together,” he said. “Farahi has [disdain] for process, procedure and protocol, and he wants to do things his way, whether or not that actually makes academic, fiscal or any other sense.”
Kean University may lose its accreditation after the Middle States Commission on Higher Education found that the university lacked sufficient mechanisms to assess both institutional and student achievement. The Middle States Accreditation Board had warned the university last year and, late last month, again found the school to be non-compliant with multiple standards. The university must meet all requirements by June 2013.
If the school loses accreditation, it becomes more difficult for students’ courses to transfer to other
institutions, and it may impact the school’s ability to procure financial assistance from government.
“From a practical standpoint, it’s quite bigger for the institution,” Mr. Castiglione said. “Students are not going to want to attend a university whose accreditation is under question.”
Separately, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions placed all 13 of the school’s teams on probation until 2016 and banned the women’s basketball team from postseason play in the upcoming 2012-2013 season. The NCAA found that Kean had made improper financial-aid arrangements to student-athletes. Specifically, the NCAA cited the school’s former women’s basketball coach for changing the grades of an ineligible player and paying members of the team during a trip.
In addition, Kean University faculty members are working without a contract. At present, there are roughly 310 full-time faculty members and 1,100 adjunct instructors. Adjunct faculty teach about 55 percent of all classes at Kean.
According to Ms. Henderson, the adjunct faculty has been at the same pay level since fall 2011. They are paid $1,200 per credit and $1,250 for those who have taught 16 semesters or eight years.
“We get absolutely no health benefits and are permitted only the privilege of buying into the State Health Benefits System at 110 percent of the cost,” she said. “Unlike all the unions in the state, adjunct faculty are not permitted to negotiate for health benefits, despite all the media coverage to the contrary. It took legislation to even give us the privilege to purchase benefits.”
She added, “There is no job security, no seniority. We have to be rehired every single semester… and Kean does not give an adjunct a single reason for non-rehiring or reappointment each semester, despite the fact we get satisfactory semester-by-semester student teaching reviews, in addition to peer reviews.”
Mr. Castiglione said all prevailing issues “tie together under a style of management that is fundamentally at odds with the most basic values of the academy.”
from http://www.goleader.com/12may03/12may03.pdf
