By Tim Woods

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Baylor University’s faculty senate Tuesday passed a “failure of shared governance” resolution sharply critical of the administrative style of President John Lilley.

The action came during a meeting lasting three hours and 45 minutes, after which senate chairman Matt Cordon said faculty morale has been low for months. The senate voted 29-0 in favor of the resolution, with two members abstaining.

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Senate resolution

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Above is the complete resolution passed by Baylor University's faculty senate Tuesday expressing concern about the administrative approach and style of Baylor President John Lilley, particularly regarding faculty's perceived lack of input on the tenure decision-making process. The senate resolution was triggered by mounting controversy over a dozen faculty members who have been denied tenure by Lilley and Provost Randall O'Brien. The Tribune-Herald received this copy of the resolution Tuesday night from one of Baylor's faculty.

Cordon, a law school professor, wouldn’t disclose the resolution’s wording, saying he first wanted to share it with faculty. But he discussed it in general terms.

“It’s reflective and symptomatic of our concerns that have grown regarding shared governance issues, including tenure decisions, promotion policies and other issues related to faculty,” Cordon said.

He also mentioned pay structure and annual reviews, though he said the key concern was the faculty’s perceived lack of input on the tenure decision-making process.

This spring, 12 of 30 professors eligible for tenure were denied by Lilley and Provost Randall O’Brien. The pair cited as a reason substandard research when viewed “through the lens of (Baylor) 2012,” O’Brien has said.

Baylor faculty claim tenure guidelines were changed after their tenure notebooks were filed.

“I don’t know how somebody can not only hit a moving target but a target that is continuing to move even as they file for tenure,” Cordon said, describing the sentiment of those faculty denied tenure.

Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman said late Tuesday that Lilley and O’Brien had learned of the resolution. They had not reviewed it, she said, but plan to do so.

“They look forward to working with the executive committee of the faculty senate over the summer to address concerns of the faculty senate and plan for the coming academic year,” Fogleman said.

Late Tuesday, after Cordon e-mailed the resolution to faculty and administrators, a faculty member sent a copy to the Tribune-Herald.

The resolution refers to the “moving target,” saying that during a de novo tenure review process, Lilley and O’Brien determined that established written departmental tenure guidelines were insufficient.

“The president and provost, in an exercise of their own judgments, determined that the scholarship of a significant number of the 30 candidates . . . was insufficient and thus denied tenure to 12 of these candidates,” the resolution said.

Ten of the 12 professors denied tenure have filed appeals, which are heard by Lilley and O’Brien, Cordon said. Those decisions are expected within a week.

In an interview with the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday night, Cordon linked dismal faculty morale to what Baylor faculty see as “a top-down administrative structure,” in which faculty members respond to directives from the administration rather than being involved in the initial decision-making processes and formulation of university procedure.

Such criticism of administrative style is reminiscent of that leveled against former Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. during a 10-year tenure that ended in 2005, though Cordon said “we saw it in a different way” under Sloan.

“The concern is unilateral decision-making, and that was a concern in the past,” Cordon said. “Now, it’s different, but it’s still unilateral. We would much prefer, and we demand, a groundswelling in faculty-developed policies that go up the chain, as opposed to directives sent back down the chain.”

Cordon added: “If you think in labor terms, that’s how you develop an impasse. You don’t give us options, you tell us, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ . . . There’s no negotiation, there’s no room for negotiation there.”

Baylor administrators at Tuesday’s meeting invited faculty senators to participate in a summit, tentatively scheduled for the week of June 9, in which the tenure process would be reviewed and discussed.

Faculty senators determined they consider participation in the proposed summit to be “premature,” according to a statement approved by the group. The statement goes on to say they would consider participating in such a summit after issues relating to their shared governance resolution are addressed to their satisfaction.

Lilley has been president of Baylor since Jan. 1, 2006.

twoods@wacotrib.com

757-5721