Every now and then we notice a funny odor, and usually just let it go by.  Unless we get another whiff.

That happened to me recently – when I heard an OU Board of Trustees (BOT) member transferred to a newly created and high-ranking position within the University administration.  I’ve listened to a variety of concerns regarding our new Chief Operating Officer (COO), and they fall into two main categories.

The first is economic – students are not convinced that another administrator with a six-figure salary will advance their cause.  Faculty are concerned that another high-level administrator lacking solid academic credentials will simply continue past exhortations to, “do more with less.”  This mantra has left OU with a more impressive institutional facade, but unhealthy infrastructure.

The second concern is ethical.  If we want to be perceived as an “affirmative action equal opportunity employer,” then we should be an affirmative action equal opportunity employer.  Not just sometimes and not only for low-level hires, but all the time and especially for high-level hires.  Installing another white male at the top of the OU power pyramid without an open and public search process is not consistent with our stated values.

This action is all the more troubling because we have strong evidence that conducting an open search for high-level administrators is effective.  The BOT recently hired on a new president, who by all accounts, is nothing short of spectacular.  And while the BOT deserves much credit, they did not do it alone.  The fabulous outcome that we are currently enjoying with President Hynd testifies to what can be achieved when the OU community really works together.

As for that odd smell – I suspect its source is a musty closet on campus, where a variety of unhealthy administrative practices have collected over the years.  If improving campus operations is the goal, I think cleaning these out would be helpful.