We have seen a lot of changes at Murray State this semester. We have seen faculty and staff come and go, we have seen student enrollment increase and we’ve seen construction all across campus. One of the critical factors in all these, in leading Murray State in a time of rapid change, is a steady signal from the administration that it is willing to do what is necessary to make Murray State all it should be.
That’s why we would like to encourage the Murray State Board of Regents to make a critical decision in the coming months – the decision whether or not to renew President Randy Dunn’s contract at Murray State.
While we levy no endorsement or opposition, we believe it’s time for the Regents to make a decision and make its voice heard on whether or not Dunn will be returning as the “captain” of our ship.
The Board has had ample time to talk about and review Dunn’s stay at the University past 2014. return for another term. One year ago, the Board did a comprehensive evaluation of Dunn and have discussed this issue at length in the past.
With the university already engaged in a search for a new “first mate,” a new provost to replace Bonnie Higginson, the Board of Regents needs to make a decision and it needs to make it in the interest of Murray State’s students.
In these trying times, we should not have to wait on an answer from the Board of Regents. We need to know now, not tomorrow and not weeks or months from now, whether or not we will need to search for a new president along with a new provost.
The Staff Congress has already endorsed a renewal of Dunn’s contract, and both the Faculty Senate and the Student Government could make decisions in support of or in opposition to Dunn in the coming weeks, should they so choose.
Why the silence from the Board of Regents? If the three constituency bodies of this university are prepared to make their voices heard and recommend staying the course or changing it, why hasn’t the Board of Regents weighed in?
Call us cynical, but we feel politics has a bit to do with it. The Board of Regents is running down the clock on making a decision for tactical reasons, not for reasons that are in the best interest of Murray State students.
In these times, we cannot afford political brinkmanship on the part of the Board of Regents – doing so would only further complicate the situation on campus by fogging up the vital questions facing Murray State going into the next academic year.
Should we search for a new president while we’re searching for a new provost? We would like to know the answer to this question, regardless of what that answer is. We have written a lot about transparency this semester, and frankly, we’re tired of asking those we expect to help us improve ourselves with an education why they cannot provide us with a simple answer.
The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.