Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter blew up with student responses after the March 15 Board of Regents meeting where a vote was made to not extend President Randy Dunn’s contract.
Student Regent and Student Government Association president Jeremiah Johnson voted to not extend Dunn’s contract at the Board meeting.
Johnson and six other board members voted in favor of the non-renewal.
Students, faculty and staff all turned to social media hoping to find answers. Comments on several news outlet website and Facebook pages proved many people had intense opinions on the discussion.
Many students were questioned Johnson’s vote, while many supported his decision.
Johnson said he spoke with the SGA and students from the regional campuses and based his vote on what he thought was best for the students.
SGA vice president Kevin Coughlin, said Murray State created a Student Senate to give students a voice on campus and to represent the students to the administration.
“It is impossible to represent a voice that chooses not to speak until after the decision has been made,” Coughlin said. “I urge anyone interested in expressing their voice to become a Senator either through your Residential College, or picking up paperwork in the Center for Student Involvement.”
Coughlin said he invites anyone with any issues to attend the Senate meetings at 5 p.m. in the Barkley Room on Wednesdays. Meetings are open to the public and events and other happenings on campus are discussed openly between senators.
Along with the support of Johnson and his decision many students felt he was wrong in the way he voted and on how he went about talking to students.
Cornelius Hocker, graduate student from Greenville, Ky., said to his knowledge, Johnson did not talk to anyone in the music department about the renewal of Dunn’s contract.
Hocker said members of SGA are supposed to serve as liaisons for the different student groups on campus, but he said no member has visited the group Phi Mu Alpha.
While many students attended the budget meetings held earlier in the week prior to the board meeting, several students were still unclear about what the board’s decision meant for their University president.
Matthew Thomas, graduate student from Murray, said on one hand, Johnson did not do his due diligence to find out what the student body thought during the year.
Thomas suggests a survey wcould have been sent out to the students.
Johnson confirmed no survey was sent to students, but when he asked SGA its opinion on Dunn, only one senator voted to renew his contract.
SGA has approximately 100 members, which include students involved with the Residential College Association and the Campus Activities Board.
“On issues that are important like this, Mr. Johnson should have made every effort to get as many of the students’ opinions as possible,” Thomas said. “That being said, he did not and had to rely on gut feeling. Now, I agree with the decision because even if people may disagree, I believed Murray State needed change.”
Thomas said he was still questioning the actions of the board.
David Madwell, senior from Owensboro, Ky., said the majority of the posts on Facebook that he saw were from alumni.
He said while he did hear some concerns from students in Phi Mu Alpha and other music students, he said he heard a lot of support from students in and outside of SGA.
Madwell, who serves as a senator in SGA, said he thinks Johnson voted fairly and wisely.
“I know this was not an easy vote,” Madwell said. “He did what he thought was best for students and I think it was an excellent choice.”
Story by Meghann Anderson, News Editor.