BY HANK REICHMAN

In 2017 California State University Chancellor Timothy White issued two controversial executive orders on general education and remediation that prompted a major backlash among faculty.  Many opposed the substance of the orders, but most concerning was the Chancellor’s failure to engage faculty governance on either the system or campus levels.  The CSU system Academic Senate (ASCSU), the California conference of the AAUP, and the California Faculty Association (CFA), as well as 22 of 23 campus senates, contended that the process that led to the adoption of the executive orders did not provide for adequate faculty consultation.

The ASCSU adopted a resolution at its September 14-15, 2017 meeting objecting to the flawed governance process and consultation, stating, “CSU faculty are experts and researchers in their fields who must be relied on when the system contemplates major changes in curriculum design.  We contend that the revision to EO 1100 and the newly released EO 1110 did not arise from the fulsome shared governance process needed to reflect faculty expertise, and therefore the Senate and the faculty it represents are compelled to reject changes in curricula that do not originate through such a fulsome process.  Changes to basic curriculum policy need thoughtful consideration informed by a nuanced understanding of the rationale and impacts of proposed changes on the quality of education that CSU campuses provide and that our students deserve.”

In a March 1, 2018 letter to White AAUP associate secretary Han-Joerg Tiede joined the ASCSU’s call to place the orders “into abeyance and defer their implementation date” and to “collaborate with the ASCSU in developing a plan for monitoring the efficacy of the changes in General Education and academic preparation curricula [so] that the details of this plan [could] be communicated to campus stakeholders early enough to be considered in campus curriculum planning.”

Opposition to the orders, especially the order regarding general education, has been most intense at the system’s Northridge campus, one of its largest with over 37,000 students, where the GE program has required that all students take at least two courses about gender, culture or languages of other peoples (Section F).  The campus gave students freedom to fulfill upper-division general education requirements with a broad range of courses; White’s order specified one course in science, one in the arts or humanities, and one in social sciences.  (See also posts by retired Northridge provost and acting president Harry Hellenbrand here and here.)

On February 14 the CSU Northridge faculty senate approved the following resolution:

RESOLUTION OF NO CONFIDENCE
IN THE CHANCELLOR OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

WHEREAS: California State University, made up of 23 campuses, educates 484,000 every year, and has one of the most diverse student bodies in the United States; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White mandated the implementation of EO 1110 and EO 1100R with insufficient consultation with faculty across the CSU, thus violating the role of faculty in shared governance; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White mandated the implementation of EO 1110 and EO 1100R with a timeline that was unrealistic and detrimental to the development of effective curricula that genuinely serve students’ educational needs and goals; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White mandated the implementation of EO 1100R without providing data to demonstrate how the changes would achieve the stated goals of equity, improved graduation rates, and reduced achievement gaps; and

WHEREAS: In forcing compliance, the Chancellor’s Office asserts that EO 1100R will promote “equity;” in fact, the Chancellor confuses “equity” with “uniformity.” In practice, “uniformity” violates the demands of equity by imposing a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the CSU system GE curriculum that includes 23 different universities with over 480,000 students in a minimum of 6 different regions of California; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White’s forced implementation of EO 1100R, unsubstantiated by data that show the changes in GE structure will help students, is unethical; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White advised President Harrison to commission the CSUN Task Force on GE as a path forward to resolve the impasse at CSUN regarding EO 1100R and the Task Force recommendations fulfilled the charge—to align CSUN GE requirements with the CA Ed Code and maintain Section F; yet, Chancellor White and his administration invalidated and undermined the Task Force on GE Recommendations in August 2018; and

WHEREAS: It took the organizing and activism of students and faculty for Chancellor White and his administration to recognize the uniqueness and value of Section F at CSUN and that the implementation of EO 1100R would have resulted in the loss of Section F with negative long term impacts to CSUN students, curriculum, and departments—particularly but not exclusively to Ethnic Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Queer Studies; and

WHEREAS: The implementation of EO 1100R with the CSUN exception to save Section F as authorized by Chancellor White and President Harrison does not save Section F; instead, implementation of EO 1100R with the CSUN exception would have significant negative impact and would undermine the 50 year legacy of struggle for Ethnic Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Queer Studies at CSUN; and

WHEREAS: Chancellor White and his administration have failed to meet in meaningful ways with concerned faculty and students at CSUN regarding EO 1110 and EO 1100R and ignored faculty and students numerous times at the Board of Trustees meetings; and

WHEREAS: The Chancellor of California State University, one of the nation’s largest and most diverse systems of higher education, has failed in his responsibility to demonstrate effective leadership particularly during a time of national crisis where white supremacy, racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia are normalized and enacted; therefore, be it

RESOLVED: That the Faculty at California State University, Northridge has no confidence in Chancellor Timothy White to lead CSU in a manner that enables our faculty, staff, and administrators to fulfill the mission at CSUN to “to enable students to realize their educational goals” and meet the University’s first priority “to promote the welfare and intellectual progress of students;” and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Faculty will welcome a new Chancellor who embraces shared governance in action as well as in word, transparency, inclusive decision-making, curricular changes based on data and impact studies, collaborative  and cooperative leadership, mutual trust and respect and will work actively to uphold the mission of CSU and address the issues identified in this resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED: That copies of the resolution be sent to the Board of Trustees, the Academic Senate of the California State University, CSU campus senate chairs, Chancellor White, CSUN President Dianne Harrison, American Association of University Professors (AAUP), California Chapter of the AAUP, Campaign for College Opportunity, Association of Governing Boards, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.