OU faculty members are using an open letter to the university's Board of Regents to push for a more open presidential search process and request that the OU community have access to candidates.
Suzette Grillot, dean of OU's College of International Studies, released the letter in a Feb. 5 email to university faculty. According to the email, Grillot and other faculty drafted the letter because of "concerns about a potentially closed search process," and will send it to the regents by Feb. 16.
The letter, which is also a petition that can be signed by the OU community, notes that faculty expected to play a more active role in OU's ongoing search to replace President David Boren, and believed that conversations about the next president would be made more public. Faculty found it "disappointing and demoralizing" that the search committee would operate in secrecy and would not release the names of its presidential candidates, according to the letter.
"It is inconceivable that the next president of a university worthy of its excellent reputation would be selected behind closed doors, shrouded in secrecy," the letter reads.
The letter requests that the regents amend the situation by releasing the names of the final candidates for the position and allowing the OU community, including students, faculty, alumni and donors, to meet them.
"A secret process does not establish a new president’s tenure on a solid foundation, but rather limits the new president’s capacity from the first day in office ... the president represents a wide array of interests and must be equipped with a range of skills that can only be sufficiently displayed through a public process of engagement and discussion," the letter reads. "Members of the university community, therefore, should be able to question and review the values, vision, experience and qualifications of their leaders."
The letter concludes with a final request for transparency and for an opportunity for public forums and discussion times for all presidential candidates, noting that OU is not "a closed, exclusionary and secretive campus" but "an accessible, inclusive and respectful community."
Grillot has previously raised concerns about the search process on Twitter.
The OU community deserves to be a part of this important process. It is only through transparency and openness that we achieve the best outcomes. Secrecy breeds mistrust and perpetuates a sense of exclusion. This is not a foundation upon which OU’s new president should build. https://t.co/2BJ3WjsBit
— Suzette Grillot (@suzettegrillot) January 25, 2018
Correction: This article was updated at 9:57 a.m. to reflect that the petition is open to all members of the OU community, not just to faculty members.
