Concerns of faculty at Henderson State still unresolved after meeting

ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State University's board of trustees met privately Friday for more than an hour on personnel matters but said it took no action.

One trustee later criticized the board's lack of action.

During the public portion of its meeting, the board did not specifically address tenured faculty's recent no-confidence vote asking that President Glen Jones be given a one-year provisional contract and that three vice presidents be dismissed in light of a budget deficit that led to layoffs and other cuts.

"We appreciate all the comments and input we received in the last week," board Chairman Bruce Moore said before he adjourned the meeting.

Earlier, after the executive, or closed, session ended, Moore said the board will take up Jones' contract at the next regular meeting. Jones has a five-year contract that can be extended annually. After the meeting, Moore said any decision on the vice presidents' jobs is up to the president, not the board.

In an interview after the meeting, Trustee Brown Hardman said he doesn't think the board accomplished anything Friday. "I think we just left things in limbo. I think we're still going to have an upset campus," he said.

Henderson has "a problem," Hardman said. "I don't know what the specific problem is, but I do know there is a problem. ... There are some people who think everything is going perfectly. I'm not one of them.

"I blame the board of trustees" more than anyone else "because I don't think we have provided leadership," Hardman said. "I don't think you can ignore problems and hope they're going to go away. ... We should have at least addressed the elephant in the room, and we didn't.

"We tried to" discuss the faculty's personnel concerns in the executive session to no avail, Hardman said. Some trustees were satisfied the board had already done what it needed to do, he said.

Jones did not reply to a request for comment on his role in deciding whether to keep or fire the three vice presidents.

In an email sent to faculty and staff late Friday afternoon, he referred to "a number of financial challenges" the university has confronted this year.

"This has not been an easy process," Jones added. "My commitment to you is that we will work more closely together -- in the difficult times as well as in the good times -- to develop more meaningful and intentional communication across campus."

The university "has begun the process of preparing all employment contracts for the 2018-2019 academic year. Contracts are expected to be issued within the next two weeks," he said.

The board did approve a fiscal 2019 budget providing for $65,001,964 in expenditures, leaving the school with a $37,059 surplus. Based on a projected flat enrollment for this fall, the budget could change if enrollment increases or declines.

The university has seen declining enrollment in recent years and entered fiscal 2018 with a $3.2 million deficit. HSU recently laid off seven staff members and plans other cuts, including filling only job vacancies considered critical.

During the closed session, the board summoned Jones into the meeting but none of the three vice presidents.

Those vice presidents are Steve Adkison, provost and head of academic affairs; Brett Powell, who heads finance and administration, and student affairs; and Jennifer Boyett, who oversees university advancement and is executive director of the Henderson Foundation. Three trustees also are voting members of the foundation's board.

During the open meeting, the trustees did not allow anyone other than themselves, Jones, two vice presidents and the HSU attorney to comment, even though a 1958 alumnus and donor, Don Ruggles, had driven from Texarkana after making an emailed request to speak.

In the email, obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, Ruggles told Moore that he intended to attend and requested "just a few minutes to address the board members concerning the state of affairs for HSU."

The email was sent to the public address for the Little Rock city government, where Moore is city manager, and was copied to Jones. After the meeting ended, Ruggles asked Moore why Moore hadn't let him know he wouldn't get to speak.

Moore said he had not seen Ruggles' email. Moore told a reporter that the board never allows the public to speak at the meetings. He said trustees might consider allowing comments in the future but want to be sure they handle the situation "right."

Trustee Eddie Arnold said later, "Mr. Ruggles should have been allowed to speak."

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State Desk on 05/19/2018

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