The UNR Chapter Board of the Nevada Faculty Alliance continues to be deeply concerned about the failure of shared governance in leadership searches at UNR. In our previous post, we noted that UNR–which has seen record turnover in dean and vice president positions since 2020–has not consistently been following the processes set in place by college and university bylaws in leadership searches. In particular, the administration has not been taking into consideration stakeholder input, which is paramount for hiring the strongest candidates who have the qualities to lead while being respected as leaders in their fields.

UNR’s leadership continues to hire leaders “over the reasoned opposition of the faculty” (AAUP, “Faculty Participation”). We saw this in the hiring of Dean Erick Jones in Engineering, who was not recommended as a finalist by the search committee. The result of this search was national embarrassment and a precipitous decline in morale among College of Engineering faculty. We have now seen this in the hiring of a permanent Dean for the College of Liberal Arts, which has seen a decline in morale, the loss of many faculty, and program cuts that have limited course options for students in the past two years. The hiring of the current Interim Dean to this position despite the availability of stronger external candidates has reinforced perceptions that UNR leadership does not value the college, its faculty, or shared governance more generally.  

Although we could point to a number of ways in which this process was flawed, the greatest concerns are that: 

• The search committee was disbanded before the candidates visited campus, which arguably violates CLA and UNR bylaws that state: “Upon completing the search process, the committee shall present the Provost with an unranked list of those applicants it considers best suited for the position of dean” (UNR Bylaws 3.6.4, emphasis added).
  
• Despite the search committee’s requests, the Provost refused to meet with them to solicit their thoughts on the candidates;
  
• The two strongest external candidates, who were broadly considered to have performed far better than the internal candidate during their open forums and meetings with the CLA chairs, were not extended an offer.

We reiterate the calls made in our previous statement:

• Search committees and public forums should continue to exist for all leadership positions at the Dean level or above, or those that have a campus-wide role. This will not only uphold our principles of shared governance but will also create a faculty and staff who will be more confident in leadership and more supportive of initiatives.
  
• Search committee chairs must work closely with committees through every step of the process. 
  
• Search committees should represent a diversity of perspectives and have a strong role in the hiring process. 
  
• Stakeholder surveys should be conducted and, even more important, that feedback should be central to the hiring process. Summaries should also be released to the campus community. 
  
• Any person involved in the hiring process must disclose personal connections or conflicts of interest that may influence their hiring of a particular candidate and recuse themselves from a decision-making role.
  

We affirm our belief that a meaningful commitment to shared governance can assist UNR’s leadership in correcting course and restoring our faith in the hiring of future leaders.