Many professors, faculty and students are concerned, and rightly so, about the early and unexpected resignation of President Paul [W.] Ferguson and the questions that he and the Board of Trustees leave behind. The secretive and clearly inner political stance taken by the president and the board pose questions that need to be answered. But there is much more to be asked. One thought has fallen astray from the minds of many – the inexcusable financial repercussions of President Ferguson’s unanticipated leave.
See the round-up of all of our coverage of Ferguson's resignation.
As our country continues to push toward affordable education, I cannot help but think of the disgusting misuse of funds here at Ball State. This incident is an opportune time to bring awareness to the lack of respect toward students and the amount of money that they pour into the university each year.
Let’s start by taking a look at what goes into hiring a university president. The typical requirements of a search committee are as follows: a committee chair must be appointed, who in turn selects a committee of an unknown number of people to assist in the search; the committee charge then sets guidelines on how the search will take place (qualities, breadth of search, number of candidates they are willing to review, etc.), then the extremely time-consuming and lengthy search process begins. The candidates are then required to go through extensive background and references checks while being interviewed – often happening around the country, with the process ending in a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
There is no transparency within this process – excluding the student’s voice. This process requires immense financial support by, guess who, we the students. The university just went through the hiring process not even two years ago, and here we are doing it yet again.
President Ferguson’s severance package was released to the public just days after his resignation. Past presidents have received an annual salary of $450,000. His severance package, unless he finds employment, includes a $450,000 payment. If he were to find other employment, the package would reflect the amount of time it took to transition into another career.
While Ferguson is on his unexplained two-month sabbatical, he stands to make $75,000 even though he will not be able to lawfully act on behalf of Ball State University. Along with this exorbitant amount of money — a portion of that received for doing absolute nothing — incentives such as unused vacation days and insurance premiums could allow the ex-president to receive an additional half a million dollars from the university.
A list of Dr. Ferguson’s achievements and contributions to Ball State was recently released this week. I find this to be a gross attempt at “soothing” the burn that students and faculty are feeling. Any number of his “achievements” could be overruled by an incoming president, rendering Ferguson’s efforts void. In simpler terms, the university spent over a million dollars of student’s money for nothing.
Since the former president and Board of Trustees have decided to mask the reasons why Ferguson will be abruptly departing, it is only fair to hold the Board of Trustees just as accountable for the recent event. The board has clearly lost sight of the single most important key that must exist in order for a university to function: students. The email from the board’s president, Rick Hall, to the students was nothing more than a slap in the face protocol letter. How can we “continue our support” for a group of people who have lost absolute touch with what the fundamental function of a university is?
My final issue is in Dr. Kings’ email to the Ball State community regarding the resignation and his appointment as interim president. Just as the board of trustee’s letter was a clear formality, Dr. King’s followed suit. It was an obvious attempt to screen the real inner-collegiate politics governing the mistreatment of student tuition money. It’s easy for Dr. King to say, “The future is bright at Ball State, and we’re glad you’re here,” with the backing of his $320,000 salary being contributed to by the students.
While I feel that the covering up of the situation is unacceptable, I do not think that it can begin to compare to the gross mistreatment of funds at Ball State. I hope that this letter ignites a spark in the minds of students. I encourage students to research exactly where their money is going. A great starting point is the salaries of upper management and the alarming number of people that the university has hired for these positions.
Perhaps this is a starting point for people to understand the true cause of the disturbing increase in tuition costs. The event of Dr. Ferguson's resignation is a pronounced example of the shift from a student centered university to an institution that has forgotten its students. It is truly an era of greed, power, and secrets. Let’s turn this into a time of awareness, affordability, and most importantly, accountability.
Respectfully,
Jacob Gretencord
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