President David Schmidly denounced the escalation of what he called the "us-versus-them" politics that have developed between faculty, staff and administrators, during a regents' meeting on Dec. 18.
The meeting was held six days after the forum where Schmidly was booed while trying to address faculty, staff and student concerns about the University's finances.
Schmidly said the meeting reflected the anxiety and concern among employees but that the mood at the forum was not constructive and will make it harder for administrators to work with faculty and staff during this difficult time.
"I think it's unfortunate that there's a lot of information included in what I call this us-versus-them approach to trying to address these issues, when what we really need to do (is have) all of us working together to the extent that we can collaborate to address these issues," Schmidly said.
Regent Mel Eaves said the "witch hunt" atmosphere of the forum was uncalled for and derailed the administration's attempt to communicate with the University community.
"The crowd showed a hostility at that meeting that was troubling because we're all trying to have the very best school that we can have," Eaves said. "I think people that work for this institution - faculty, staff and students - are outstanding, and why would there be such hostility at a meeting of that sort which was called by our president for the purpose of having a dialogue with the University community?"
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ASUNM President Ashley Fate said she was disappointed by the show of "blatant disrespect" for Schmidly at the forum.
"I think that faculty members standing in the crowd - if you were at Woodward Hall and trying to speak to your students, and even if you aren't the most popular faculty member, you can expect a certain amount of respect," Fate said. "If they're laughing at you and they're booing you and they're hissing at you, it's impossible to teach. It's impossible to get your message across, and I think that just because you're a faculty member, there is this certain level of respect that you can expect from the students and . the president deserves that mutual respect at least as much."
Howard Snell, president of the Faculty Senate, said that if the administration wanted to diffuse the situation they needed to improve their methods of communication and assure employees that their opinions would be considered during economic decisions.
"I've heard the term 'hostility.' I've heard the term 'fear.' I would phrase it as 'frustration,'" Snell said. "I sort of see frustration at all levels . and I think that frustration will break down when you increase the communication, but that communication depends upon the confidence of all levels that their contributions will influence the decision."
Fate said the administration needs to be allowed to do its job without being second-guessed every step of the way.
"I've seen, since the beginning of President Schmidly's administration, so much controversy over the changes he's trying to make," she said. "There's no doubt that this University needs change - that we have potential and that we can live up to this potential. We need to make changes and with change comes opposition, but also with change comes opportunity. So, please, give the administration the opportunity to make positive changes."
Schmidly said he is aware of the growing anxiety in the University community over his decisions to harvest money from department surpluses and scale back on hiring. However, he asserted he is using his best financial judgment to prepare for what may be a disappointing outcome of the 60-day legislative session that is scheduled to start in Santa Fe on Jan. 20.
"We still don't know for certain what's going to happen, but we've laid out some short-term provisions for a mid-year rescission," Schmidly said. "The biggest challenge is going to be next year. We've got to examine our options . but we need to do that in a calm and collective atmosphere. There's no reason to panic, posture or engage in unnecessary rage. Us-versus-them approaches are going to be totally counter-productive as we move forward."
