The board met last Thursday in an open forum with students and faculty. The aim was to make the transition process more transparent, but it was apparent that wounds still run deep over the departure of former president Benjamin Ladner.
While we understand and share many of the concerns of the campus community, we feel it is immature to continue to complain about the Ladner saga. All parties do not have to agree on the minutiae of severence packages, but all parties need to work together if we want this process to move forward expeditiously.
We would like to commend the board for holding an open forum, as we suggested earlier, but we feel they should be better prepared should they call such a meeting again. Being told that Ladner's severence package was granted to facilitate the transition is just a party line trotted out for the umpteenth time. If the board wants these meetings to be more than organized shouting matches, they will come armed with solid information.
Seeing board members on campus is a good thing, and was not the case during Ladner's tenure. By gauging the tenor of the campus, the board will be able to better serve the faculty and students of our university.
