Look at UT Arts & Sciences sought

5/10/2008

University of Toledo President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs yesterday told members of the Arts and Sciences Council that he intends to have an outside review of the college in the fall to help shed some light on issues with the dean.

Dr. Jacobs said a review from an objective third party would round out everyone's interests in a public report that could look at the college's leadership, organization, productivity, and mission, among other things.

It was the first meeting of the UT administration and the council since it voted no confidence in the College of Arts and Sciences dean, Yueh-Ting Lee, on April 15.

The council had requested a meeting with Provost Rosemary Haggett to elaborate on the reasons the vote was taken and passed 42-7.

The council sent the provost minutes of its meetings and a memo detailing six concerns with examples, including poor management skills and bad relations within the college.

Instead, yesterday's meeting included several administrators and members of news media, which members of the council said was not what they were seeking.

Ms. Haggett said after the meeting that she felt she had sufficient knowledge of why the council took the vote and that this meeting was meant to be an on-the-record response to the vote.

Dr. Jacobs started the meeting by saying that he takes the vote of no confidence as very serious input and that the administration is seeking additional input from other people who work with Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee spoke once during the meeting, saying while he respectfully disagrees with the council, he will take responsibility for his shortcomings.

"I'll be glad to use this as an opportunity to improve myself in the future," he said.

Renee Heberle, associate professor of political science and public administration, told Dr. Jacobs that the vote should not be considered simply input and that an external review of the college is not the appropriate response to concerns regarding the dean's performance.

"This is not about the college, this is about the dean," she said.

The meeting was abruptly ended by Dr. Jacobs after nearly an hour of sometimes heated discussions. Lawrence Anderson-Huang, professor of physics and astronomy who recently was elected chairman of the council, said he wished the meeting hadn't gotten so emotional and that it would have focused more on the dean's performance because that is all the council is concerned about. "Rather than bringing us in, I found this confrontational," he said.

Contact Meghan Gilbert at:

mgilbert@theblade.com

or 419-724-6134.