Members of the Faculty Senate vote on amendments to their resolution in Bryant Hall at the University of Mississippi, Tuesday, March 24, 2015. (DM Photo | Kayla Beatty)
The University of Mississippi’s Faculty Senate approved a resolution asking the Institutions of Higher Learning to immediately renew Chancellor Dan Jones’ contract without opposition at their meeting Tuesday night.
Senate Chair Michael Barnett dove right into the issue after a brief call to order, reviewing the problem, Jones’ accomplishments and public statements of support made by other organizations.
“There is a great deal of support that has been generated for Chancellor Dan Jones,” Barnett said. “Tonight, I hope that we will be joining in that and adding our voice to that support.”
Associated Student Chairman of External Affairs Austin Powell and Staff Council President Carl Hill both read resolutions written by their organizations in support of Jones.
Before introducing the resolution, Barnett said it was clear that faculty were upset about the IHL board decision to fire Jones and wanted to take action.
“Over the past four days, starting Friday around 4 o’clock, I have received in excess of 400 different forms of communication from faculty throughout this campus, the medical center and regional campuses expressing their concern and anger over these actions,” Barnett said.
The two-page resolution, written over the weekend by the Faculty Senate Executive Council, expresses shock at the non-renewal of Jones’ contract.
“We tried to embody the spirit of the community and communications we have received which have expressed uniform support of Chancellor Jones,” said Vice Chairman Oliver Dinius. “We highlighted the success of Jones in the broadest possible fashion so that it would relate to the most people without getting too particular.”
The last lines of the resolution call for the renewal of Jones’ contract:
“We teach our students that hard work and demonstrable success will be rewarded. The Faculty Senate of the University of Mississippi calls on the Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning to act by those values and affirm its commitment to the future of our students, institution and state by renewing the contract of Chancellor Dan Jones.”
A few members of the Senate took time to speak about why they believed the faculty should support Jones.
“I’ve been immensely impressed by his openness, transparency, incredible leadership and intelligence,” said Greg Love, chair of committee on university services. “The fact that he comes to the Senate and entertains our discussions and arguments is refreshing and surprising. When it comes to the faculty it’s hard to imagine a stronger supporter.”
At least one senator expressed his skepticism to his colleagues about the legitimacy of the resolution.
“I have the utmost respect for the chancellor. However, in this particular situation there are a few fundamental concerns that I have,” said Sen. Dwight Frink. “For one, we don’t know anything that happens behind closed doors so we’re asking the board to review things based on information we don’t have, which makes me concerned.”
Within 45 minutes, Senate members read, discussed, amended and approved the resolution. Out of the 53-member Senate, 45 voted in favor of the resolution, 2 abstained and no one opposed.
