Questions surround election
Faculty examines e-mail campaigning, candidate for Academic
Senate post
By Jennifer K. Morita
Daily Bruin Staff
Questions surrounding the Academic Senate vice chair run-off
elections arose recently when an administrator campaigned for a
candidate in what some senate members say is an intrusion into
faculty affairs.
When School of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Dean
J.D. Mackenzie sent an e-mail message to faculty encouraging them
to cast their ballots in favor of a candidate from the department,
some concerns were raised.
None of the original three candidates for vice chair were able
to get a majority of the faculty votes in their recent elections.
As a result, Peretz Friedmann, a professor in the Mechanical
Aerospace Nuclear Engineering department and Professor of Education
Aimee Dorr are the remaining two candidates in the run-off
election.
In his e-mail letter, Mackenzie stated that it is important for
the School of Engineering and Applied Science to have a strong
voice in the senate. "Please vote for your fellow engineer," the
message read.
Although there is no specific regulation prohibiting
administration from campaigning, some feel it shouldn’t be
done.
"It’s just inappropriate," Academic Senate spokeswoman Lauren
Fair said. "It’s a faculty election. The administration will work
with whoever the faculty elects."
Dorr described expressing one’s opinion as an administrator
"delicate."
"A dean is a member of the Academic Senate and has a vote," Dorr
said. "They have as much concern who’s vice chair and chair as
faculty. Of course they have a different position because they’re
also administration and have certain kinds of powers over
resources."
Academic Senate voting is done through secret ballots.
Individual faculty ballots are returned to the senate office, where
election officials count the votes.
"Nobody knows how anyone voted," Friedmann said. "Faculty
members will make up their minds and will vote either way he or she
feels the vote should go."
Other faculty members, like Bruce Rothschild, encourage dialogue
about elections and issues.
"They have a right to discuss appointments with colleagues,"
said Rothschild, whose position on the senate is to see that
elections run according to senate by-laws. "My feeling is the more
the merrier in terms of discussion."
But more questions also arose about Friedmann’s candidacy. Zvi
Shiller, an associate professor in his department expressed
dissatisfaction with Friedmann in a response to Mackenzie’s
message.
"Do you truly believe that Friedmann, who does not know how to
interact with people in a civilized manner, ruled the department in
an autocratic manner, destroying faculty morale and harassed staff
and faculty who could not stand up to him at the time, has the
skills to chair the academic senate?" Shiller asked Mackenzie.
"Faculty morale dropped to the very bottom," Shiller said in an
interview. "It couldn’t have dropped any lower."
The only problem Professor George Apostolakis of the same
department said he had with Friedmann was the way he dealt with
people.
"He was a little rude at times but he’s a hard worker,"
Apostolakis said. "In an academic environment you really have to be
very low-key and try to convince people to do things. He was more
like ordering people around."
Mechanical Aerospace Nuclear Engineering Department Chairman
Vijay Dhir said he knows Friedmann would do his best if he is
elected to Academic Senate vice chairman.
"He’s a very energetic and sincere person," Dhir said. "He tried
his best to do things but some people did not like the way he did
them."
In an election, there will always be someone against another
person’s nomination, Friedmann said.
"Everyone has a vote and is welcome to vote against me,"
Friedmann said. "When you are a department chair, some people
aren’t happy with what you do because you cannot accommodate
everybody.
"Academia everywhere is somewhat political," Friedman added.
"But our politics are fairly benign compared to ‘real life.’"
New ballots were sent out to faculty Friday and are due back in
the Academic Senate Office by 5 p.m. on May 5.