By Raven TysonAssistant City Editor
In one of its boldest statements in the past few years, AssociatedStudents voted nearly unanimously last night on a resolution of noconfidence in Provost Nancy Marlin, the second highest universityadministrator.
With only one student vote of opposition, the 37-member councilpassed a resolution stating that the Division of Academic Affairs –under Marlin’s leadership — makes decisions without includingstudents and has failed to diversify faculty.
One by one, councilmembers expressed dissatisfaction about the wayMarlin has handled the academic needs of students, specifically theavailability of classes, the university’s new admission policies andthe ethnic mix of tenure-track faculty.
“She brought this upon herself,” councilmember Jerome Budomo said.
Marlin and University President Stephen Weber both releasedstatements yesterday voicing disappointment regarding the council’svote.
“This resolution is both unfortunate in its tone and lacking infoundation,” Weber said. “I am disappointed that the A.S. chose topursue its concerns in such a confrontational and counterproductivemanner.
“A better approach would have been to continue to engage on thisissue through the university’s shared governance process — anagreed-upon process in which students have a voice.”
Councilmember Adelle Gomelsky, who authored the resolution, saidA.S. has told Marlin about student concerns, but they have not beenaddressed.
In her statement, Marlin defended the decisions of AcademicAffairs regarding enrollment policies, but did not address thecouncil’s concerns about faculty diversity or communication betweenthe administration and students.
Since the new policies were developed within the University Senateand its committees, shared governance occurred because A.S.representatives sit on the decision-making groups, she said.
“Enrollment management is a complex issue, and it isunderstandable that there may still be questions and concerns,”Marlin said. “As always, I continue to be open to working with ourstudents to address these questions and concerns.”
The last time an A.S. council voted on a resolution of noconfidence against a campus administrator was in 1992 against formerUniversity President Thomas Day, A.S. Executive Director DanCornthwaite said.
“We wanted to show her that we are serious,” Gomelsky said. “Theseare huge issues — these are huge issues that affect everyone thatcomes to school.”
The resolution calls for the collaboration of A.S. President RonWilliams and the Office of the Provost in developing an action planto address the council’s concerns and restore the council’sconfidence in Marlin.
Councilmember Chris Cuzner — the only student who voted againstthe resolution — said the students he represents on A.S. are notbeing ignored by Marlin.
Cuzner, who represents the Residence Hall Association, saidstudents living on campus have the most contact with the provost’sdepartment and don’t feel as though they’re being neglected orundermined.
“I feel as though the resolution should be a unanimous vote amongall students and not just the representatives,” he said.
Two councilmembers abstained from voting — Vice President forStudent Affairs James Kitchen and University Senate Designee PatrickPapin.
Marlin has been on campus since July 1998. She presides over thecabinet in Weber’s absence and serves as a liaison between theadministration and the University Senate.
“Nancy Marlin is recognized as one of the finest provosts in theUnited States,” Weber said. “San Diego State University is fortunateto have such a highly regarded and superbly capable chief academicofficer. She has my complete confidence.”
At one point during the council’s discussion, members suggesteddirecting the vote of no confidence against the entire Division ofAcademic Affairs, including Marlin.
“The more people you piss off, the worse your life is going tobe,” Cuzner said. “This is a political game. If you guys want toinclude more and more people on this, you are going to be making anyaction you try to do in the future that much harder to do.”
