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[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Des Moines Register.]

Here's a small bit of that analysis.

Regent Michael Gartner said in his "Iowa Press" interview, "The issue is who governs the University of Iowa, the Regents or . . . the faculty." You editorialize ("On U of I Search: Let's Take a Timeout," Dec. 18), "members of the faculty . . . insist they be allowed to appoint their own boss."

Both statements are factually flat wrong, unfairly pejorative, and overly simplistic.

There are many reasons why I have characterized Faculty Senate President Shelly Kurtz' statement regarding the no confidence vote as "the single most important document" for those seeking to understand the issues. See http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2006/12/ui-president-search-xiv.html. One reason is his opening statement that "the Regents have the statutory responsibility to select our next president."

(The past practice of "involving" the faculty in the "search process" -- while leaving the Regents "to select" the president -- can be judged by its results: a relatively smooth and timely process producing presidents subsquently hired away by some of the nation's most prestigeous institutions. For a faculty member merely to refer to that history is a far cry from saying the "faculty . . . insist they . . . appoint their own boss.")

In fact, I have not seen, heard, or read anything from any member of the faculty suggesting that the faculty should either "govern" or "appoint their own boss" at the University. That untrue, oft-repeated, straw-man diversion gets in the way of understanding what's going on.

As the Register's stories have reported, one major issue involves thinking through, articulating and then applying, the most appropriate governance model for the Regents-University relationships. (The present one is somewhere between "broken" and "non-existent.")

But another major issue, that President Kurtz' statement details, consists of a long list of Regents' actions and statements (going well beyond the search itself) that any reasonable person would find totally unacceptable under any governance model in any institution, corporate or academic. They, too, must be addressed.

For more analysis, a virtually complete record of the coverage and documents, and a very lively flow of commentary regarding the blog entries and issues, take a look at FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com.

Nicholas Johnson
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(Nicholas Johnson is not a member of the UI Faculty Senate, and does not speak for the University of Iowa in any capacity. These are his opinions as a Hawkeye literally born in the University Hospital and with continuing affection for the institution thereafter.)
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For additional information: www.nicholasjohnson.org and FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com