UMass-Boston Faculty to President: No Confidence

Following up on last week's decision to postpone a vote, faculty at UMass-Boston issued a no-confidence measure against University president Jack Wilson, slapping down his proposal to restructure the five campuses that make up the University of Massachusetts.

Members of the Faculty Council approved the measure during the Monday afternoon meeting, which was attended by about 70 professors. Votes were cast by the 29 faculty representatives that compose the council, according to the Globe. Precisely how many voted in favor of the measure isn't clear at this point, but the Globe describes the measure as "overwhelmingly" pro-approval (which in this case, means overwhelmingly against Wilson).

Wilson's plan, as we told you last week, includes shaking up leadership within the university system, putting UMass-Amherst in a leading role as part of the system. The other campuses would round out the system. UMass-Boston professiors view the measure as painting the city campus as a lesser school.

Faculty said today that they were angry that Wilson kept them out of discussions that led to the reorganization concept - Wilson said through his spokesman today that he understood that criticism, but that the plan is only in the preliminary stages.

UMass-Amherst faculty have already cast a resounding vote against Wilson and his proposal, which means that those teaching at two of the five campuses have spoken out against the measure. State legislators from the western part of the state are also opposed to the idea, as they view it as "a serious mistake that undermines the mission of our public university system."