On Wednesday, June 4, the University of Denver’s Faculty Senate voted to express no confidence in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.
Only senators who attended the May 30 meeting were able to vote on the issue. Of the 83 that submitted votes, 58% (48) voted yes, 35% (29) voted no and 7% (6) abstained.
Now that the motion has passed, the Faculty Senate will soon call for an “anonymous referendum of the full faculty of the University of Denver on the question of no confidence in Jeremy Haefner.” This will look like another Qualtrics online vote sent to the entirety of the DU faculty.
On Thursday morning, the Board of Trustees sent an email to faculty and staff. The statement echoed comments previously made by board representatives, continuing to emphasize the need to collaborate with the chancellor and warning of the potential harms that could come to the university as a result of a vote of no confidence.
“Such action could critically damage the university — and all its stakeholders — at a time of great vulnerability,” the email read.
Notably, the email did not contain any claims that faculty dissatisfaction is informed by misleading or inaccurate information, a significant point of contention at the meeting on May 30 that triggered the vote.
The email further encouraged faculty to consider statements made at the meeting and to consider the resolution passed unanimously last week in support of the chancellor when casting their votes.
“We are unwavering in our belief and confidence that he is the right leader for DU now and going forward,” the email stated.
While the email was sent too late to change the outcome of the vote made by faculty senators, it might still affect remaining faculty members, all of whom will now individually decide whether to express no confidence in Chancellor Haefner.
This isn’t the first time that the Faculty Senate has voted to express no confidence in a chancellor at DU. In 1984, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to fire Chancellor Ross Pritchard after faculty voted no confidence and demanded he resign.
In 2017, researchers examined 57 colleges and universities, finding that in over half the instances in which there was a vote of no confidence, executive leadership changed within 6 months.
The vote for individual faculty members has not yet been scheduled. The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), which employs the largest number of faculty, has already voted twice to express no confidence.
