If you’re curious who the chancellor of our university is, don’t feel alone. 

Known only to some by the flash of his Converse, our esteemed Chancellor has become quite the elusive personality on campus. But there is more to the story than his choice of footwear. Dr. Haefner’s rise to the Chancellor position in 2019 has far more in common with the fast-track paths to power we study in our international relations courses than it does with any democratic process. 

Now, I know what you are thinking: a dictatorship comparison is an intense one to draw. The extreme level of corruption, deceit and harm that exists within an authoritarian political system, thankfully, has not made its way to the University of Denver. However, I would like to highlight that DU has done quite a great job in educating how to identify dictatorial structures and their development. 

When I heard about DU’s handling of the transition of power between chancellors in 2019, I could not help but draw uncanny parallels – power concentrated in the hands of a few, minimal input from the community, and a serious absence of transparency. In an ironic twist, the University of Denver, “a great private university dedicated to the public good,” appointed Chancellor Haefner behind closed doors. Where was faculty involvement or student opinion? 

So, where did democracy go? This takes me back to May 2019, when DU, in a campus community message, announced that they would be launching a search to replace previous Chancellor Rebecca Chopp, who stepped down citing health concerns. 

For a hot minute, faculty and community members believed they would be incorporated into the search for who would lead our university. DU’s Faculty Senate and American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter were reassured that they would be consulted. A signal of course, that at least on paper, DU valued “shared governance.”

Fast-forward just a month later to June 2019: Dr. Haefner is declared the official Chancellor by the Board of Trustees. A slap in the face to faculty representatives, the entire search process is skipped over, and the DU community’s expectations are blatantly disregarded. 

The AAUP, obviously frustrated, wrote a letter on June 15, 2019, to call out this hypocrisy. As they put it in the letter, these actions taken by the university “erode faculty confidence in decision-makers.” These actions, ignoring faculty and community voices, jeopardize the health of our community considering many faculty are here for decades, while chancellors are often on a four-year cycle. Who is truly more invested in DU’s future? 

The AAUP, a group dedicated to preserving faculty rights to shared governance, academic freedom and due process, was left in the dark, and understandably disturbed. Their letter addressed to the Board chair at the time, Denise M. O’Leary, highlighted that this appointment for chancellor broke search guidelines jointly formulated by Trustees and Faculty Senate leaders in September 2003. DU failed to reflect any commitment to inclusivity or transparency.

How can the University of Denver claim to uphold the values of shared governance if our leaders are appointed without any community input? Where were the student voices? Where was an open application? 

Another breath of fresh, illegitimate air, the AAUP’s letter also highlights a double standard at play. For a position held by a woman, DU followed the search guidelines established in 2003. Chancellor Emerita Rebecca Chopp had to jump through all the hoops. But Chancellor Haefner? All doors open for a man.

Why apply stringent standards to one senior role and not the other? A troubling question for our community to be concerned about. What does gender equity within DU’s leadership processes look like? 

Even the timing of the announcement was questionable. By having a surprise reveal for Chancellor Haefner’s official appointment in June, the board was excellent in shielding their decision within the forgotten months of summer. These kinds of closed-door decisions don’t exactly foster community trust or inclusiveness. The campus community could not be more removed from our administration’s decisions. If DU genuinely values transparency, why the secrecy?

My question is, how much does the administration actually value our voices? The University of Denver teaches us to identify and critique systems of power that operate without transparency or democratic input, but that’s only okay in the classroom, right? It is a complete irony that we are equipped with this knowledge but then requested to not use it. 

At the University of Denver, administrators and board members come and go, but the faculty, students and staff remain the lasting pillars of our community. Chancellor Haefer, however, qualified he may be for the position, was appointed in a way that is completely out of line with DU’s values. How are we going to foster a culture of true inclusivity if our leaders are not chosen in a way that reflects those values? 

Because let’s be real, if our leadership cannot embrace open and transparent processes, our university will never be a place where everyone’s voice counts. Have a few million? That’s what it costs to have an opinion.