UPDATED: March 21, 2018 at 2:46 p.m.

SUNY-ESF’s Academic Governance body approved the first steps in voting no confidence in President Quentin Wheeler for the second time in less than two years.

The vote, conducted Tuesday at the body’s meeting in Gateway Center, is the latest example of faculty’s frustration with Wheeler and years-long tensions with college administrators. The body’s executive committee will soon present the formal vote of no confidence resolution at a future AG meeting, according to its governing documents.

AG first voted no confidence in Wheeler in November 2016, citing what they said were examples of poor leadership. Conflict between faculty and administrators continued since the 2016 vote, most notably in the wake of the administration’s controversial decision earlier this year to remove three faculty department chairs just days before the start of the spring semester.  

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Members passed the motion on Tuesday with 47 votes in favor of triggering the vote of no confidence process. Of the other AG members that handed in ballots, 11 voted against the motion and one abstained.

The motion to begin the vote of no confidence process came at the objection of Undergraduate Student Association members present at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I don’t think anyone in Albany or in the Syracuse community, let alone on this campus, (has) any doubt of your lack of confidence in the president,” said Ryan Hicks, USA’s director of external affairs, as he addressed AG. “As opposed to getting bogged down with another formal expression of your lack of confidence, I see there being more productive uses for this body.”

USA has commended both SUNY-ESF administration and faculty efforts to quell tensions on campus in recent weeks.

Vote to remove AG’s executive chair

AG spent about 40 minutes discussing the validity of the recent vote to remove Klaus Döelle, its former executive chair. The body on Tuesday ultimately voted to uphold the results of the February ballot, despite questions about its legality within the organization’s bylaws.

The body’s governing documents require two-thirds of membership to vote on an officer’s or committee member’s removal. Only 102 of AG’s 171 voting members participated in the February vote to remove Döelle, but some of the members who didn’t vote could have been on sabbatical or other forms of leave, some AG members said.

The body’s executive committee received two complaints against Döelle in February, according to an email obtained by The Daily Orange.

The formal complaint to the committee stated that Döelle was never formally appointed in proper AG procedure, had not taken steps in regard to some of the administration’s actions and “exhibits a lack of understanding of basic processes associated with the Bylaws and Standing Rules of Academic Governance,” among other things, according to an email obtained by The D.O.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the number of Academic Governance voting members who participated in the February vote to remove former Executive Chair Klaus Döelle was misstated. Of the 171 voting members, 102 participated in the vote. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 20, 2018 at 9:27 pm

Contact Jordan: [email protected] | @jordanmuller18