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1997: President Kenny with student leaders
and model of the Wang Center. - Tee-lik D. Ying |
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President Shirley Strum Kenny
Announces Retirement
Faculty Petition Against Her Now Moot |
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By James
Laudano
In a
mass
e-mail
sent to
all
Stony
Brook
students
University
President
Shirley
Strum
Kenny
announced
her
upcoming
retirement,
effective
June
2009.
Kenny
was the
first
female
President
of Stony
Brook
University
and has
served
in the
position
for
fourteen
years.
The
announcement
comes on
the
heels of
a few
particularly
difficult
academic
years
for
Kenny,
during
which
she came
under
intense
scrutiny
from New
York
officials
for her
handling
of a
controversy
involving
infant
mortality
rates at
the
University
Hospital
and also
from
hundreds
of
faculty,
students
and
staff
for her
decision
to
under-fund
the
College
of Arts
and
Sciences.
“I take
great
satisfaction
in Stony
Brook’s
achievements
over
these past
fourteen
years,”
said
Kenny.
In fact,
the
Kenny
era can
be seen
as one
of
unparalleled
expansion
in our
University’s
history.
The
campus
expanded
to
include
Stony
Brook
Southampton
and
Stony
Brook
Manhattan.
Buildings
such as
the Wang
Center,
the new
Humanities
Building
and the
rebuilt
Heavy
Engineering
Building
have
gone up
during
her
tenure.
However,
there
has been
some
backlash
from
students
and
faculty
over the
past few
years
when
Kenny
made the
choice
to
enroll
at over
100% of
the
school’s
capacity
each
subsequent
year.
The
resulting
strain
on
dormitory
and
facility
space
has left
some
questioning
whether
Stony
Brook
University
should
be
expanding
into
places
like
Southampton
while
there
remains
much
that
needs to
be done
on our
main
campus.
In the
past,
Kenny
has
taught
at the
Universities
of
Texas,
Delaware
and
Maryland.
She
holds
degrees
in
English
and
Journalism
and
earned
her
Ph.D.
from the
University
of
Chicago.
She has
published
five
books,
primarily
concerning
18th
century
English
drama.
Stony
Brook
has
undoubtedly
seen
many
academic,
athletic
and
aesthetic
improvements
during
Kenny’s
time as
President.
However,
as
mentioned
above,
her
tenure
did not
come
without
its fair
share of
contentious
issues.
It
remains
to be
seen who
will be
in
contention
for the
Presidency
upon
Kenny’s
leaving
office,
and it
is
perhaps
likely
we will
not know
who will
take the
position
until
shortly
before
June
2009.
New
Stony
Brook
Presidents
are
appointed
by the
State
University
Board of
Trustees
in
Albany,
based on
a
recommendation
from the
Stony
Brook
Council,
a sort
of local
stand-in
trustee
board.
As a
result
of
historic
student
activism,
students
are
represented
by one
member
of the
ten-person
board.
This
seat
usually
alternates
between
the
presidents
of the
undergraduate
and
graduate
student
governments.
If that
pattern
holds,
incoming
Undergraduate
Student
Government
President
Jeffery
Akita
will be
the
voice of
all
students
in the
presidential
selection
process.
One
Petition
Organizer
Explains
Loss
of
Confidence
in
Kenny
Thu, 05/15/2008 - 16:19.
By Michael Kelly
The following is an interview conducted by email with one of the professors who is working to mobilize other faculty members to sign the
petition entitled “Concerned Faculty of Stony Brook.” The petition expresses a loss of confidence in the leadership of President Shirley Strum Kenny, and has been signed by more than 100 faculty members.
The professor requested anonymity in exchange for his/her candid thoughts about the petition, and his/her responses have been unedited. The professor has signed the petition.
1)
How long have you been with the university?
Almost two decades. I’m a Full Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
2)
What Pres. Kenny action caused you to formulate your petition? I know there has been a history of grievances listed in the petition, but what action was it that pushed you far enough to start the petition? Also, did you act alone in starting the petition or is there a group of people who started it?
I did not actually write the petition, but am part of the core group of concerned faculty who are helping to gather signatures and mobilize our colleagues against the crisis.
The frustration of the faculty with President Kenny’s administration of the university has been building up over many years. At first, many of us were simply annoyed at the growing gap between her exaggerated PR-hype portrayal of the university and the hard-pressed realities we face as teachers and researchers in CAS—the College of Arts and Sciences—which is the core academic unit at Stony Brook. Our working conditions as scholars and teachers have long been probably the most austere among the nation’s leading research universities. In recent years, however, we have been hit by a number of deeper problems—hiring freezes on faculty, cutbacks in all kinds of resources, a shortage of classroom space—that are leading to a serious deterioration in the general educational environment at Stony Brook. Many of us have begun to believe that President Kenny, who is very occupied promoting a variety of costly pet projects that are not central to our educational mission—for example, the Southampton campus, Stony Brook-Manhattan, cheer leading squads, artificial “brooks,” and an array of prestigious-sounding professional programs—is out of touch with genuine faculty and student needs. Most importantly, there has been a rapid, poorly-planned expansion of the student body which has effectively raised the CAS student-faculty ratio by nearly 50%. That means a 50% fall in the quality of student education. The library—the heart and soul of any serious research and learning university—is being starved of resources and can no longer even serve current teaching needs. Even Kenny’s showcase private fund raising successes—such as the Wang Center-are cultural and social in nature, having little or nothing to do with academic needs. Students sense there’s something wrong, for example, in the chronically overcrowded classrooms and cafeterias. Professors wonder and wonder about the priorities here yet faculty opinion goes unheeded.
Concretely, many of us were shocked last summer when still another hiring freeze began after the resignation of the last provost, Bob McGrath. The university faculty desperately needs to grow again. During this academic year, we have sadly watched a substantial group of our most talented and dedicated faculty flee Stony Brook for more stable and better run universities. They are sick of the unfulfilled promises. Many of us who remain are demoralized. What drives faculty to action now is that this “crisis”—repeated a month ago with an emergency announcement of a new CAS budget deficit that almost canceled a quarter of next fall’s classes—seems so artificial to us. The University overall is actually doing well in resources, but that funding is not being given to CAS or other academic activities. We suspect it is, instead, going into President Kenny’s non-educational projects, most of which are losing propositions from a financial perspective. For example, the Southhampton campus scheme is now costing about $10 million a year, and the projected CAS budget gap that is causing these problems is around $8 million. There is an arcane and secretive administrative politics surrounding such numbers, but the basic math here is still pretty disturbing.
3)
What do you hope the petition to accomplish? To get Kenny to change her ways, to get her to step down, etc?
Good question. First, I think we need to publicize these issues so that an honest and public discussion can finally take place about Stony Brook’s challenges and future. We are already awakening good discussions in many departments. Second, we would like to see the CAS budget crisis quickly resolved by the infusion of resources our work deserves. CAS faculty are the teaching engine of the entire university. Our understanding is that President Kenny, with no oversight or balancing power, is withholding the needed funds. Third, it would serve the university well to begin an independent investigation of the financial management of the university, perhaps undertaken from Albany.
Personally--though I’m not talking here for the Committee--I would like to see Kenny step down. She has long alienated the faculty by her studied apathy of core educational concerns. She’s been here 13 years, yet promised never to outstay a decade. We need leadership that is concerned with the shrinking state of the real working university, not the imaginary always “fantastic” one she runs without professors and students in mind. Maybe we actually can become Long Island’s “Harvard” (a comparison administrators love), where recently a courageous faculty were able to remove, through heated debate, a damaging president.
4)
Do you have any fears about signing the petition/having Kenny find out it was you who started the petition?
Personally, I am not afraid of signing; I have tenure and firmly believe in the integrity of our academic freedom. Indeed, it is our intellectual responsibility as faculty to speak out.
5)
Did you find it difficult to get others to sign the petition? If so, what were the most common reasons for other professors’ trepidation?
The climate of fear among professors is palpable. For every person who has signed the “no confidence” petition, at least another has expressed fear of signing. They agree with its necessity and message, but President Kenny has earned a reputation for a dictatorial style of decision-making, and of personal vindictiveness against critics. Beyond reprisals, some faculty fear that she may take revenge on the already limited resources of their department or on their special programs that depend on her largesse. This is a sad statement about the current professional climate at Stony Brook. Yet, now, close to 100 distinguished faculty, from a wide variety of ranks and disciplines, have already signed. That’s nearly a quarter of CAS-affiliated faculty. Of course, we also strongly advised junior faculty—those who still lack the protection of tenure—to sign anonymously.
6)
Does this protest stop with the petition? If not, what is your next move?
We hope to promote a constructive public debate of these issues, and of the larger university priorities, and to gain more transparency and democratic input into how this university is run. Great and mature universities, which Stony Brook can still become, truly listen to and involve the faculty voice. We will do whatever is needed, including bringing our case directly to the media and to concerned officials in Albany.
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STONY
BROOK,
N.Y.,
June 19,
2008 —
Stony
Brook
University
President
Dr.
Shirley
Strum
Kenny,
who,
during a
tenure
of 14
years,
has
guided
the
institution
to
national
and
international
acclaim
as one
of the
top
public
institutions
and who
has
similarly
helped
transform
undergraduate
education
across
the
country
as
chairman
of the
landmark
Boyer
Commission
on
Educating
Undergraduates
in the
Research
University,
has
announced
that she
will
retire
from
Stony
Brook at
the end
of the
2008-9
academic
year.
“Shirley
has been
a
creative
and
visionary
leader
who has
brought
Stony
Brook to
the
highest
levels
of
public
universities
in the
nation,”
said
Richard
L.
Gelfond,
chair of
the
Stony
Brook
Foundation
Board,
co-chair
and
co-CEO
of IMAX
Corp.,
and an
alumnus.
“Indeed,
the
changes
that
have
occurred
on
campus
and in
the
classrooms
during
her
tenure
are
nothing
short of
astonishing.
They
could
not have
happened
without
Shirley’s
passion,
energy,
and
commitment.
“At the
same
time, I
know she
has been
thinking
about
this for
awhile,”
Mr.
Gelfond
said.
“In
fact,
she came
to me
last
fall and
told me
that she
was
planning
on
stepping
down at
the end
of this
past
academic
year in
May, but
I and
others
persuaded
her to
reconsider.
We tried
again
this
time,
but her
mind is
set. I
understand
and
respect
that,
even
though
Stony
Brook
will be
losing a
leader
of
prodigious
talent
and
foresight.”
Indeed,
through
Dr.
Kenny’s
leadership
the
University
earned
designation
as one
of only
two
“flagship”
institutions
of the
64-school
State
University
of New
York
system.
It also
developed
into one
of the
top
public
research
universities
in the
country,
as
evidenced
by its
selection
for
admission
into the
Association
of
American
Universities,
the
invitation-only
organization
comprising
just
such
institutions,
and its
ranking
among
the top
two
percent
of
universities
worldwide
by both
The
London
Times
and the
Shanghai
Higher
Education
Institute.
[AA
E-Zine
Note:
Shanghai
HEI is a
part of
Shanghai
Jiao
Tong U,
ranked
#4 or 5
in
China.]
Befitting
such
lofty
status,
the
University
was
chosen
as
co-manager
of
Brookhaven
National
Laboratory,
joining
Princeton,
Cornell,
U. of
Chicago,
Stanford
and UC-Berkeley
in
managing
a
Department
of
Energy
Laboratory.
And most
recently,
Dr.
Kenny
initiated
a unique
research
alliance
between
Stony
Brook,
Brookhaven,
and Cold
Spring
Harbor
Laboratory,
bringing
together
world-class
federal,
state,
and
private
research
campuses
to work
together
on
cutting-edge
programs
in
genetics,
cancer,
neuroscience
and
other
areas of
mutual
but
individual
strengths.
These
are
quite
remarkable
achievements,
made
even
more so
considering
that
when Dr.
Kenny
was
elected
Stony
Brook’s
president
in 1994,
the
institution
was
mired in
significant
debt and
maintained
a
structural
deficit.
With her
steady
hand and
a
far-reaching
vision,
the
University
quickly
righted
its ship
and,
since
that
time, it
has
undergone
a
remarkable
physical,
academic,
intellectual,
and
cultural
makeover.
“These
have
been the
most
amazing
and
satisfying
14 years
of my
professional
career,”
said Dr.
Kenny, a
literary
scholar,
teacher
and
academic
administrator
who
became
the
first
woman,
and
first
non-scientist,
to be
elected
Stony
Brook’s
President.
“The
University
has come
very
far, and
I take
great
pride in
what has
been
accomplished
with the
outstanding
teamwork
and
commitment
of every
member
of the
Stony
Brook
family,
from
students,
faculty,
and
staff to
Board
members,
alumni,
donors,
community
residents,
and
elected
officials.”
With
Stony
Brook
solidly
entrenched
as an
academic
and
research
leader
in the
State
and
nationally
and
continuing
to move
forward
to
fulfill
the late
Governor
Rockefeller’s
vision
for it
to stand
“among
the
finest
in the
land,”
Dr.
Kenny
said
“this is
the
right
time for
me to
step
down. It
will be
15 years
at the
end of
my
tenure,
and that
is quite
a
lengthy
term for
a
university
president.
I look
forward
to
spending
more
time
with my
family,
and
becoming
more
engaged
in the
national
debate
on the
future
of
education
in
America.”
There is
no
debating
what Dr.
Kenny
has
meant to
Stony
Brook.
Under
her
direction,
the
University
has
undertaken
unprecedented
expansion.
The
campus
has been
physically
transformed,
with an
extensive
building
and
landscaping
program.
Two new
campuses
have
opened –
Stony
Brook
Southampton,
the
82-acre
former
home of
LIU’s
Southampton
College
that is
now
dedicated
to
issues
of
sustainability,
and
Stony
Brook
Manhattan
– as has
a
246-acre
research
park. A
new
student
center,
dormitories,
and
athletic
stadium
are
among
other
state-of-the-art
facilities
that
have
been
constructed.
Stony
Brook
has
experienced
an
impressive
surge in
applications
and
enrollment,
with
major
increases
in SAT
scores
and
grade-point-averages.
There
have
been
significant
academic
programs
added,
including
the
opening
of the
only
journalism
school
in SUNY.
Faculty
enhancements
have
been
similarly
substantial,
including
the
appointments
of such
world-renowned
scholars
as paleo-anthropologist
Richard
Leakey;
former
Iraq
State
Board of
Antiquities
and
Heritage,
Donny
George;
Billy
Collins,
former
Poet
Laureate
of the
U.S.,
and the
award-winning
Emerson
String
Quartet.
Further,
the
University
has
developed
important
business
and
community
linkages,
including
the
Stony
Brook/Brookhaven/Cold
Spring
Harbor
alliance.
Moreover,
Stony
Brook
has
become
the
largest
employer
on Long
Island,
generating
nearly
60,000
jobs.
The
University
maintains
a $1.8
billion
budget
and an
economic
impact
of over
$4.7
billion
on the
region
or
nearly
four
percent
of all
economic
activity
in
Nassau
and
Suffolk
counties.
The
University’s
fundraising
has
realized
similar
achievements.
It is
completing
a $300
million
capital
campaign,
highlighted
by a $60
million
gift
earlier
this
year
from
prominent
financier
and
former
mathematics
department
chairman
Dr. Jim
Simons
and his
wife
Marilyn,
a Ph.D.
alumna.
It was
both the
largest
gift in
Stony
Brook’s
history
and the
largest
gift
ever
given to
any one
of the
64 SUNY
institutions.
The
second
largest
gift to
any SUNY
institution
-- $50
million
– was
also to
Stony
Brook,
from
computer
software
executive
Charles
B. Wang.
“Years
ago,
Stony
Brook
provided
me with
a
faculty
position
and the
opportunity
to both
pursue
my
research
and
build
one of
the best
math
departments
in the
country,”
said Jim
Simons.
“Although
I have
since
gone on
to other
endeavors,
Shirley
Kenny
has
always
made
sure
that
Marilyn
and I
feel at
home
here at
Stony
Brook.
And
because
of the
pieces
that
Shirley
has put
into
place
and her
unflagging
commitment
to
academic
excellence,
Marilyn
and I
knew
that
making
this
gift
would
provide
an
excellent
opportunity
for
mathematics
and
physics
at Stony
Brook to
reach
the very
highest
level.”
More of
this
press
release
can be
found at
http://commcgi.cc.stonybrook.edu/am2/publish/General_University_News_2/
Shirley_Strum_Kenny_Who_Transformed_Stony_Brook.shtml
Press
Release
Contact
631 632
6310
/
FAX: 631
632 6313
Stony
Brook
University,
310
Admin,
Stony
Brook,
NY
11794-0701
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