The Oakland University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents the full time faculty, has been pushing to create faculty liaisons to the board of trustees.

Currently, there is no way for the faculty to converse directly with the board of trustees. Similar faculty liaison groups exist at other universities, such as Michigan State University.

Response from professors on campus has been generally positive toward the idea of a faculty liaison.

David Garfinkle, professor of physics at OU, said that faculty liaisons are necessary to making the university run more smoothly.

“If there were a faculty liaison to the board, then we might at least have a chance to educate our board as to what OU is really like and what it would take to make it a better place,” Garfinkle said.

According to Garfinkle, the board currently refuses to talk to faculty, and that by doing so, the board misses learning a lot about OU.

 “We can’t force them to talk to us, but their refusal to do so indicates that they don’t know how to do their jobs and are unwilling to learn,” he said.

Accounting Professor Joseph Callaghan is not as convinced that a liaison would benefit the university.

“It is hard to judge whether or not it would make a great difference,” he said. “That would depend upon the willingness of the board to listen and the faculty members’ ability to effectively communicate the faculty’s reasonable concerns.”

But Callaghan also said that he didn’t think that a new communication channel would hurt.

Board Vice Chair Henry Baskin said he’s not sure why a faculty liaison doesn’t exist, but believes there are still channels for the faculty to voice their opinions.

“It’s an open meeting; anyone can come, so anyone can speak,” Baskin said.

University Media Relations Director Ted Montgomery said that the possibility of having a faculty liaison has been considered a number of times in the past, and it isn’t surprising that the possibility has been raised again as the faculty union begins contract negotiations.

“However, the board of trustees is very comfortable with the information it receives from the president, the provost and the deans about the university’s academic mission,” Montgomery said.

He added that the provost has done an excellent job of keeping the board informed on academic matters.

Joel Russel, president of the OU chapter of the AAUP, said that the faculty liaisons could provide a perspective that would differ from the administrative one.

“We would hope that there would be open communications between trustees and faculty liaisons, such as between trustees and student liaisons,” he said.

Russel said he felt that when addressing the board during meetings, the communication is one-sided, and that the trustees were urged not to respond to any comments he made.

He added that he feels that faculty liaisons would give the board greater insight into the impact of their votes.

“Faculty, students and the university at large would be best served if the trustees are more aware of implications of their decisions on faculty and students than they get now.”

OU President Gary Russi has said in previous interviews that the board of trustees currently does not wish to have faculty liaisons.

It was also suggested that it is difficult to have faculty liaisons in a situation where the teachers are unionized, but Russel said this shouldn’t be an issue.

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