PULLMAN, Wash. — On Washington State University's campus, a divide has taken shape between faculty members on whether or not the university needs a change of leadership.
"A lot of our faculty and staff don't necessarily feel the same way," WSU Adjunct Professor Brandon Chapman said.
Chapman said he disagrees with the report released Wednesday.
"I think most people are satisfied," Chapman said. "We understand that there are issues that we have to work through. A lot of those aren't just WSU. They're societal issues."
The report cites declining school rankings and enrollment as well as poor strategic vision as reasons for that change. Authors of the report said more than 200 faculty members are in agreement with their concerns.
"Responses that have come to me directly and things that I've heard have been largely supportive," WSU Associate Dean Dr. Jon Oatley said.
Oatley is one of the three authors in the recently released report.
"We're hoping to raise awareness because we believe that that a number of faculty agree with the positions that we've taken and the concerns that we voiced," Oatley said.
Oatley said the faculty members supporting the report are anonymous. According to Oakley, this is to ensure "that people wouldn't feel that they were stretching their neck out too far and might have retaliation."
But, it's the exact reason that Chapman disagrees with.
"If there are these 207 people, we don't know who they are," Chapman said. "They're apparently anonymous. There's no accountability there."
Chapman said he's talked with his fellow faculty members and many have told him even though they agree with the concerns, changing leadership is not the right way to approach it.
"I'm not sure that most of the folks I talked to agree with the sentiment that we need wholesale changes and get rid of all of our administration," Chapman said.
But, Oatley said his group has tried to hear out the university. But, enough was enough.
"We haven't seen the right types of actions being taken to right the ship," Oatley said.
The WSU Board of Regents released a statement Friday regarding the concerns raised in the report. That response can be read here.
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