Lake Washington Institute of Technology Union LWTCFT local 3533 This letter was sent to all LWIT Faculty, the Board of Trustees, and hand presented to a member of the accreditation team while they were here earlier this week.
Dear Faculty Colleagues and members of the Board of trustees, Last Thursday afternoon, we received the announcement from the Board of Trustees that Dr. Woodall has been named the (apparently one and only) finalist in the current presidential search. While Dr. Woodall’s qualifications are undeniably impressive, the Federation and Executive Board have deep concerns about a presidential search and hiring process that does not include a national or even a regional search and considers only one candidate. Equally disturbing is the fact that even the inclusion of this item on the Board meeting agenda was not announced in advance, but was added as a last-minute change. Surely this selection of Dr. Woodall was not an after-thought on the part of the Board. Is there a reason to rush a process that will undoubtedly shape the future of the College? This is not the first time the Federation has raised this issue. In a letter to Dr. Woodall last May, President Joe Gryniuk expressed the concerns of the Federation saying: …the issue is one of openness in decision-making. A very large proportion of deans, executive directors and even vice presidents in recent years have been appointed or promoted to “interim” positions without open, competitive searches, and then quietly re -designated as permanent occupants…We would hope to see in future a more steadfast application of recognized best practices. At that time, Dr. Woodall replied, “I share your goal of building an ever more effective collaboration between the faculty and administration in pursuit of college goals.” The Board has not shown any such commitment in this presidential search. Until the action taken at the October Board meeting, faculty believed that the Board of Trustees would be opening a regional and national search. We were also promised a seat on the Search Committee. Now it seems there will be no search and no committee. Although this choice is within the Boards rights, taking this path has eliminated the College’s ability to compare and contrast candidates. The Federation is alarmed that the process employed by the Board of Trustees in choosing Dr. Woodall has the appearance of being a closed and near secretive means of achieving a predetermined end which may, in fact, undermine the confidence of the faculty in the President even before he is officially named. We were promised open and shared governance. As the faculty stands on the outside looking in, that is not what we are witnessing. Sincerely Nolan Koreski President LWTCFT local 3533 George Dalich Mark Waddington Cheyenne Roduin Phil Snider Heidi Shepherd Joe Grynuk