Scott Kunselman
Oakland University had a little revolt brewing over a secretive hiring, and the school's president, George Hynd, on Wednesday tried to calm things down.
Paul Kampe of the Oakland Press writes that Hynd offered a mea culpa Wednesday for not making known his intentions to create and hire a chief operating officer at a $325,000 annual salary.
The paper reports:
The decision has come under fire from the school’s professor’s union. Hynd addressed the controversy early in a speech to the campus community inside the school’s student center.
“I understand the concern about there not being a national search (to fill the position), Hynd said before introducing former Fiat Chrysler safety boss Scott Kunselman to the crowd. “I beg your understanding. ... (Kunselman is) the right person at the right time for the right reason.”
Hynd later called the move “atypical,” adding school leaders “stepped out of the box again.” “Sometime we do things and then we look back at how it could have been handled differently. ... I’ve heard the concerns and they’ve registered.
Chad Selweski wrote Wednesday in Deadline Detroit:
In a move that reflects their controversial penchant for secrecy, the Oakland University Board of Trustees has created a $325,000-a-year executive position at OU, without any public input, and instantly awarded the job to one of their own without considering other candidates for the post.
The new position of chief operating officer is filled by Scott Kunselman, who resigned from OU's board Oct. 26 and is retiring from his senior vice president position at Fiat Chrysler – at age 52 -- in order to free himself up for the job created by his colleagues. He has no experience in academia other than four years as an OU trustee, yet he apparently has the No. 2 position of authority on campus.
Oakland professors appear nearly ready to revolt over the move, though they have no power to reverse the decision. The national president of the professors’ labor union called the sudden developments at OU “outrageous” and a crass violation of professional standards.
A Detroit News editorial Wednesday says: "The timing of the appointment is suspect. . . . The university should have followed standard procedure and launched a national search for candidates to fill the position."
The mood on the Rochester Hills campus regarding this embrace of favoritism by the eight-member board is one of suspicion and anger. Critics say it appears that the trustees may want to marginalize OU administrators and the university president, George Hynd -- who just took over in 2014 -- and further reduce the faculty’s role in managing OU academic departments.
“This was out of the blue. . . . From my vantage point, this is such cronyism,” says Karen Miller, a longtime history professor. “We’re suddenly told that we need this position. Some of the faculty are very angry. . . . They’re dumbfounded.”