Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: Meaghan Wagner President Caputo tries to field questions from the Westchester Faculty Council.

Media Credit: Meaghan Wagner Dr. Greg Julian listening to President Caputo speak at the Faculty meeting last Friday.

Last Fri., April 13, President David A. Caputo attended a meeting of the Westchester Faculty Council (WFC) and was greeted with a demand for his resignation.

The WFC has regular meetings throughout the academic year and President Caputo often addresses the faculty either by invitation or by request. Throughout this academic year, faculty council meetings on both campuses have been becoming more and more tense. Earlier this year, the Joint Faculty Council passed a resolution in which they threatened to take a vote of no confidence in the President if certain demands were not met.

At this most recent WFC meeting, the President was scheduled to address the faculty and had several prepared statements to bring to them. As he took the podium, before he spoke, Secretary Richard Kraus read a statement unanimously passed by the WFC at their previous meeting demanding that the {resident resign, "effective immediately."

Caputo seemed to remain fairly calm despite the severity of the demand replying only that "I can tell you that won't happen." Later in his time there, he did state that he found the statements of the faculty members "troublesome" but did not touch on the subject much overall.

The meeting's tone only went from bad to worse as there was an issue on the president's agenda that proved to be much more controversial than anticipated.

First, the President announced the opening of a hotline that persons within the Pace community can call to anonymously report "any wrongdoing at the University."

The uproar was delayed but came into full swing as the meeting progressed. Many felt that anonymity gave anyone the chance to file a false complaint. The President did admit that where this system has been implemented there has been "an initial spike" in false reports but that it was an overall beneficial process.

Caputo defended the hotline saying that it was a "standard business practice." Faculty member of Leinhard School of Nursing, Marie Londrigan, responded by pointing out that "this is not the business world." She went on to state that she was seriously considering looking for a position somewhere else, stating that "there is no place for [her] with individuals that do not think they can trust [her]."

Caputo also stated that the "Board of Trustees felt that the opportunity was necessary for people to be able to raise anonymous concerns," but nothing seemed to quell this discussion.

Dr. Rebecca Martin, Chair of the English department, made a comment that seemed to encapsulate the general opinion expressed by the faculty. "The thing I find most demoralizing and offensive is that employees of this University are being scrutinized and held accountable in ways that the people who put us in this situation are not."

The entire scene was topped off when Marie Werner declared, "We do not trust that your leadership will take us anywhere… There is no respect for you or your leadership," and proceeded to leave the room.

All in all, what seemed to be the main contention to the issue was that no one in the active Pace community was consulted on this issue.

The meeting with Caputo was ended shortly thereafter with discussion of the budget. The faculty was informed that more information on the budget and the cuts that will be coming in the next academic year will be available in late April, though nothing will be finalized until the Board of Trustees meeting on May 8.

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