UCA Faculty Senate to discuss controversy surrounding Hardin

The Faculty Senate of the University of Central Arkansas will meet today to discuss the necessary action to take regarding the recent controversy surrounding UCA President Lu Hardin.

Dr. Kurt Boniecki, senate president, has said the recent events, which include a $300,000 bonus privately awarded to Hardin and a memo, penned by Hardin, in favor of the money, have left some of the faculty "with a sense of outrage." Boniecki said the senate will meet today to allow senators to voice opinions; however, no action will be taken.

"We are moving the matter to a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate and that subcommittee consists of a faculty member from each of the six colleges," Boniecki said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "They will deliberate on what action, if any, the Faculty Senate will take. No action will be taken tomorrow, but we certainly will discuss the matter and forward all ideas and concerns to that group."

Although the first item on the meeting's agenda is an address from Hardin, Boniecki said this has been postponed to the group's next regular meeting, Sept. 9. The president is recovering from a second surgery to treat his eye cancer and Boniecki said Hardin decided Wednesday afternoon to take the time to rest, per doctors' orders.

Boniecki said although he and the senators won't know the decision of the subcommittee until the first September meeting, he said he has received suggestions from faculty members as to what the course of action should be.

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"Taking a vote of confidence has been mentioned, some faculty have e-mailed asking that President Hardin resign, some have e-mailed in support of him, some have suggested some kind of probationary period and some have suggested that the attorney general maybe look into the legality of that memo," Boniecki said.

Because the controversy began during the summer months, he said the information he has collected only represents the views of 10 percent or less of the school's faculty. He said none of the ideas he has have been advocated by any large number of faculty at this point.

Outside of the Faculty Senate, a group of UCA department chairs met Tuesday to discuss whether to write a letter calling for Hardin's resignation, according to sources who wished to remain anonymous. No formal action was taken.

Charles Harvey, chair of the philosophy and religion department, confirmed the meeting took place, but declined to comment further Wednesday.

The memo in question, which Hardin wrote March 25 and distributed to the board during executive session in a May 2 meeting, was attributed to three UCA vice presidents, Barbara Anderson, Jack Gillean and Paul McLendon.

Three separate interviews with the vice presidents and the Faculty Senate officers took place Aug. 6 and the exchanges will be discussed in today's meeting, according to the agenda.

In the interview, which is listed in the agenda, all three denied writing any of the statements in the memo, reviewing the accuracy of the memo and being present in the executive session during which the memo was distributed. All three also said they were informed of the document in late July, the same time the press was informed.

In the closing comments of the interview, Anderson said she would have advised the president to format the document differently if given a chance, but added Hardin "works at warp speed," so she considers the document to be a legitimate error and not a deliberate decision.

However, Gillean and McLendon both said the fact that their names were included on a memo they knew nothing about was unacceptable.

"It was inappropriate for my name to be put on this memo," Gillean said in the interview listed in the agenda. "I was not consulted on the content. I did not author any part or whole of this memo. I am extremely uncomfortable and frustrated with this whole matter."

The distributed memo listed talking points and suggestions to encourage Hardin to stay with the university. These suggestions included the acceleration of a $300,000 bonus not due to Hardin until 2010 and a $150,000-per-year deferred-compensation package. The board approved the acceleration during the May executive session, but has not yet voted on the deferred compensation. Hardin has since returned the money, stating it will not be repaid until private funds are available and staff and faculty receive raises.

(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)