April 8, 2013
Thom Harpole
Employee Relations and Compliance
Campus
Dear Sir:
As members of the search committee for the faculty position VPAA 13-14-8, we are writing to you
to express our concern about the fairness of the process associated with this search.
For the record, our concerns can be listed as follows:
The search was initiated by an explicit desire of a former faculty member to return
to a position from which he had resigned two years earlier.
Acting on this request, the Dean of the College of Engineering informed the faculty that Dr. Beighley was coming back even before a search
committee was formed. University rules state that if a former faculty
member wishes to return to a position he/she once held, that that person will not enjoy any special treatment.
As members of the search committee, we were informed at one point that the advertised position
would not be completely funded by the university, and that a successful candidate would have to
supplement his/her salary in the first year from external funding. This important information was
not revealed in the ad for the position. Yet, we were informed that Dr. Beighley was aware of this
requirement. We believe that this procedure is unfair, as it places all other candidates
at a clear disadvantage.
The information we were given about the need for substantial supplemental funding forced us,
as committee members, to eliminate some promising young candidates whose funding at the early
stage of their career was too low to meet that expectation. As a result, we believe we ended up
with a potentially biased short list of candidates.
We believe that the concerns expressed above demonstrate procedural errors that have led to a search that
is fundamentally flawed and cannot be repaired at this stage. We believe that it is in the best interest
of the university and all the candidates that this search be cancelled at this time.
It can be re-opened if/when warranted, following regular procedures.
Respectfully,
Dr. Victor M. Ponce, Professor of Civil Engineering
Dr. Janusz Supernak, Professor of Civil Engineering