The appointment of Interim President Dr. George Hynd and the departure of Dr. Dan Mahony has left students upset, pointing their focus to the Board of Trustees who voted on Hynd’s appointment on Jan. 31.
Students, who are already feeling sentimental about current President Dan Mahony’s March departure, did not respond well to the board’s announcement of Hynd as the “preferred candidate” for the position on Jan. 29.
The transparency of the board’s decision making came into question. Students were upset that they did not know who the other candidates were and felt excluded from the process.
A petition calling for the resignation of each member of the board to resign and a vote of no confidence was created by political science major Nathan Crunkilton. The petition has gained over 1,500 signatures.
“…[T]he handling of the Board’s confirmation has led many Student Leaders, including myself, disappointed and concerned in the state of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees. Student Body President, Imani Belton, who represents the Students of Winthrop University in these Board of Trustees Meetings, was wrongfully closed out of this confirmation, and held without a voice,” the petition states.
The board and student body president both released statements regarding the process of Hynd’s appointment.
“Enough is enough”
Student body president Imani Belton took to Facebook on Feb. 7 to describe her involvement with the interim president search as student representative to the board of trustees.
“Since September, I have been frustrated with the Board of Trustees, and I can no longer remain silent about what I have experienced thus far,” she wrote. “Enough is enough.”
Belton described a lack of communication and transparency between the board, herself and Faculty Representative Dr. Adolphus Belk. She said that she and Belk were notified only days before board meetings that were held in Columbia, South Carolina.
Belton said that after commencement on Dec. 14, 2019, Board Chairman Glenn McCall and Vice-Chair Kathy Bigham met with the Faculty Committee on University Priorities to determine what qualities faculty would like to see in an interim president. She said she was not aware of this meeting and reached out to McCall and Bigham via email to ask about the process and how she could be involved.
McCall responded that “once the search for a permanent president begins, the student representative will be a member of the search committee.”
Bigham wrote that the board realizes “the connection with our students and our President is essential and at the top of our required qualities.”
McCall also said that Belton would be able to meet with the candidate alongside campus leaders before being introduced to the community.
“From this email, there was silence until I received notification on January 23, 2020, about meeting with the ‘preferred Interim candidate’ on January 30, 2020. Per the email I received from Kimberly Faust, I was supposed to receive information about the candidate before meeting with him and unfortunately, I did not,” Belton wrote.
When she did sit down with Hynd to ask him questions and give feedback to the board about him, he began to ask her questions “as if he were already selected as the Interim President.”
“This was not an interview; it was an onboarding process,” Belton wrote.
“As the Student Representative to the Board of Trustees, I should not feel that this is my only way of getting my grievances heard, nor should the students feel that they should have to protest to have their voices heard,” she wrote.
“We do not act in our own interests”
Board of Trustees Chairman Glenn McCall penned a letter to the student body to clear the air about the process of hiring Hynd and to share “a few facts that you may not be aware of regarding the decision.”
The letter was emailed to students by Board Secretary Kimberly Faust on Feb. 6.
“It is the Board’s duty to do what we believe to be in the university’s best interest. We are non-paid volunteers whose vested interest in our role is largely based on our love and respect for Winthrop. Many Board members are alumni of this institution. As a Board, we do not act in our own interests, but rather in Winthrop’s and in the interest of all of its constituents,” McCall wrote.
McCall acknowledged Mahony’s popularity with students, faculty and staff. He said it is the board’s job to evaluate the president as “a whole” and “not just at the parts of the job he does well.”
“Our goal is to continue to move the university forward, and given all of the needs of the university, the Board together recognized it was time for new leadership,” the letter stated.
McCall addressed the “rushed” search for an interim president following the announcement of Mahony’s departure in December 2019.
“We pursued an accelerated search so we could have an interim in place for a smooth leadership transition. It is the Board’s responsibility to ensure qualified leadership of the institution, and we feel we have done that, albeit in a short period of time,” McCall wrote.
McCall said there were “several opportunities” to represent the interests of students during the search for the interim president. This includes the Vice President of Student Affairs and a Student Affairs representative before Hynd was announced as the preferred candidate for the job and 10 students before the board’s vote to appoint him.
He added that Belk and Belton, though they are not able to attend executive session, were able to join the discussion prior to the vote.
“Please keep in mind that even as non-voting members, both representatives met one on one with Dr. Hynd in advance and were free to participate in board discussion before the vote. Neither did so,” he wrote.
McCall ended the letter with the hopes that students will try to remain open to Hynd as he takes over for Mahony.
“I hope you will have an open mind when it comes to getting to know Dr. Hynd and learning more about his intentions to continue the good work that already is underway at Winthrop,” he said.
Photos provided by Winthrop University
