The petition calling for a vote of no confidence against the Winthrop Board of Trustees currently has over 1,600 signatures. This is a huge number and shows that a large number of Winthrop students are passionate about their school. But Winthrop has over 5,000 students — what is holding them back from signing the petition?
The petition on Change.org was created by Nathan Crunkilton, senior political science major, as a way to reach out to the Winthrop community and make sure that their voices are being heard.
In an interview with The Johnsonian published Feb. 12, Crunkilton said, “After seeing what Jane LaRoche had to say, I [said] ‘alright, that’s enough, I need to speak out and say something about it.’”
The petition followed a vote from the Board of Trustees to hire Dr. George Hynd as interim president following the resignation of Dr. Dan Mahony.
Since the vote, faculty, students and even a member of the board has expressed that the process of Hynd’s acceptance into office was rushed and did not take into account the voices of students and faculty. There have also been suggestions that Mahony was forced out of his office, without cause or justification.
In December, The Johnsonian found in meeting agendas from the Board of Trustees that the last time Mahony’s contract was formally discussed was in 2017 when the board extended the contract through June of 2019. After the contract expired in 2019, the contract was not discussed through means that The Johnsonian was able to request through the Freedom of Information Act.
This suggests that the board knew that Mahony was not going to remain at Winthrop through 2020. Comments from board member Jane LaRoche tell us that Mahony did not want to leave Winthrop and that the board did not give him the chance to stay.
“Dan was not treated fairly, causing him to have to look elsewhere for a job, and you all know what I’m talking about. He didn’t want to leave. I think the students need to know he did not want to leave Winthrop. He adores them,” LaRoche said in her remarks to the board at the vote for Hynd.
It is clear that Mahony was an incredible president for the student body. He succeeded in accomplishing all of his goals and was also a powerful presence on campus who connected deeply with his students.
What motives did the board have to not want to renew Mahony’s contract? And why was the board so prepared to welcome Hynd in so quickly? Especially when LaRoche proposed two members of Winthrop’s current faculty for the position, why would they propose an externalsearch for an interim when they have fantastic candidates who are familiar with Winthrop already?
There is no reason why the board would make these decisions unless there was a personal motivation behind them. Mahony was successful in his job and forcing him out was not what Winthrop needed. The board no longer seems to have the best interests of the Winthrop students and faculty in mind.
That is why students should be signing the petition. This vote of no confidence is what the student body needs to express right now. We have a right to a voice in our education and the board has taken that from us.
You can find the link to the Change.org petition on Crunkilton’s Instagram @ncrunk_.
Photo: Olivia Esselman/ The Johnsonian
