EMU faculty asks governor to step in

News Staff Reporters

The Eastern Michigan University faculty union has sent a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm asking her to void President Samuel Kirkpatrick's $514,000 agreement to resign and instead fire him for just cause.

The letter, sent by EMU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, also asks Granholm to replace Board of Regents Chairman Philip Incarnati and Paul Schollaert, provost and vice president of academic affairs.

It arrived at Granholm's office as her staff studies possible penalties against EMU after a state audit found that tuition and other state money were improperly used to help build a new house for Kirkpatrick. The audit found that construction and related costs for the 10,200-square-foot house totaled $6 million, far more than the $3.5 million cost approved by the regents.

State Rep. Ruth Ann Jamnick, D-Ypsilanti Township, said Wednesday that she hopes Granholm will consider replacing the entire Board of Regents. Jamnick has asked Granholm to meet with her as soon as possible to discuss ways to bring stability back to EMU. She said another option would be for the trustees to resign.

"I think the regents have to take a good look at their heart and their minds and determine if they really function in the best interest of the students and the faculty and the taxpayers that are putting the money there to help Eastern become a great school," Jamnick said. "At some point they need to quit pointing fingers and just step up and face the fact that, based on the auditor's report, that money has been spent inappropriately."

The faculty also is seeking action because of revelations about the cost of the home, which was named University House by EMU. It was built to be a home for EMU's president and a place to entertain potential donors.

For months, EMU clung to its story that University House cost $3.58 million and that no tuition money or state funds were used to build it. But state auditors, in a 36-page report, documented the $6 million and pointed out other inconsistencies in the explanation of how the house was financed.

All eight EMU regents were appointed by former Republican Gov. John Engler: Incarnati, Joseph Antonini, Jan Brandon, Steven Gordon, Rosalind Griffin, Michael Morris, Sharon Rothwell and Karen Valvo. Only Antonini, Brandon and Rothwell returned calls or could be reached Wednesday, and none would comment on the faculty union's or Jamnick's statements.

Jamnick said she questions the effectiveness of all of the regents, but Incarnati is the only regent that the faculty wants removed at this point, said Jim VandenBosch, a biology professor and AAUP vice president.

"It's very important that Incarnati be removed," VandenBosch said. "That's not to say we're in favor of or opposed to any other board members. I think the board has tried to speak with a unified voice in the past and that voice has always come through Phil Incarnati. If there's dissent within the board, that should be looked at."

VandenBosch wouldn't release a copy of the letter pending its release to the faculty next week, but a summary was posted on the AAUP Web site.

"Sending a letter to the governor asking for the removal of the chair of our board is a radical new move for us, so we want to be somewhat circumspect about how we do this," VandenBosch said.

The AAUP also asked that the construction of a new student union be halted until a "responsible administration" is in place. EMU has not yet named an interim president or announced its timetable and method for replacing Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick and Incarnati have said Kirkpatrick's resignation was unrelated to the audit.

Neither Schollaert nor Kirkpatrick could be reached. Schollaert's secretary said he was on vacation; a university spokeswoman said Kirkpatrick's last work day was July 15 and he is no longer there. His last day as president is July 31.

Granholm's press secretary, Liz Boyd, said Wednesday afternoon that her office had received the letter.

The Michigan Constitution gives Granholm broad powers to remove state officials from office, including appointed and elected university board members. Whether such a powerful and rarely exercised tool is used to punish those who oversee EMU is a question Granholm administration officials aren't yet entertaining.

But Granholm's staff is reviewing the state audit. "(Staff ) is conducting a detailed review and analysis of the findings to verify the facts and, once the facts are verified, whether they rise to the level of a violation of law," Liz Boyd, Granholm's spokeswoman, said Wednesday.

"If our staff were to identify legal violations, we would need to determine which range of legal tools are available to either the state or the governor, given constitutional autonomy" of the university, Boyd said.

Boyd said the discussion of board outsters was premature and said there is no timetable for completion of the audit review.

Jamnick said she hopes that Granholm considers removal of the board, arguing that docking the university's $77.2 million appropriation for fiscal 2005 would only punish students and faculty.

Staff reporter Lisa Klionsky and News Lansing Bureau reporter Peter Luke contributed to this report. Patty Maher can be reached at pmaher@annarbornews.com or at (734) 482-4868.

© 2004 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission