Black faculty show public support for Herbert

In the first show of group support for IU President Adam Herbert, the Bloomington Black Faculty and Staff Council called on their colleagues to vote "no" on a resolution to review Herbert's presidency at a press conference Monday.\nLaw Professor Kevin Brown said at the conference he will meet with some members of what some have called the "anti-Herbert movement," in an effort to convince them to pull their support for the resolution. \n"One of the messages we are going to convey to them is when you are attacking the first African-American president in the 185 year history of this institution, there should have been at least a consultation and recognition and understanding of the implication that this will have on the entire African-American community of the state of Indiana," Brown said.\nThe participants at the conference said the conflict between the faculty and Herbert could hurt the recruitment of minority students and the ability to attract the most qualified faculty.\n"If (opponents of Herbert) halt the wheels on this protest it will demonstrate that Indiana University really has been a place that has changed," Brown said. "If they continue on with this protest it is going to be one of those difficult things that we are going to be trying to explain away what other people see as relatively obvious."\nFellow Law Professor Fred Cate said he thinks it is irrelevant that his black colleagues are trying to convince him and others to pull their support for the resolution because the voting is already underway. He also said it was never intentional to exclude black faculty members from the process when it was in its infancy stages.\n"The issue on the table was how the president was performing his job and the people who came forward to talk about that thought they had first hand knowledge of how they were performing his job," Cate said. "The point that it would have been better to explicitly reach out to black colleague earlier in the process is well taken."\nFaculty members have been voting online on a resolution to urge the board of trustees to review Herbert's job performance following a Nov. 15 emergency meeting of the Bloomington faculty.\nAs of Monday morning, 600 faculty members have voted, Bloomington Faculty Council Chief of Staff Kelly Kish said. Voting is being conducted online and will conclude Friday by 5 p.m. The results will not be known until Nov. 28.\nCate said he expects more than the required 800 faculty members to vote in favor of the resolution.\n "It would not have been a failed effort (if the resolution does not pass) but the BFC constitution provides this process for raising issues of importance with members of the Bloomington campus faculty and I think we've done our best to raise those issues in a responsible manor," Cate said. \nAudrey McCluskey, associate professor of African-American and African Diaspora Studies, said she does not necessarily agree or disagree with Herbert's opponents, but she attended based on principle. \n"I am here for the principle, that is the principle of balance and fairness and in this exercise thus far I don't feel that it has been fair or balanced," McCluskey said. "I call upon my colleagues to vote no on this resolution."\nDuring an opening statement, Brown listed several accomplishments of Herbert that he felt were not being discussed. He said Herbert has increased fund raising and the quality of the student body and added more initiatives to better organize the University. Brown also cited the life sciences initiative as a major advancement. \n"If such a review is passed by a majority of voting faculty," Brown said. "Then we go further and call upon the board of trustees to reject the call for a mid-term review (of Herbert)"