ATCHLEY SEEKS IMPROVED GOVERNANCE

Southeast Missouri State University needs to improve how it governs itself so it can act on issues rather than beat them to death in countless committee meetings, says the school's president.

The president, Dr. Bill Atchley, said the university should examine its entire governing structure, including the Board of Regents, the Faculty Senate, vice presidents, deans, Student Government -- and even the president's office.

In a Nov. 9 letter to faculty, Atchley said Faculty Senate criticism over his handling of a recent campus proposal demonstrates a "serious flaw" in the current governing structure.

"We need to move away from a structure which emphasizes a protection of turf and leads to territorial battles, and move toward a structure which emphasizes the good of the whole, mutual trust and `getting the job done,'" Atchley said in the letter.

In the memo to Atchley from Dr. Terry Sutton, chairman of the Faculty Senate, that sparked the president's strongly worded response, Sutton said "many senators" felt the president improperly bypassed the senate by sending a letter directly to faculty and staff in late October rather than seeking faculty input through the senate.

What started the exchange of letters was an Oct. 24 letter from Atchley seeking input on a plan for a common hour in the university's schedule.

The Student Government plan would set aside a common hour in the middle of the day on Tuesday and Thursday each week during a semester. No classes would be scheduled at those times.

That would allow students, particularly commuter students, an opportunity to attend campus events that could range from lectures to musical entertainment.

Despite the criticism over how the common-hour issue was handled by the president, the chairman of Faculty Senate agreed the university's governing system is plagued by too much bureaucracy and time-wasting procedures.

"It is a mess," said Sutton.

Part of the problem, he said, is that various university boards don't communicate directly with each other, often leading to misunderstandings.

Sutton said a lot of issues get bogged down in committees where there is more talk than action.

"There are too many people on Faculty Senate who want to gripe and moan and complain, and there is very little positive that comes out of the senate.

"It is mainly a griping session. I get fed up with that," Sutton said.

Atchley said the issue isn't the Faculty Senate alone, but the entire governing structure.

He said too many times Southeast works through representatives of campus groups rather than obtaining input directly from those most affected by a proposal.

Atchley dislikes the continuous-meetings approach to running anything, whether it is a college or a business.

"Just meetings and talking is not necessarily good governance," he said. "Good governance is getting together and getting input and making the best decisions you can make."

The common-hour idea was raised earlier this fall at an Administrative Council meeting. The council includes all the top administrators, as well as representatives of the various employee groups and the student body.

In his Oct. 24 letter, Atchley pointed out the university would have to act soon in order to implement the common hour in time for the fall 1996 semester.

The fall class schedule will be set shortly after the first of the year, he explained.

Faculty senators voiced concern about Atchley's direct approach at a Nov. 1 meeting of the senate.

In his Nov. 8 memo to Atchley, Sutton said senators were concerned that governance procedures were being circumvented.

"If the system is not followed, morale and loyalty are damaged," Sutton wrote.

The faculty handbook says the duties of the Faculty Senate include recommending new academic policies or changes in existing policies.

"This statement implies that if a change in existing policy comes from either the administration or Student Government, the Faculty Senate should at least be consulted," wrote Sutton.

Sutton said Friday that he wrote the memo because many faculty senators had expressed concern about Atchley's action.

He said the Faculty Senate didn't object to the common-hour itself, just how the matter was handled.

"I thought there was still time to allay a lot of people's concerns that the Faculty Senate was being ignored," Sutton said.

Sutton said the common-hour plan is less important than how Southeast can improve its governing system.

Dr. Rick Althaus, Faculty Senate vice chairman, said the university must find a balance between dictatorship and chaos.

"There is a place in this world for deliberation," he added.