Mike Otsuka on the significance of the UIUC no confidence votes

Mike Otsuka of the LSE has some important reflections on the departmental no confidence votes at UIUC. 

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We should not underestimate the significance of the 15 Departmental votes of no confidence in Chancellor Wise (and those above her) at UIUC. When parliaments pass motions of "no confidence" on which such votes are modelled, they are declaring that those in command are no longer fit to hold office, and governments fall. These are, therefore, very strong statements from these Departments. Such votes of no confidence in the senior managers of one's own university are rare. Fear of retaliation by one's bosses is an obvious explanation. Another explanation is that even if one strongly opposes someone's actions, one might not think they rise to the level of a resigning offence.

It may not surprise many that the Department that voted to hire Salaita (American Indian Studies) passed a motion of no confidence, or that all the other Departments in the Race, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Gender grouping joined them. But I was surprised to see how far beyond these Departments the votes of no confidence have radiated. Philosophy, for example, does not spring to mind as a natural ally of Race, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Gender. But they were one of the first to join AIS in voting no confidence. It's also significant that two Departments in large and traditional disciplines -- English and History -- passed motions of no confidence.

The Departmental votes of no confidence haven't yet extended beyond the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. But they already extend a fair distance within that College, which is at the core of the University. It was, recall, a vote of no confidence of Harvard's equivalent Faculty of Arts and Sciences that led to Larry Summers's resignation. The vote against Summers wasn't overwhelming: 218–185. And, significantly, it was by secret ballot of all members of the Faculty, with no individual Departments having to put their necks on the line.

Members of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have an especially strong grievance against their Chancellor, given the manner in which she bypassed their Dean, in violation of University Statutes. (See link in first comment below.) It is not over yet. Let's hope that there are more Departmental votes of no confidence to come. Perhaps we are not far from the point where the level of no confidence among LAS faculty in Chancellor Wise reaches that of Harvard's FAS in Larry Summers.

Comments

[John Protevi]

In addition to English and History among the non-Ethnicity or Gender Studies departments, there are also the social science departments: Religion, Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography and Geographic Information Science. So three social science departments (I'd say Religion is localized anthropology / sociology) and one that is split between social science and a technical discipline. Then the language / literature / cultural studies departments (English fitting in here as well), French & Italian, East Asian, and Comparative & World Literature. Then there is the Education people, who I think would have had an official vote of no confidence rather than simply a statement signed by 16 faculty members if it weren't for the opposition of Nick Burbules.