Students aren't the only ones demanding transparency regarding former President Paul W. Ferguson's resignation in January.
The Faculty Council proposed a resolution at its meeting Feb. 4, calling on the Board of Trustees to provide more transparency.
The proposal is just a draft, and the faculty council is still looking into it.
The immediate goal, as stated by the resolution, is “disclosure about the instant case,” but the draft also calls for a change in how trustees are chosen. The resolution suggests mirroring the way Indiana University's board works — with alumni electing one-third of the members.
Currently the governor appoints all nine trustees.
Dom Caristi, a telecommunications professor, wrote the proposed resolution. Caristi ended his most recent term on the council in April. He said he speaks for himself, and not the council, regarding this issue.
He said he does not think his request for more transparency is unreasonable at all.
"I thought it was very wrong for the public not to know why the expenditure is occurring," he said. "I think there’s a lot of frustration for a lot of people. The Board of Trustees doesn’t answer to faculty, we don’t have any authority over them. This is a chance to have our opinion heard.”
The draft also asks for the board to not sign a contract with a prospective president that includes nondisclosure agreements when taxpayer dollars are being used.
"Ball State University's reputation is being negatively impacted by the lack of transparency," the resolution said. "Rumors and speculation are the result of lack of information."
According to Ferguson's resignation contract, he may be paid about half a million dollars in severance. The proposal stated that because students pay so much annually in tuition and the public official's salary is public information, students and faculty deserve to be given a reason.
"I believe that if there is an agreement that involves tax dollars, conduct should not allow for privacy like this," Caristi said. “During a resignation and the separation of a president form the university, the contract should not call for this kind of confidentiality. It’s only fine as long as they are not using any state money, which isn't the case.”
The search for a new president will likely cost the state of Indiana more than $100,000, according to the resolution.
"The Board of Trustees ... should never have agreed to forfeit the taxpayers’ right to know how their money is being spent," the resolution said.
Caristi said he hopes nothing like this happens again.
“I would like to believe that even if nothing happens in this situation and the Board of Trustees continue to Stonewall and not say anything, in the future, this kind of confidentiality will not be allowed if public funds are involved," he said.
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