The University of Denver’s faculty has voted “no confidence” in their leader, Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.
A total of 822 full-time faculty were eligible to vote through an online poll between June 12 and 26, said former DU Faculty Senate President Dean Saitta, who resigned that position this week because he disagreed with the outcome of the vote.
The reasons for the vote, according to the Faculty Senate, were “misguided financial priorities, lack of a shared vision (and) top-down decision making that undermines faculty’s ability to do their job well and that diminishes the student experience.”
DU spokesperson Jon Stone said the university’s Board of Trustees “maintains its unanimous support of and trust in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.”
“The recent vote by members of the faculty signifies how deeply they care about the university’s future during one of the most challenging times in the history of higher education,” Stone said in a statement. “…The chancellor and board are committed to working with all faculty, staff and students to ensure a strong and enduring future for the university. ”
Haefner was named chancellor — the top leadership spot at the university — in 2019. He previously served as DU’s provost and executive vice chancellor.
Seventy percent of eligible faculty participated in the vote. Fifty-six percent of participants voted “yes” to “no confidence,” while 37% voted “no.” Seven percent abstained, Saitta said.
Last year, DU made cuts and tightened its budget amid what Haefner called “a very difficult time for the university,” noting an $11 million budget deficit as the private research university faced waning enrollment.
Students and faculty leaders at the time sounded the alarm about concerns over Haefner’s financial management, leadership concerns and plunging university morale.
Aaron Schneider, a longtime professor and co-president of DU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said faculty at DU have lost confidence in Haefner’s leadership.
Because of this loss of confidence, Schneider said the DU faculty took votes of no confidence in multiple colleges, among chairs and directors, the Faculty Senate and now the entire faculty.
“This is an unprecedented step in the 160-year history of the university that we do not take lightly,” Schneider said. “…We welcome the opportunity to negotiate an alternative path for the university, but they repeatedly ignore us. They leave us no choice but to continue with additional votes of no confidence, statements to the press and ongoing steps to bring DU back to its core mission.”
Saitta said Haefner responded to the faculty vote with a message to the campus Monday reiterating his commitment to “engage with the community, to listen and to work collaboratively and constructively to make the university stronger, especially given the many challenges that institutions across the country are currently facing.”
The university is also creating a new “faculty-trustee liaison committee” to ” foster more and better communication between these parties about big issues of common concern,” Saitta said.
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