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A group of faculty at Medaille College, in Buffalo, N.Y., criticized President Kenneth Macur for using the pandemic to give himself emergency powers, The Buffalo News reported. The faculty statement -- approved by Medaille’s Faculty Assembly by a 54-to-10 margin -- came after The Buffalo News reported that Macur had invoked an “act of God” clause in the college’s Faculty Handbook that allows him to suspend for up to six months normal policies and procedures related to the hiring and firing of faculty, governance of the college, and oversight of academic programs.
The faculty members called the invocation of the clause an “unconscionable exploitation” of the pandemic.
“The reality is that this is an effort to sidestep years of budgetary mismanagement, the result of which is a multi-million dollar deficit,” their statement says. “Any attempt to blame this long-standing budget deficit on COVID-19 is simply not accurate.”
Faculty also voted 63 to 1 to express no confidence in Macur’s leadership; about three-quarters of full-time faculty voted. Michael Walsh, the chairman of Medaille's board, called the step “unfortunate” and expressed the board’s “full faith” in Macur.
Macur said he is working closely with the seven elected members of Medaille’s Faculty Council. He said most small colleges were struggling with enrollment and financial challenges and “this pandemic has just exacerbated the issues.”
