Faculty leader calls Perdue-backed changes to searches for college presidents a 'slap in the face'

University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue defended recent changes to tenure and the selection of college presidents in his first letter to faculty issued Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Board of Regents voted to give Regents more control over how University System of Georgia colleges selects presidents.

As written, the current policy says that new presidents for non-research universities will be selected by a committee of faculty, alumni, students and others, with faculty making up the majority of members and a faculty member as chair. The revised policy includes members of the Board of Regents, the chancellor or representative of the chancellor, and says that a Regent will serve as chair of the committee.

"It reflects a desire of the Board to be involved earlier in the process in selecting a new president," Perdue wrote in his letter. "Additionally, our research institutions have always had Regents involved in the search process from the very start – it was a different search process from our other institutions – and that is second reason for the change. The Board wanted a process that was consistent across all sectors. There is no nefarious intent to diminish the voice of any group in the selection process."

Read more: Original and new policies for selecting institution presidents

Some faculty, however, see the changes as way to diminish their say in the process.

"That change is a complete slap in the face to faculty and to any idea of shared governance," said Georgia American Association of University Professors President Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia. "This is a seriously top-down management choice."

The Board of Regents said the policy creates consistency across all the USG institutions.

"Going forward, the presidential search process currently used for USG research universities will apply to all USG institutions, including comprehensive universities, state universities and state colleges," wrote USG Associate Vice Chancellor Lance Wallace in an email. "This updated process allows the Board and Chancellor to be engaged in all levels throughout the presidential search process."

The change is one of several recently that Boedy says represents a more "autocratic" process from USG. Last fall, the Board of Regents voted to remove tenure protections from faculty in some circumstances, causing USG to be censured by the national AAUP.

Also: National faculty organization censures University System of Georgia over tenure

Traditionally, tenured faculty can only be removed for serious academic or personal misconduct after an investigation by other faculty members. Last fall the Regents passed changes to tenure protection that would allow faculty who failed to improve after a negative post-tenure review to be removed by the administration, without the traditional tenure protections.

And: Sonny Perdue announcement latest clash between USG Board of Regents, faculty and students

In his letter, Perdue defended the changes, arguing that that the process of post tenure review still protected tenure even if it did not follow AAUP's "narrow definition."

"Some have asked me to work with the Board to change the new policy and get us removed from censure, yet the Board is committed to the new policy’s level of development and accountability," he wrote. "I recommend the faculty in the University System of Georgia begin petitioning the AAUP to remove USG from the censure list by assuring them that each of you who will be involved in the post-tenure review process will commit to affording due process as a concept to every faculty member who fails to meet expectations."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Sonny Perdue backs presidential search, tenure changes in letter