Simon's stance on transparency commendable
Tweet
Recently, the State News editorial board had the opportunity to sit down with MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and discuss a number of issues pertaining to campus.
One of the most notable things that came out of the meeting was the larger matter of transparency between the administration and students, especially regarding how MSU is dealing with major challenges in terms of its budget.
The uproar and controversy last year that surrounded the elimination of MSU’s music therapy program illustrated the perils of nontransparency, and it’s likely the administration learned a valuable lesson from that saga. Now, the university says it has adopted a model of transparency in its budget deliberations, and has even debuted a new Shaping the Future Web site to prove it.
But even in a supposed “transparent” administration, there have been more than a few hiccups as of late.
For instance, the university might have been frustrated with The State News for breaking the story about the administration’s proposed plan to move Olin Health Center to the MSU Clinical Center on Service Road. It might say we jumped the gun and that releasing the story led to unnecessary worries among the Olin staff and student body. But as a news-gathering organization, we can’t just sit around until everything is laid out in a neat little plan, especially when those issues affect student welfare.
Although it’s true all of these changes still only are in the “proposed” stage, it’s important that students know what’s at stake and make their voices heard as the university hammers out its budget.
During our meeting, Simon made the comment that she would be upset if students didn’t make their voices heard in many ways, and welcomes input from students — it just depends what format in which that input comes.
The best way for students to make their views known is to engage directly with university officials through the Shaping the Future Web site, Simon said. Facebook groups are all well and good, but usually they are just a way for students to vent and don’t often result in real change. Students can’t simply whine in their own social networks of choice and expect that they’ll be taken seriously. Whether it be opposition to moving Olin or an effort to save their own major from a moratorium, students must talk to the administration and not simply grumble amongst themselves.
We appreciate the university choosing to be more open with students and the general public, but instead of trying to convince the university of our point of view, we also would like to see and hear more of the university’s arguments and reasoning on why they believe certain measures are in the best interest of MSU. It’s one thing to make data and documents available to the public, but it’s another to publicize this fact and invite people to scrutinize it and offer suggestions. We would prefer more emphasis on the latter.
The university needs to go out to the people; it can’t expect the people to come to them. The new Shaping the Future Web site, which can be found at www.shapingthefuture.msu.edu, is a welcome first step, but the university needs to publicize it more so that students can use it the way it was intended — as tool to inform and engage the MSU community.
We hope the university continues to practice what it preaches regarding transparency, and that the larger MSU community will respond to MSU’s gesture with informed suggestions.
It might be messy for a while, but it’s our hope that by engaging both sides, the MSU administration, its students and the greater MSU community can come together and keep MSU strong throughout these tough times.
Commentary
Add your $0.02, go to the comment form or follow the comment feed
student
(11/08/09 8:09pm)Report
As a student who supports Pres. Simon, Provost Wilcox and the rest of the administration, I have to say that this transparency has been always present since Pres. Simon took over. Simon is a person that really loves MSU, she works hard for the University and really knows the history of MSU. Furthermore, she works to sustain the Land Grant mission and to increase quality of MSU.
I think that MSU is in a historical moment where it has reunited the most amount of leaders in history to really move forward, change the mindset and increase the quality of Michigan State University. And, in some way, it’s great that this has happened in a moment when the economy is struggling because these leaders are really capable of making the best choices regarding MSU’s future.
If you look at the University from top to bottom, Simon and Wilcox have really improved the structure of MSU, departments and divisions. From Athletics and Academics to Administration the University is in the best position it has been since John Hannah, or probably in history.
The catalyst for this? Well, a combination are the cause of such change in mentality and success: capital campaign, Campaign for MSU, which raised more than $1.2 bi; athletic success, Mark Dantonio, Izzo and the rest of the AD are being increasingly successful; academic success, improvements in research and teaching across colleges raging from the new CHM headquarters in GR to the upcoming FRIB; and general University external support, like the new Broad Museum. These are just a summary of recent success.
Still, for MSU to continuously and consistently increase quality today and in the future more external support from alumni and others is needed.
Currently, many students are angry for the cut in programs. But the reality is that the University reliance on state funds is considerable and the lack of non-state support in certain programs exposes MSU to these kind of problems.
Furthermore, alumni, friends and current students need to recognize that for MSU to continuously improve quality, sustain programs and develop new modern ones we need to help MSU through donations. It doesn’t have to be a $1 thousand. Maybe $100, $50, $25 or even $10 a year make a difference. Just think that MSU currently has over 450 thousand alumni. Every single one of them has different financial circumstances, but if each one of them helps MSU with something each year the University will be better, believe me.
We all know tuition is expensive, but think of the current students and the future ones. Think of the current circumstances and how you would want them to be in the future.
It’s your alma mater. Protect it.
GO GREEN! GO WHITE!
VICTORY FOR MSU!
Actual Student
(11/08/09 9:25pm)Report
If they are so transparent then why aren’t the actual reccomendation letters to the provost that were a result of the shaping the future website not made available to the public….. Also, the rumors are that Olin is moving next fall, I’ll bet that it is the same change that was originally proposed by the administration this past summer.
Another real student
(11/09/09 1:39pm)Report
What a load. If the process has been so transparent, why were students and faculty not made privy to the discussions occurring before these cuts were recommended?
Why have they not been provided with numbers to demonstrate that the cuts being proposed are going to have a positive impact?
Why are students and faculty not being invited to suggest their own potential solutions, and to review the administration’s budget for areas where that might be cut?
Michigan State University is rapidly turning into East Lansing Community College.
student
(11/09/09 3:15pm)Report
First, Board of Trustees meetings have always been public. The fact that you don’t receive an invitation doesn’t mean anything.
Second, everything is posted online. Again, the fact that you don’t receive the documents in your mail doesn’t mean that they haven’t made public.
http://www.msu.edu/thisismsu/board_admin/index.html
Between the pages for the Board of Trustees, Budgets and Finance I think you will be able to find all the info you want there.
As I said, the key here is that if you have less money you can’t sustain the same level of productivity because simply there’s not enough. I find amusing that people are not able to understand that. It can’t be put simpler. That is directly correlated to maintaining the quality of the rest of the programs that will continue.
There thing is that you eliminate some to protect the quality and integrity of the rest. It’s called accounting. Maybe they should make the introductory managerial accounting class a university requirement.
Also, not everything will be online because it is impossible to post everything online considering all the documents that exist. Still, Federal laws provide the public with opportunities to ask for the release of documents from a publicly funded institution. The State News has done it multiple times and everyone else can do it.
Finally, I am a student. Yes, an “actual” one. One that is informed enough and cares enough about my alma mater to protect it when things are bad and to want the best for it in the future. You don’t have to be a rebel and a hater of the administration to be a hater. The documents are there, the intentions are there, the actions are there, the leaders are there… what else do you want?
The only way to maintain all the programs in the current economic climate is for someone to open their checkbook and make a multi-million dollar donation to the MSU endowment for each of the programs being affected. Stop being idealists.
Another real student
(11/09/09 3:55pm)Report
Yes, I am well aware of the material that is available to the public, as well as the public nature of the Board of Trustees meeting. I attended the last one. As for the material online, it is only made available after it has been presented. Which of course, means that decisions are already being made without the input of faculty or students (or staff, for that matter), who are the very individuals most affected by them.
No one is saying that cuts won’t need to be made, or is expecting to find a billion dollars somewhere. What people do want is real input into the process, and administrative efforts to educate the students on the real impact of these cuts to their education and futures.
This has nothing to do with accounting, and everything to do with ensuring that major changes in the university are made as democratically and transparently as possible.
student
(11/09/09 5:36pm)Report
I disagree, again.
First, most of the documents, including the minutes of the Board, are posted before each meeting. That’s why is possible for The State News to release the articles before the meetings regarding what is going to be discussed. The thing is that people don’t necessarily look where they should. The Shaping the Future website is a new addition to have fellow members of the MSU community to understand what is trying to get accomplished, the decisions, the timeline, etc. But, the Office of Budgets and the Office of Finance, among the rest of the administrative divisions, post the documents online in their respective websites. The link to get to all these specific sites is this: http://www.msu.edu/thisismsu/board_admin/index.html. There you can get info raging from enrollment, how much do TA’s get paid, specific programs and departments to how are the University investments (endowment) performing.
Finally, this has a lot to do with accounting because the more you understand accounting and financial processes, the more you will understand how and why certain decisions and changes are taken. Yes, being democratic and transparent matter, and the administration is being clear in how they do things, but does it matter to have a transparent process if decisions are not taken with accounting and future plans in mind and, in that way, sacrificing the University’s financial stability and quality. Fellow students have to understand that, as much as we all want to preserve all the current academic programs, the economy and the financial resources at MSU are not sufficient. With that said, there will always be people that will be against the changes and clearly here we can see there are, but steps have to be taken firmly in one direction to conserve momentum and protect the integrity of MSU.
Dr. Simon
(11/09/09 11:33pm)Report
Nothing gets me up in the morning like advancing indoctrination and transforming minds. Diversity is my religion. Nothing says higher education like different colored people self segregating among the faculty and students. I love my job.
Engaging Directly?
(11/10/09 9:31am)Report
One of the ways to officially “engage directly” with the MSU Administration is to speak at the Board of Trustees meetings. However, as anyone who has ever been to a BOT meeting can attest, President Simon and a significant number of the Board can often be found having side conversations, checking their email, and perusing various documents during the public comments. As one of the longest lasting forums through which students, and other members of the campus community, can speak directly to their administrative officials, I find it highly offensive that this is the consistent reaction that those administrative officials make.
So, please excuse my skepticism, then, when I do not commend as “transparent” President Simon’s suggestion that we send electronic messages and pleas to the administration via a website. Given the behavior at BOT meetings, it is my guess that these messages, lacking actual voice and presence, will simply be ignored.