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IPFW faculty call for chancellor’s resignation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A six-page document compiled by faculty members at IPFW alleges that Chancellor Vicky Carwein has multiple failures of leadership and does not adequately represent the university’s mission. The document comes after IPFW announced an academic restructuring that includes the elimination of certain degree programs.

In mid-October, IPFW students received an email from the school notifying them the restructuring and provided recommendations for those students who are currently enrolled in the programs slated for elimination. Under a restructuring program called University Strategic Alignment Process (USAP) Geology, Philosophy, French, German, and Women’s Studies degree programs will be eliminated as of January 1, 2017, along with a handful of majors and graduate programs.

Declining enrollment and financial struggles are said to be the top two reasons why the university was compelled to move forward with restructuring. However, many disagree. Students and faculty have protested the decision and a Facebook page has been set up to for students against USAP.

The document, entitled “A Faculty Notice of No Confidence in Chancellor Carwein,” states that Carwein has failed the campus in the following ways:

  • Failure to adequately represent the interests of the campus in work related to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) working group on the future of IPFW
  • Lack of commitment to the stated mission of IPFW, coupled with an inability to articulate a clear vision or rationale or changing the mission
  • Mismanagement of USAP and lack of commitment to operationalizing the 2014-2020 Strategic Plan.
  • Damage to the campus morale and creation of a culture of fear.

In response, the document calls for the following actions to fix the damage:

  • Accept IPFW Chancellor Carwein’s resignation
  • Allow the IPFW faculty to take leadership in choosing an interim chancellor immediately and allow IPFW to take the lead in hiring a replacement chancellor
  • Cancel the ill-considered cuts announced on October 18, 2016
  • Permanently table the LSA recommendation to the split IPFW campus into two parts

It remains unclear how many faculty members were involved in the creation of the document. It is not yet known how the document was initially distributed.

Chancellor Carwein has not yet responded to a request for comment via email Saturday afternoon. NewsChannel 15 obtained the document via IPFW. To view the full document, visit statement-of-no-confidence.