Do not trust faculty with Griffin Chair
It's critical that Central Michigan University administrators and members of the Board of Trustees take over the hiring of the next Griffin chairman to ensure the political science department does not instill another political crony.
After the Gary Peters controversy, faculty members can no longer be trusted to run an open, honest and transparent hiring process.
The political science department, under then-chairman Delbert Ringquist, improperly considered partisan political affiliations when Peters was hired in 2007.
Ringquist told colleagues the next Griffin chairman had to be a Democrat because a Republican professor "will create problems" on a campus dominated by partisan liberals.
Pamela Gates, then dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, whose duties included overseeing the political science department, objected and told faculty shortly after Peters was hired: "I do have a problem with (hiring Peters) as it allows the position to be put into a partisan political light."
Ringquist, along with professors Larry Sych and Jim Hill - all of whom were responsible for hiring Peters - never interviewed or seriously considered anyone except Peters when the political science department voted to hire him.
After administrators, trustees and members of an advisory board of Griffin program donors expressed concern, former state Sen. Ken Sikkema, a Republican, was brought up for a sham interview.
Sikkema was never given serious consideration by the partisan faculty, and Ringquist told administrators Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm "may demonstrate an interest" if Peters wasn't hired.
The faculty then voted to reaffirm their previous decision to hire Peters, knowing that he would run for Congress - making it unlikely he would fulfill his three-year obligation to educate CMU students on Michigan politics and government.
As one concerned person asked CMU President Michael Rao on Aug. 16, 2007, "What will happen if Mr. Peters is successful and is elected to Congress in the general election?"
Well, that's what happened. Peters was elected in November and he quit his professorship and left CMU scrambling to find a replacement - forcing students to reschedule classes, on incredibly short notice, for this semester.
And now the same people who caused all this want to hire the next Griffin chairman. Ringquist and his cronies have already damaged CMU's integrity and public perception with the corrupt hiring of Peters.
CMU administrators can't afford to take another chance and allow political science faculty to do more damage to the already tarnished Griffin program.
Dennis Lennox II
Topinabee senior speaking on behalf of the Campus Conservatives Board of Trustees
