CMU Board of Trustees has an obligation to tell students the truth
The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees held a special session Tuesday regarding the possible purchase of the WFUM TV station in Flint.
Toward the end of the meeting, it mentioned returning grant money to the National Science Foundation, citing that “the project could not be successfully completed.”
Turns out — to no surprise — that wasn’t the full story.
In 2005, the NSF awarded CMU with a three-year grant titled, “CONCEPT: Connecting Content and Pedagogical Education of Pre-Service Teachers.” According to a document from the office of Research and Sponsored Programs, “the objective of the grant is to redesign CMU’s secondary teacher preparation program in mathematics.”
The grant involved seven faculty members when it began June 8, 2005. When the Board of Trustees made the decision to end the project, $619,489 of the $770,119 grant had to be paid back to the NSF.
The money actually had to be reimbursed because two members of the project plagiarized the grant proposal and the research. The grant money was given back because the university believed it to be the ethical thing to do.
The Board of Trustees should have been more forthcoming about the issue instead of making it a footnote in a special session. Not discussing the real reason why the project could not be finished makes it look like a coverup.
Grant money is given out on the basis of reputation and trust. But trust cannot be reciprocated if the Trustees won’t discuss the wrongdoing in public.
This behavior is nothing new to CMU — there is a disturbing pattern of failure to take responsibility this semester. The new tailgating policy was enforced without proper student representation and destroyed the gameday atmosphere at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, yet no one came forward to admit the mistake.
Brooks Hall has experienced a number of problems after rushed summer renovations, including lost research, fire code violations and a temperature mishap but, again, no one has yet taken responsibility.
One exception is Police Chief Bill Yeagley, who admitted mistakes were made when the Central Alert System sent out a message Oct. 16 concerning a Music Building evacuation.
Many recipients were disgruntled with the garbled messaging late at night, but trust was restored when he not only apologized, but explained the steps that would be taken to prevent the problem from happening again.
Younger generations look to older generations for advice. CMU is no exception to this relationship, as students expect sound guidance from university officials. When the university makes a mistake, it is seldom acknowledged. This puts the respect students have for university officials in danger, creating the mentality that the university simply does not care.
No one expects the university to run perfectly at all times.
But answers — and responsibility — are expected when problems arise.
