BY HANNAH BROADBENT | The Statesman
Amid turmoil at UMD, including 16 lawsuits, four Title IX complaints, the lowest enrollment in ten years and calls for her resignation by UM
D faculty, Andrea Schokker, the Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (EVCAA), resigned from her position.
“Every time you’re in a high profile position, you’re under a lot of pressure,” Communications Department Director, Lynne Williams said. “It’s taxing.”
The decision came after “careful consideration of my work and home life values,” according to an email Schokker sent out announcing her resignation to faculty early Tuesday morning.
Schokker said in the email that she gave Chancellor Black her resignation letter on the morning of Monday, Dec. 7. That same afternoon, the president of the United Educators Association-Duluth (UEA-D), John Hamlin, sent an email to members of the UEA stating that on Monday, Dec. 14 a vote of “no confidence” in Schokker (and a separate vote for Chancellor Black) will be held in the UMD Garden Room. As of Tuesday Afternoon, the vote has been delayed, a new time has not yet been announced.
Schokker made it clear in the email that Black did not ask her to resign and that she believes she would be more useful in her previous position, teaching in UMD’s Civil Engineering Department.
Chancellor Black commented through a news release: “I accept Dr. Schokker’s resignation with regrets but respect her decision. Andrea did a great job in this position and the students who will have her as their faculty member are very fortunate. I will work quickly to name an interim before beginning a national search to fill the position permanently.”
According to Williams, the Chancellor should find an Interim EVCAA in a few days to a week. Then a national search will begin for a permanent position starting next year.
The Statesman will be following the topic and update any new developments. Follow along at theumdstatesman.com and The UMD Statesman’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
View the Duluth News Tribune Op-Ed on the UMD resignation here.
Vote of No Confidence
The UEA-D will hold the vote for top positions to gauge faculty’s belief in UMD administration “It comes out of an accumulation of missteps.” John Hamlin said, in an e-mail.
Though faculty can express their confidence in higher-ups, the Board of Regents will still have the final decision. Hamlin said the talk of the vote started three years ago.
“It comes out of a lack of trust,” Hamlin said.
Voters have the option of voting, “confidence”, “no confidence” and “abstain.” According to Hamlin, even if 75% of faculty vote no confidence, the Board of Regents can respond with ‘That’s what you expect, especially in hard times.”
“The end results aren’t the issue,” Hamlin said. “It’s the means to the end.”
Hamlin said the faculty has lost trust in top positions and fear retaliation if they speak out. According to him, the issue isn’t with the decisions, it is “the process through which they are made.”
The Statesman will continue to follow the story and have updates as the situation progresses.