Posted on 11/22/2002 10:18:08 AM PST by Theodore R.
Schmidly says work needed on diversity
By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Texas Tech President David Schmidly held court at the law school Thursday as he defended his record on diversity, admitted the school has room for improvement and ad dressed the concerns of 150 students and faculty members.
"It has been impossible to ignore the untrue statements," Schmidly said, adding that he wanted to speak openly and factually with the students. He said he does not discriminate and has never threatened, retaliated against or harassed any member of the Tech community.
He spoke in response to disparaging comments he allegedly made about women, the treatment of law professor and former law school associate dean Daisy Floyd and alleged discriminatory practices during the appointment of an interim law school dean and a permanent dean.
Meggan Bailey, a third-year law student, said Schmidly played the "blame game" during his appearance Thursday.
"He took credit for the num-
bers, but when things looked sketchy, he passed the blame to the provost," Bailey said.
She and other law school students want more diversity on campus, including more women and people of color.
Schmidly admitted faults in the interim dean search process and said he has instructed new Provost William Marcy to establish a process for appointing an interim dean.
Former Provost John Burns did not follow the process that he told faculty members the university would use in ap pointing an interim law school dean, Schmidly said.
All of the deans appointed since Schmidly's tenure began have been white men.
"I can't be responsible for hiring every individual," he said, admitting he has the ultimate authority in the decision.
Schmidly said of the 33 new hires in upper-level positions since he was named president 26 months ago, 22 — 66 percent — have been women.
Tech is ahead of national numbers and trends in some areas and behind in others, he said.
"We have ground to make up," Schmidly said. "We can do better. We must do better."
There are major hurdles, but progress is being made, he said.
"It is not fair to say discrimination is part of the administrative culture," Schmidly said.
He said he was pleased with a march for diversity last week that took more than 100 students through campus and said he was impressed students were concerned with the issue.
Floyd was not at Thursday's forum. Some students questioned why the forum and a previous one conducted by law dean Walter Huffman were scheduled when Floyd could not attend because of previous engagements.
Schmidly said he was invited to attend, accepted and did not schedule the event.
Another issue discussed was retention.
"We have a real problem with faculty turnover," Schmidly said.
In an investigation of law school salaries, an expert determined there were "no serious salary discrepancies" in gender or ethnicity, Schmidly said.
Terrence Allison, a third-year law student, said he was "somewhat" satisfied with Schmidly's comments, but still has concerns about diversity.
Allison said, based on what he sees, there are few minority deans and the university did not take the issue seriously in the past.
He said the speech was "good damage control" and he appreciated the president coming to the law school and presenting his side.
"I think he answered the best way he could, but I still think a lot of people will leave dissatisfied," Allison said.
Adrienne Dunn, a third-year law student, said Schmidly "promises diversity, but doesn't act on it. He had the opportunity to hire a black male, but didn't do it."
A black male was the other finalist for law school dean with Huffman.
Schmidly said he believed that both candidates were qualified, but Burns suggested Huffman.
Dunn said she wanted Schmidly to "admit the processes are not fair" and that they are "discouraging women and people of color."
Another problem, Dunn said, is Schmidly, after expensive nationwide searches, appoints people he already knows or who already work at Tech to his administration.
The provost appoints the deans, but the president approves the provost's selection.
skitchen@lubbockonline.com 766-8753
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.