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University of Denver faculty votes "no confidence" in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner

University of Denver faculty votes "no confidence" in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner
University of Denver faculty votes "no confidence" in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner 00:40

Faculty at the University of Denver held a vote over a two-week period, ultimately voting "no confidence" in Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.

University spokesman Jon Stone said the vote signifies how much the faculty cares about the university's future and said the university's board of trustees maintains unanimous support of Haefner.

Stone said, "The chancellor and board are committed to working with all faculty, staff and students to ensure a strong and enduring future for the university. "

Seventy percent of the full-time faculty eligible to vote participated, with 56% of them voting yes to no confidence, 37% voting no, and 7% abstaining. The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Studies largely voted yes to no confidence, while the majority of participants in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Daniels College of Business voted no.

Stone also said that former Faculty Senate President Dean Saitta did not step down as a result of the vote. However, Saitta, who stepped down in May, said he made the decision "because I could see where this was going and I wanted to give the senate time to arrange for a successor, which we did."

In his resignation letter, Saitta explained his reasoning, stating:

"Given current attacks on the autonomy of universities by external forces I believe that we should be rallying with the chancellor and not organizing against him. If the No Confidence motion passes, then the senate should have a person at the helm who shares its values on this matter and is committed to whatever it has in mind as an alternative paradigm for moving forward. Also, I promised in my original campaign statement to serve as a bridge between the campus AAUP chapter and the senate. The chapter has already voted No Confidence in the chancellor. For this and other reasons I'm unable to commit to supporting what the AAUP chapter is doing now or what it might plan on doing going forward."

He cited division on issues of financial management, shared governance and the future vision for the university as points of tension and said the vote has been a divisive issue on campus. Saitta said he believes the chancellor and the board want to work with faculty and staff on challenges facing the university.

The University of Denver is one of many across the nation that have been affected by recent federal funding cuts. In April, Haefner, along with over 350 college leaders nationwide, signed a condemning what they call "unprecedented government overreach and political interference" in higher education by the Trump administration and calling for constructive engagement. At the time, 11 research projects at the university had been impacted by the budget cuts.

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