Westfield State University President Dr. Ramon Torrecilha (photo courtesy WSU)
WESTFIELD- The Westfield State University Chapter of the Massachusetts State College Association gave an overwhelming vote of no-confidence to WSU’s President, Ramon Torrecilha last week following contract negotiations between the faculty and librarian’s union and the Council of Presidents, which consists of the Presidents of all of the Massachusetts state colleges and universities.
The vote took place over the course of a week. 219 WSU faculty members, both full and part-time, took part in the vote. Of the 219 votes, 211 were to assert that they had, “No confidence in President Torrecilha’s leadership skills and fiscal stewardship of the institution.” Six faculty members voted that they had confidence in the president, and two abstained from casting a vote, according to a statement from the MSCA Union.
“Westfield faculty made clear that their concerns were not singularly nor primarily about the recent bitter contractual fight between the MSCA statewide union and The Council of Presidents (Presidents of the nine state universities) – even though some of the concerns of the Westfield faculty resulted from that battle,” said the statement sent by Margot Hennessy, President of the MSCA’s WSU chapter, “Faculty insist that the alarming issues that led to this serious vote of no confidence are the president’s lack of cooperative leadership and his authoritarian and bullying style, all of which has created a campus culture of dismissing faculty and staff input and concerns.”
President Torrecilha has not personally made a comment on the matter, but Chairman of the WSU Board of Trustees Kevin Queenin released a statement on behalf of his board and the university.
“It is immensely disappointing and puzzling to learn of the Massachusetts State College Association’s Westfield State Chapter’s move to call a vote of confidence or no confidence in Westfield State University’s president. An effective and transparent leader, President Torrecilha has had the full support of the Board of Trustees throughout his tenure and the long collective bargaining process and we are pleased that an agreement has been reached on the contract. The Board recognizes and appreciates the president’s strategic oversight to improve the University’s overall direction and community engagement in just three years. His significant accomplishments in elevating the University’s academic profile, replacing open faculty and staff positions at a time when other organizations are not, and increasing Financial Aid and private fundraising to support student success all speak loudly to the University’s exceptional good fortune in having a leader of Dr. Torrecilha’s caliber and intellect,” said Queenin in a statement.
In the MSCA statement, they added that the Board of Trustees sent out an email pledging their support for Torrecilha following the final vote on Friday, calling him an effective and transparent leader. Hennessy added that the email was sent out before the Board of Trustees spoke with any faculty and without “acknowledging the stark realities of the unprecedented majority vote of no-confidence.” Hennessy claimed that, as of Tuesday, neither Torrecilha or any member of his cabinet have reached out to the MSCA WSU chapter leadership.
Despite this, Hennessy’s statement said, the MSCA chapter is willing to sit down with the Board of Trustees for both sides to discuss their concerns. Among the MSCA’s issues with Torrecilha are how he handled searches for administrators and Presidential appointments to positions such as the Provost. The union also voiced concerns over financial transparency on the part of Torrecilha and his administration. According to the MSCA statement, the university could not afford to fairly compensate faculty for supervising students in high impact educational experiences. Those experiences include internships, independent studies, studio art and music classes, and clinicals for nursing students.
“Yet the University is funding a bloated, expensive and wasted administrative structure, increasing administrative salaries and awarding bonuses to Vice Presidents and members of his administrative staff,” said the MSCA statement, “The bonuses resulted in an inquiry last semester followed by a Board of Trustees whistleblower investigation.”
Hennessy said that communication between the MSCA and the Board of Trustees has begun in an effort to improve morale across campus.
“The historically low morale across the campus which has severely hampered the entire university’s operations, overburdened staff, and negatively impacted students demands the attention of the whole Westfield State University Community,” said Hennessy in the closing of the MSCA statement, “The faculty represented by MSCA Chapter is committed to working to improves the lives of all university employees and students.”
