FAC 25-01 Vote of Non-Confidence in University President

WHEREAS, the foundation of a successful university relies on effective shared governance, transparent communication, inclusivity, and ethical leadership to uphold its academic mission and values; and

WHEREAS, the Academic Senate of California State University, Dominguez Hills is committed to the principles of shared governance, ensuring that faculty, staff, students, and administrators collaborate in making decisions that impact the academic institution; and

WHEREAS, under the University President’s leadership, CSUDH student enrollment declined precipitously by 21% between 2020-2024, representing the second worst decline in Southern California CSU campuses, while some neighboring CSU universities have experienced growth of 4 to 5% during the same period[1]; and

WHEREAS, despite this severe enrollment crisis, not a single change has been made to the executive cabinet's composition to address and reverse this concerning trend; and

WHEREAS, the University President has demonstrated a pattern of circumventing shared governance principles, notably by unilaterally hiring an external consulting firm during the winter break without consultation with established shared governance bodies including the Academic Senate and University Budget Committee; and

WHEREAS, the University President has enacted three rounds of budget cuts and initiated a fourth round without meaningful engagement in shared governance processes, explicitly dismissing the role of the University Budget Committee by stating there is no room for the university budget committee during budget cuts, and appointing a new UBC chair in the middle of budget cuts who has not met the required one-year service requirement (and sidelining existing experienced members by invoking abnormal state of budget) stipulated in presidential memoranda[1][2]; and

WHEREAS, the University President has demonstrated a concerning lack of transparency by serving potential layoff notices to Unit 3 faculty through the California Faculty Association while simultaneously maintaining a facade of normalcy in Academic Senate meetings through performative acknowledgments of his executive cabinet; and

WHEREAS, the University President has implemented significant personnel reductions, including the layoff of more than 30 staff members and non-retention of several faculty members[3], without transparent discussion or disclosure of affected departments, while simultaneously engaging in questionable expenditures at golf courses and beach resorts; and

WHEREAS, the University President has systematically undermined campus shared governance by stating in academic senate meetings that shared governance is not shared decision-making (which is not in compliance with CSUDH PM2020-01)[4], responding to shared governance stakeholders with personal insults and ad hominem attacks when faced with dissenting views; and

WHEREAS, the University President has provided letters of support for external grant applications and then refused that support without justification when grants are awarded, preventing implementation of grant activities and jeopardizing the ability of CSUDH to attain future funding; and

WHEREAS,  systemic mismanagement by the Chancellor's Office, under Mildred Garcia's leadership, has favored larger campuses at the expense of smaller, resource-strapped campuses serving significant proportions of Pell Grant recipients; and

WHEREAS,  these actions have created a negative feedback cycle affecting morale, academic quality, and resource utilization, and require urgent corrective measures including a timely release of the Chancellor’s evaluation of the University President; and

WHEREAS, these actions collectively demonstrate a pattern of leadership that undermines the principles of shared governance, transparency, and inclusive decision-making that are essential to the successful operation of our university and have resulted in wasteful spending, terrible morale, high levels of stress and anxiety for faculty and staff, and a lack of solutions or actions to address problems that were clearly on the horizon years ago and for which, as the leader, solutions for which he should have prepared and planned.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Academic Senate of California State University, Dominguez Hills hereby expresses its vote of no confidence in the University President's leadership; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Academic Senate of California State University, Dominguez Hills calls upon the CSU Chancellor and Board of Trustees to conduct a thorough review into these matters and take appropriate action to address these serious concerns; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution be distributed to the CSU Chancellor, the CSU Board of Trustees, the Academic Senate of the CSU, the California Faculty Association, the California State University Employee Union, the Legislature of the State of California, and the Chairs of all CSU Academic Senates.