FROSTBURG — Frostburg State University faculty members passed a no confidence vote Friday afternoon against university President Ronald Nowaczyk and former Acting President Al Delia, calling for their immediate replacement in the school’s administration.
More than 80% of faculty members voted no confidence against Nowaczyk, while 61.9% voted no confidence against Delia.
“Lacking confidence in the current administration, the faculty call for an immediate change in leadership in the Office of the President,” the Faculty Senate said in an email sent to university employees and student government members Friday afternoon.
The Office of the President released a statement after the announcement was made.
“We have been apprised of the outcome of the recent faculty vote on confidence in the leadership of the University,” it said.
“A summary of comments made by some faculty were also shared and will be taken into consideration as we move forward.”
According to the Faculty Senate correspondence, this is the first time in the university’s history that a vote of no confidence was held against a current or acting university president.
“The decision to hold this vote must not be misconstrued as a reaction to any single decision,” the Faculty Senate message said.
The faculty voting was conducted between Aug. 20-30, and approximately 70% of tenured, tenure-track and library faculty participated in the vote, according to the Senate.
“Concerns about Dr. Nowaczyk’s leadership were evident long before the current budget difficulties,” the Faculty Senate said.
The Faculty Senate also said that it remains “committed” to the university and its students amid these “current challenges.”
The Faculty Senate is comprised of 27 elected and six ex-officio members that is guided by a steering committee, according to the FSU website.
Justin Dunmyre, acting chair of the Faculty Senate, said that the most common reasons for no confidence were “poor leadership” and a “disregard for shared governance.”
“Many faculty also noted a pattern of top-down decisions apparently made without serious regard for input,” Dunmyre said.
“Within this pattern, unreasonable expectations are often placed on faculty.”
Dunmyre cited FSU’s switch to Division II athletics in 2019 as a “case in point” example for the lack of shared governance.
“Many faculty point to many different experiences of athletics affairs being a higher priority than faculty affairs,” Dunmyre said.
According to the Faculty Senate email, a lack of transparency within athletics is just one of many ways that trust has been “eroded” between the faculty and the administration over the years.
“We need leadership that can gather input from all shared governance stakeholders, faculty, staff and students,” Dunmyre said.
“We consistently hear that we are a critical component to supporting Western Maryland,” said Dunmyre, “but FSU doesn’t seem to get resources commensurate with that criticality.”
Dunmyre said that the university needs new leadership that will partner with outside stakeholders to “improve this narrative.”
While the Faculty Senate has called for an immediate replacement of Nowaczyk, who recently returned from administrative leave, no further comments have been made by the university.