The Center for Collaborative Policy at Sacramento State introduced a 40-page research report at the Faculty Senate today analyzing the problems between the senate and the president’s office.

The report was compiled at the request of both parties after the faculty vote of no-confidence last year in Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez.

The assessment leading to the report was designed to provide an analysis of underlying factors and dynamics that have contributed to the troubled relationship between faculty and Gonzalez.

The assessment also aims to provide recommendations on how to move forward and provide assistance in determining the next steps each side of the argument can take to resolve the conflict.

The research identifies several factors that have led to stress and mistrust throughout the faculty and president’s office. External factors, common to all campuses, greatly affect what happens on campus.

The research identifies three dynamics that place stress on administrators and faculty. These three factors are discourses, behavior and lack of reconciliation.

The discourses of each side often are in conflict. The research identified the faculty discourse, stating, “the president does not meaningfully consult with or respect faculty, and that Academics is not the president’s top priority.”

The president’s discourse was described as “faculty want to be in charge of the university, and faculty do not understand what’s needed for the university to survive and thrive.”

The research identified that Sac State does not have methods for reconciling these differences. This method of reconciliation is what the research hopes to one day accomplish.

According to the research, lack of a unified vision produces situations in which administrators and faculty are not able to set clear priorities.

The Center proposed four recommendations to develop a collaborative leadership environment at Sac State. The first recommendation is to develop interest in making changes. This would involve interest-based problem solving training to be conducted by the Center.

The second recommendation involves management exercises and training to be carried out by the Faculty Senate and by the president separately.

The third recommendation is to form joint administrative-faculty teams to develop a mission statement that outlines goals and expectations. The mission statement would need to be agreed upon by both the Faculty Senate and by the president.

The final step of the process would be to continue to develop a collaborative culture at Sac State. This would involve a faculty-administration team developing a stepping off platform for the future of the campus. This step would also involve incorporating the ideas and thoughts of campus students, staff and alumni.

The research document is available online at www.csus.edu/ccp/assessment

Derek Fleming can be reached at [email protected].