Mar 7, 2016 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – The faculty and coaches at California University of Pennsylvania next week will take a vote of no confidence in the school’s council of trustees, interim president and three vice presidents as a committee searches for a new Cal U. president.

Members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties at Cal U. will gather votes March 14 to 16 as the presidential search committee brings the first of four candidates for the president’s position to the campus, said Barbara Hess, APSCUF president at the university.

“Morale is not good,” said Hess, declining to immediately discuss the union’s concerns.

Faculty members complained about the school lacking a strategic plan under interim President Geraldine Jones, who was initially named acting president in May 2012 following the firing of the previous president. Cal U. since came up with that plan. The school furloughed 16 non-union employees and eliminated another 14 positions through attrition in 2014. Another seven non-union jobs were cut in January as the school grappled with a deficit that reached $5.4 million that month.

The faculty union has not presented a list of grievances to Jones pertaining to the no-confidence vote, Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl said Monday. The identities of the four candidates for Cal U. president have yet to be announced and it is not known when the trustees will recommend a president to the state System of Higher Education, Kindl added.

Jones said the no-confidence vote came as a surprised to her when it was discussed at a trustees meeting March 2.

“We feel that whatever their issues are, we will get through this together,” Jones said at the meeting.

She said there are times when she will make employees unhappy, and difficult decisions need to be made “in the best interest of the university.”

Hess said the vote of no confidence also involves the academic affairs, financial and student affairs departments.

Bruce Barnhart is acting provost/vice president for academic affairs at Cal U. Robert Thorn is vice president for administration and finance, and Nancy Pinardi is vice president for student affairs.

Hess, who is on the presidential search committee, signed a confidentiality agreement during the process. She said she is hesitant to say more about the voting at this time.

“I don’t want to cause the presidential search to fail,” said Hess, whose union represents 239 full-time professors.

Larry Maggi, who is president of Cal U.’s council of trustees, said he was surprised to learn about the no-confidence vote. Maggi, who also is chairman of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, declined to comment further on the faculty announcement.