Governance Memo

Running head: Governance Memo

Organizations and Governance: Governance Memo 1 Loyola University Chicago Olivia Collins

Governance Memo

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University of Oklahoma Boards Corporation & Boards of Oversees

Dear University of Oklahoma Board, The University of Oklahoma is facing backlash from staff and students about how the new president, James L. Gallogly, is handling two black face videos going viral on campus. In at least one of the videos there appear to be University of Oklahoma students. The issue here is how the president is failing to address the concerns of the students and faculty and how that is affecting the overall campus climate. The issue is being viewed differently from the angle of the students/faculty and the presidents himself. According to, The Chronicle of Higher Education “A follow up rally on Thursday left some students disappointed when they arrived at the president’s office and were told he was unavailable” (pp.8, Vasquez, 2019). The students do not feel heard in terms of the best route to take when moving forwarding. The president missing a follow up meeting with them after a rally was more evidence that he does not have their best interest. From the perspective of James Gallogy, stated from The Chronicle of Higher Education “I haven’t been here very long, I don’t think people know me very well yet” (pp.8, Vasquez, 2019). The president does not feel like he has had the opportunity to make such drastic changes in campus climate. He does not feel like the students and faculty know him well enough to say he is necessarily doing a good or bad job. He also went on to say that campus climate cannot be changed overnight. The relevant stakeholders in this case are the board of regents, the community in which the university resides and the public. The board has a lot to lose if the new president does not respond appropriately or in a timely fashion. By a lot to lose, I mean the board can lose the

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Governance Memo

students themselves, funding from the public and the support of the community. The parents and the students hold the most power in the dilemma and if they were not happy with the results of the president then the issues would be worse. Addressing the Issue: 1. Climate surveys need to be given to the student body and administration 2. Once climate surveys are concluded campus wide meeting with the president about the survey outcomes 3. Workshops involving race, social justice, privilege, discrimination and identity for all students and staff 4. President to address the student body and staff about the implementation of programs 5. How the president plans to move forward and discipline students in the video 6. How the president plans to make students of color feel safe/brave on campus Implementation of policy: •

Hire a third-party team for surveys to excuse University of Oklahoma from biases

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Have a diverse (roles, pay etc.) team about survey outcomes

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Have workshops conducted by diverse population of staff who are familiar with race relations and social justice issues (ie: social workers, policy makers, social justice, lawyers)

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Have president send a formal email about the importance of the workshops and the repercussions of students in the video

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Implement more brave spaces, counselors, educational assistance for those who are unaware of social justice issues

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Governance Memo Critiques of recommendation: One of the biggest critiques is time and money. Hiring a third party to produce the questions about campus climate is expansive and generally takes time. When it comes to the outcome of the surveys and who discusses this with the president this is usually asking staff to take on more work which is time they usually do not have. Then to have ask another set of staff who are master’s in social justice issues to give up their time to educate other faculty and students at workshops which can cause some tension because it assumes these staff know everything and their counter parts do not. The president sending a formal email about the

importance of workshops could come off as pushing a political agenda; which could cause some backlash. The implementation of more brave spaces means more training of staff and students which means less free time for staff and student employees. Ultimately this can cost the University more money. If weigh out the cost of the benefits the staff and president could see it is worth it to implement these policies.

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Governance Memo

References: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Give-Me-a-Chance-Says/245553?cid=wcontentlist