BFA Censure of CU President Mark Kennedy
Odds are–if you are at all affiliated with the University of Colorado system–you know of Mark Kennedy. Looking back on May 2019, people had mixed opinions concerning his election as president of CU; some claimed that he was more than qualified to assume such a high-end position while others deemed him unfit to be a leader. Even more stood somewhere in the middle. Now, with Mark Kennedy’s presidency nearing the two year mark, another protest has arisen. One that questions his past and present leadership during some of CU’s most difficult times. All manifested in the form of official censure.
In layman’s terms, to censure is to express severe disapproval of someone or something. As a noun, a censure is a formal, public reprimand for an infraction or violation. The Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) will be voting to censure President Mark Kennedy for his failure of leadership with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The grounds for such accusations are explored below:
- Whereas, diversity, equity, and inclusion are not only paramount moral issues, but also present grave challenges to the University of Colorado with its current reliance on out of state tuition and a declining student demographic;
- Whereas, the urgency of this issue requires leadership at the highest level of our University of Colorado system, leadership in actions and words;
- Whereas, President Kennedy initially refused the advice of the Faculty Council and Staff Council to include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a standalone pillar in his administration’s Strategic Plan;
- Whereas, President Kennedy sought to require that campus statements on race, immigration, LGBTQ+ issues, and climate change be pre-cleared through his office;
- Whereas, President Kennedy did not protect the university’s academic freedom and free speech by resisting the Trump administration’s reactionary executive orders around international student visas and anti-equity training;
- Whereas, President Kennedy has a well-documented history of making problematic and hurtful statements without apologies or consequences;
- Whereas, President Kennedy continues to diminish the genocide of Indigenous Peoples as “ill treatment” and has employed the term “Trail of Tears” as a casual idiom, with blatant disregard for that historical event;
- Whereas, President Kennedy responded to the the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol with a partisan message that referenced “identity politics” and “fake news” and ultimately pivoted to promoting his online education initiative, minimizing the gravity of the events and their impacts;
- Whereas, President Kennedy’s ongoing conduct undermines the institution’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
- Whereas, President Kennedy’s ongoing conduct damages the national and international reputation of the University of Colorado as a leader in addressing the humanitarian, social, and technological challenges of the twenty-first century;
The scheduled date for the Assembly vote is April 29, 2021. If these arguments are concrete, and should the BFA approve this motion, then it could greatly impact Mark Kennedy’s profile for the Board of Regents meeting in June. Regardless, this series of events is assurance that there are a number of university affiliates working to improve the leadership quality of all CU systems. It shows that we are, in fact, not alone in our concerns.
Additional Sources:
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/08/25/cu-free-speech-race-covid-university-of-colorado-sensitive-topics/ https://coloradosun.com/2020/07/07/colorado-college-students-coronavirus-trump-international/ https://www.diversifycunow.com/kennedytimeline/
https://president.cu.edu/statements/cu-systemwide-lands-recognition-statement/ https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/03/mark-kennedy-trail-of-tears-cu-boulder/