Back in October, I wrote a letter to the Wayne Stater concerning the dismissal of Dr. Walker. I was fairly convinced at the time that this would all be seen as a gross mistake and would be resolved quickly.

 
Instead, it seems that psychology majors under Dr. Walker’s direction have continued to be shortchanged. They lost their mentor, their project director and the person they were most comfortable with in their area of study.

 
Bad form for a school that prides itself in its concern for students. I used to advise incoming freshmen. I emphasized the care this college gave them. I’m no longer sure that is the case.

 
I have read, with interest, Wayne Stater coverage and social media posts about this ongoing situation. From an outside perspective it continues to look like a few administrators and faculty with personal grudges have allowed themselves to turn departmental squabbling into a campus wide embarrassment.

 
I’m not a naive observer of faculty disputes. I’ve seen many outright nasty encounters between personalities at Wayne over the years and have never seen the college allow itself to be railroaded into this sort of a standoff. A level headed administrator or faculty member was always able to fend off a crisis. It seems that there is departmental and divisional dysfunction in this case without a capable leader to take control.

 
It’s hard to imagine that this has come to lawyers fighting over open or closed meetings. It looks an awful lot like administrators trying to cover their backs. If allegations have been made and reasons given for the firing, those making the allegations should be able to stand up in public and make them. In a public institution that at least claims to believe in shared governance, a public hearing of grievances should be the standard.

 
I also think that the general faculty should be watching this carefully. Once the “process plays out” they should be aware of all that happened and how it happened. Yet another argument for open meetings.

 
They should feel less secure in their tenured status and more concerned about the whims of the administrators. They may even need to request a campus wide ruling on how administrators handle faculty behavior and spell out specifics, and it should be standard in all departments.

 
And finally, delaying a decision on this situation puts a faculty member and her family in a precarious situation. If there is no job next semester, she should know that sooner rather than later. Applying for academic positions has a schedule, and long delays in handling this case causes a significant financial strain.

 
Overall it reeks of pettiness and mismanagement, and as a “personnel issue” they have “no comment.”