Dear Illinois Tech leadership, students, staff, and faculty,
I am sure we are all aware of the significant changes that have occurred during the summer. It is no secret that a lot of these changes could’ve been prevented, and that many of the decisions made by leadership were unnecessary or not done in good faith. The TechNews Editorial staff members have been debating addressing these issues directly, and without a doubt in our conscience, we have decided that we will address these directly. If not for the faculty, for the staff with no representation, and our students whose voices are constantly denied entry into the 19th floor.
TechNews has created this special issue paper as a way of addressing these changes, but also as a way for students to make known that we are here and we are not with the decisions leadership has made. Additionally, students have made it very evident in social media that they are dissatisfied with the decision by university leadership and the Board of Trustees. The decisions made by the leadership and the Board of Trustees are, in the opinion of much of the student body, decisions that were made prematurely, not in good faith, will ultimately delay graduations, and will severely impact the student body.
It is for this reason the TechNews Editorial staff has unanimously agreed on no confidence in leadership. We have no confidence in Raj Echambadi over the financial decisions made on behalf of faculty, staff, and students, as well as the secrecy over the financial situation we are facing. We have no confidence in Mallik Sundharam over his lack of transparency to students about the ongoing enrollment crisis in the university. We have no confidence in Elizabeth Hudson over the lack of transparency about the student experience and the tone deaf release of information regarding the consolidation of our university colleges, which followed the termination of 163 faculty and staff members. We have no confidence in this university leadership over the dismissal of 163 faculty members, the years of mismanaged funds and assets, the dismissal of any valued student opinion following the dissolution of the President Student Advisory Council, and the violation of the rules outlined by the faculty, staff, and student handbooks.
These gross violations of our rights as faculty, staff, and students have proved to us that university leadership is incapable of conducting standard university business. Despite years of warnings from faculty, staff, and students about this happening, leadership ignored the voices that should’ve been valued the most. We as members of this university family are not just disappointed; we are now ever more angry over how poorly our university has been managed.
In this same statement, we call on all student orgs and advocacy groups to vote no confidence in the leadership at Illinois Tech. We call on the Greek Council to stand up for their brothers and sisters and vote no confidence in university leadership. We call on the Student Government Association to vote no confidence in university leadership. TechNews believes in the power of the student voice. Now more than ever, that is what we need.
Signed,
The TechNews Editorial Board