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CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
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Desert_Blazer Offline
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Post: #121
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
(12-07-2014 12:46 PM)58-56 Wrote:  
(12-07-2014 12:37 PM)nicknitro19 Wrote:  I am writing my letter tonight because I wanted to: A. have the recipients read it right before the senate faculty meeting and B. wait to see what Watts was going to do (and Christmas has come early).

Is it alright to mention that Watts keeps calling some of UAB's donors liars to the media? I don't think it's a good idea at all and I think it is ammunition to use against him.

Let me know because I can be as blunt as a sledge hammer and I don't want to offend any one.

I definitely think so.

Academics may do things differently, but they're not cloistered fools (well, not all of them). They know what donors mean. They know that Watts just obliterated the Campaign for UAB, that however much he tries to shame our own students with the "curing cancer" card, he just did more damage to UAB's research potential with a single webpage update than 100 years of football deficits. They know all about a Christmas Wish List (that Clark's and the other coaches' were then used against them appears to really resonate).

Reminding them of these things, with links to his own words (and the GameDay piece) would be a very good thing.

They know that a similar tactic could be used against their own departments. Very underhanded sh*t.
12-08-2014 07:33 PM
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legalblazer Offline
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Post: #122
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
(12-08-2014 07:24 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  Is that letter posted in one of these threads?

I thought it was, but apparently not. Thanks to GN for his editorial assistance...

_______________________________________________________-

UAB Faculty Senate,

As a 1996 second-generation UAB graduate and former student of some copied here, I am concerned about the future of UAB under the leadership of Ray Watts. I am writing to ask that each of you consider the leadership qualities and personal integrity necessary to hold the office of the president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reflect carefully on those demonstrated by Dr. Watts during recent events, and ask yourselves if this man should continue to represent us.

I do not take the writing of this letter lightly. It is not intended as a smear, but rather to outline actions and non-actions by Dr. Watts that I believe show that he is not equipped with the requisite qualities of a university president. A good dean does not necessarily make a good president. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the decision made earlier this week to discontinue select athletic programs, his handling of this episode from beginning to end falls woefully short of the excellence he himself says is required at all levels at UAB.

It has now been made apparent that over the past year, Dr. Watts has engaged in a campaign of subterfuge and secrecy designed to frustrate and prevent any open debate among the UAB community. In the end, the decisions he reached reflect a vision of UAB that differs significantly from that of his predecessors. Such a shift in course, if indeed prudent, should not be made by one man. It should not be made without receiving input from all parties involved, each being provided with an opportunity to voice concerns and offer alternative solutions. The process employed by Dr. Watts resulted in an embarrassing public debacle for UAB.

In January of this year, Dr. Watts asked an employee of another university, Mr. William Clark, to move his family and leave his job to come to Birmingham to work for UAB, bringing a staff of associates and their families with him. In a press conference last Tuesday, Dr. Watts stated that Mr. Clark was made fully aware at the outset that the end of his position at UAB at the end of this year was a possibility. Do any of you believe that statement is truthful? Clark himself indicated that this was not true in an interview with Al.com earlier this week. Is there any rational scenario where Mr. Clark would uproot his family and accept a position at UAB had he been informed up front the position might only last one year?

Shortly after Mr. Clark’s arrival on campus, he was asked to provide an estimate of the resources that he would need to make his program succeed. Instead of being treated as a list of aspirational goals, this list was passed onto a consulting firm which used this data to derive an increased level of capital investment which Dr. Watts, in turn, used to justify the elimination of Mr. Clark’s own position and the football program at UAB.

If you, as faculty, were to now receive such a request from the UAB administration, how should and would you treat that request?

The report prepared by CarrSports Consulting that resulted from the aforementioned study comprised a mere nine pages with a binary comparison between terminating or not terminating Mr. Clark’s program. I find it difficult to believe that CarrSports Consulting would return such a limited analysis had they truly been charged with providing UAB with an objective report that covered all options.

Furthermore, this analysis was based on data prior to Mr. Clark’s arrival. His eleven months of remarkable success, his only time at UAB, were ignored as were the recent offers of monetary assistance which would have significantly offset the capital expenditures pointed to as the penultimate reason for the decision that was made. Given that Mr. Clark excelled during his brief tenure, it seems that no level of performance by him or his student athletes would have been sufficient to convince Dr. Watts to make an alternative choice. Leading to the conclusion that, not only did Dr. Watts not inform Mr. Clark that of the possibility that his position at UAB would be terminated in one year, this was actually a near certainty.

Once the decision was made, and prior to his official press conference, Dr. Watts met with the football players (but not members of the rifle or bowling teams) to deliver the news that their program at UAB was being discontinued. He was immediately confronted by passionate and emotional responses from across the room. Some of these responses challenged Dr. Watts on a personal level and questioned his motives over the past year. In particular, one student, an Iraq War veteran, made a number of strikingly emotional points.

Dr. Watts’ response was offensive and appalling. Instead of listening to what was being said, the president permitted the situation to anger him. Instead of thanking the students for how they had represented UAB, or apologizing for the action he claimed to have been forced to take, Dr. Watts lashed out at these students. He responded by belittling their time at UAB, stating that it paled in comparison to his “42 years” (an exaggeration) and that he loved UAB more than the students did and that he had “worked his ass off”. It was an extraordinarily unprofessional response unbefitting any decent person in touch with the emotional realities present in that room, much less a university president speaking to his own. It was shameful. Video recordings of these exchanges aired across the country, on social media, and national news outlets with Dr. Watts appearing as the embarrassing face of UAB.

Outside the building, Dr. Watts was escorted by armed guards through an angry crowd. This made for a tense scene that appeared rather volatile. It seemed that the situation could have easily turned tragic. These students, parents, and alumni were angry, angry that a decision had been made by one man that affected so many lives, a man who did so without involving them in the process. Had this process been completed in an appropriate, open, and transparent manner, this situation could have been avoided entirely.

Has any previous UAB president ever required an armed escort or bodyguards on campus? How much longer will this be necessary for Dr. Watts? Students graduating in UAB’s December ceremony are now reportedly planning a protest wherein they will stand up and turn their backs on Dr. Watts if he speaks. Can Dr. Watts effectively lead under these conditions?

Today a national media outlet, ESPN, aired a segment focusing on these aforementioned events. This segment included an interview with Birmingham businessman and UAB donor, Don Hire, who stated bluntly that, “I've never been more ashamed, more embarrassed in my whole life of a group of administrative people who had the ability to do something better than what we did that day.” I fully concur with Mr. Hire’s statement.

Based on these examples, which unfortunately are only a subset of those that can be raised, I do not believe that Dr. Watts is qualified for his position. He has jeopardized the university’s relationship with the Birmingham City and Jefferson County governments, publicly embarrassed UAB in the national media, alienated respected UAB donors, and his statements, whether, spoken or written, cannot be trusted – at least without very careful parsing by counsel. His approach to important decision making processes does not involve the greater university community, it is instead dictatorial, finding unwanted input from that community to be a “distraction”. He is not the right person to lead UAB. He has rendered himself compromised and will therefore be ineffective going forward.

I ask that you call for a vote of no confidence in President Ray Watts. I know that this will be a difficult decision for the faculty senate, but one that I think Dr. Watts should understand, having himself been recently forced to make and deliver news of such a decision. I trust, however, that this body will handle the process with much more transparency, wisdom, and grace.
12-08-2014 08:03 PM
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the_blazerman Offline
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Post: #123
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
Very good.
12-08-2014 08:18 PM
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USAFBlazerFan Offline
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Post: #124
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
THAT'S IT!!! Nicely done!
12-08-2014 08:24 PM
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Native Georgian Online
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Post: #125
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
That is a brilliant letter, legalblazer... Circulate as widely as possible
12-08-2014 10:03 PM
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EnviroBlazerD Offline
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Post: #126
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
Well done! I dare not even come close to that level of eloquence!
12-08-2014 10:08 PM
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KevMo4UAB Online
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Post: #127
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
04-cheers
12-08-2014 10:22 PM
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DragonClaw Offline
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Post: #128
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
Perfectly appropriate.
(This post was last modified: 12-08-2014 10:35 PM by DragonClaw.)
12-08-2014 10:32 PM
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PTBlazer Offline
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Post: #129
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
(12-08-2014 08:03 PM)legalblazer Wrote:  
(12-08-2014 07:24 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  Is that letter posted in one of these threads?

I thought it was, but apparently not. Thanks to GN for his editorial assistance...

_______________________________________________________-

UAB Faculty Senate,

As a 1996 second-generation UAB graduate and former student of some copied here, I am concerned about the future of UAB under the leadership of Ray Watts. I am writing to ask that each of you consider the leadership qualities and personal integrity necessary to hold the office of the president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reflect carefully on those demonstrated by Dr. Watts during recent events, and ask yourselves if this man should continue to represent us.

I do not take the writing of this letter lightly. It is not intended as a smear, but rather to outline actions and non-actions by Dr. Watts that I believe show that he is not equipped with the requisite qualities of a university president. A good dean does not necessarily make a good president. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the decision made earlier this week to discontinue select athletic programs, his handling of this episode from beginning to end falls woefully short of the excellence he himself says is required at all levels at UAB.

It has now been made apparent that over the past year, Dr. Watts has engaged in a campaign of subterfuge and secrecy designed to frustrate and prevent any open debate among the UAB community. In the end, the decisions he reached reflect a vision of UAB that differs significantly from that of his predecessors. Such a shift in course, if indeed prudent, should not be made by one man. It should not be made without receiving input from all parties involved, each being provided with an opportunity to voice concerns and offer alternative solutions. The process employed by Dr. Watts resulted in an embarrassing public debacle for UAB.

In January of this year, Dr. Watts asked an employee of another university, Mr. William Clark, to move his family and leave his job to come to Birmingham to work for UAB, bringing a staff of associates and their families with him. In a press conference last Tuesday, Dr. Watts stated that Mr. Clark was made fully aware at the outset that the end of his position at UAB at the end of this year was a possibility. Do any of you believe that statement is truthful? Clark himself indicated that this was not true in an interview with Al.com earlier this week. Is there any rational scenario where Mr. Clark would uproot his family and accept a position at UAB had he been informed up front the position might only last one year?

Shortly after Mr. Clark’s arrival on campus, he was asked to provide an estimate of the resources that he would need to make his program succeed. Instead of being treated as a list of aspirational goals, this list was passed onto a consulting firm which used this data to derive an increased level of capital investment which Dr. Watts, in turn, used to justify the elimination of Mr. Clark’s own position and the football program at UAB.

If you, as faculty, were to now receive such a request from the UAB administration, how should and would you treat that request?

The report prepared by CarrSports Consulting that resulted from the aforementioned study comprised a mere nine pages with a binary comparison between terminating or not terminating Mr. Clark’s program. I find it difficult to believe that CarrSports Consulting would return such a limited analysis had they truly been charged with providing UAB with an objective report that covered all options.

Furthermore, this analysis was based on data prior to Mr. Clark’s arrival. His eleven months of remarkable success, his only time at UAB, were ignored as were the recent offers of monetary assistance which would have significantly offset the capital expenditures pointed to as the penultimate reason for the decision that was made. Given that Mr. Clark excelled during his brief tenure, it seems that no level of performance by him or his student athletes would have been sufficient to convince Dr. Watts to make an alternative choice. Leading to the conclusion that, not only did Dr. Watts not inform Mr. Clark that of the possibility that his position at UAB would be terminated in one year, this was actually a near certainty.

Once the decision was made, and prior to his official press conference, Dr. Watts met with the football players (but not members of the rifle or bowling teams) to deliver the news that their program at UAB was being discontinued. He was immediately confronted by passionate and emotional responses from across the room. Some of these responses challenged Dr. Watts on a personal level and questioned his motives over the past year. In particular, one student, an Iraq War veteran, made a number of strikingly emotional points.

Dr. Watts’ response was offensive and appalling. Instead of listening to what was being said, the president permitted the situation to anger him. Instead of thanking the students for how they had represented UAB, or apologizing for the action he claimed to have been forced to take, Dr. Watts lashed out at these students. He responded by belittling their time at UAB, stating that it paled in comparison to his “42 years” (an exaggeration) and that he loved UAB more than the students did and that he had “worked his ass off”. It was an extraordinarily unprofessional response unbefitting any decent person in touch with the emotional realities present in that room, much less a university president speaking to his own. It was shameful. Video recordings of these exchanges aired across the country, on social media, and national news outlets with Dr. Watts appearing as the embarrassing face of UAB.

Outside the building, Dr. Watts was escorted by armed guards through an angry crowd. This made for a tense scene that appeared rather volatile. It seemed that the situation could have easily turned tragic. These students, parents, and alumni were angry, angry that a decision had been made by one man that affected so many lives, a man who did so without involving them in the process. Had this process been completed in an appropriate, open, and transparent manner, this situation could have been avoided entirely.

Has any previous UAB president ever required an armed escort or bodyguards on campus? How much longer will this be necessary for Dr. Watts? Students graduating in UAB’s December ceremony are now reportedly planning a protest wherein they will stand up and turn their backs on Dr. Watts if he speaks. Can Dr. Watts effectively lead under these conditions?

Today a national media outlet, ESPN, aired a segment focusing on these aforementioned events. This segment included an interview with Birmingham businessman and UAB donor, Don Hire, who stated bluntly that, “I've never been more ashamed, more embarrassed in my whole life of a group of administrative people who had the ability to do something better than what we did that day.” I fully concur with Mr. Hire’s statement.

Based on these examples, which unfortunately are only a subset of those that can be raised, I do not believe that Dr. Watts is qualified for his position. He has jeopardized the university’s relationship with the Birmingham City and Jefferson County governments, publicly embarrassed UAB in the national media, alienated respected UAB donors, and his statements, whether, spoken or written, cannot be trusted – at least without very careful parsing by counsel. His approach to important decision making processes does not involve the greater university community, it is instead dictatorial, finding unwanted input from that community to be a “distraction”. He is not the right person to lead UAB. He has rendered himself compromised and will therefore be ineffective going forward.

I ask that you call for a vote of no confidence in President Ray Watts. I know that this will be a difficult decision for the faculty senate, but one that I think Dr. Watts should understand, having himself been recently forced to make and deliver news of such a decision. I trust, however, that this body will handle the process with much more transparency, wisdom, and grace.

Please send to the Birmingham News letters to the editor , and also to David Sher at the Comeback Town blog (http://www.thecomebacktown.com/). This blog is widely read, and respected. Everyone needs to read this, regardless of their feelings.

You've voice needs to be widely heard, legalblazer. Really.

Thanks for your passion and leadership.
12-08-2014 11:52 PM
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58-56 Offline
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Post: #130
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
Please remember to thank the Senators. They showed courage today.
12-09-2014 02:05 PM
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Doktyr X Offline
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Post: #131
RE: CALL TO ACTION: The Failure of Ray Watts: No Confidence
Done.

"Faculty Senators:

I just wanted to say Thank You for you action today. I say that as a fan of UAB Athletics and even more as a fellow employee. My staff members did not even know who Dr. Watts was last Monday, they do now and they are worried as to where his budget axe may fall next.

Several of you use our services in the Animal Resources Program and we are grateful for that business. Any loss you incur in funding or grants, we incur. We exist to fill a need that you generate. Any future business decisions to cut any research harms every researcher and the support services they use.

Your vote and resolutions show me that you still think of UAB as university; not just some kind of business that can be chopped up like firewood. It also shows that at UAB, we are family. Once again, thank you."
12-10-2014 12:24 AM
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