In a strongly worded letter sent Thursday morning, the University of Marylandās major fundraising group condemned the Board of Regents, expressing outrage over how they handled the aftermath of the death of football player Jordan McNair and damaged the groupās effort to raise $1.5 billion for the stateās flagship campus.
Geoff J. Gonella, who chairs the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees, said the university systemās regents have āwreaked havocā and deliberately undermined university leadership by taking control of the investigation into McNairās death, reinstating football coach D.J. Durkin and āevidentlyā forcing the retirement of university President Wallace D. Loh.
Thursday night, Loh fired Durkin, and influential voices including former University System of Maryland chancellor Brit Kirwan and former regents chair Jim Shea have called for the president to reconsider his announcement that he would retire. The Board of Regents announced Thursday that they would hold a special meeting at 2 p.m.
The foundationās letter, addressed to regents chair James T. Brady, also said the regents have damaged recruitment and fundraising.
āLet us remind you that we are in the middle of a $1.5 billion campaign to raise funds for the Flagship of the System to bring the best and brightest students to College Park, hire and retain outstanding faculty, provide superb facilities, and to improve the surrounding community,ā Gonella wrote. āWe are doing all we can to assist the legislature in helping to fuel the continued advancement of this Flagship university in Maryland.
āAnd we are deeply distressed that you have not only dented our momentum,ā he continued, ābut you may have dealt our efforts a fatal blow. The Boardās reckless conduct failed to consider any of these factors and occurred with virtually no consultation with any campus stakeholders.ā
A spokesperson for the Board of Regents said Thursday that he wasnāt sure if the regents had received the letter yet. Brady had defended the boardās decision Wednesday before Durkinās firing.
Gonellaās letter, copied to the governor, legislative and university system leaders, said foundation trustees support the call for public hearings to investigate the regentsā actions and āwill actively participate in these hearings expressing our disappointment and outrage.ā
Echoing similar sentiments in a statement Kirwan and Shea issued Wednesday night, Gonella said the regents have harmed the university system for interfering with personnel decisions below the level of president.
āGoverning boards should not be hiring or firing football coaches on campus or any other personnel for that matter.ā the letter said. āThe Boardās flagrant violation of this principle has caused serious damage to the reputation of the Board of Regents and to all of Maryland higher education.
āThe Boardās actions will seriously harm the ability of all Maryland campuses to recruit future presidents and faculty if this is the governance climate they will face. The damage by the Boardās conduct is very real.
āWhat right-minded highly qualified candidate would choose to serve as the next President of the university? How confident can the faculty feel about their academic freedom? How many high-achieving students will think twice about College Park for fear of meddling by a Board with an uninformed perspective?
āIf the Board is determined to undermine the leadership of the campus and weaken its legislative Flagship status,ā Gonella wrote, āit has taken a very good first step.ā
The regents also received a letter from the provost and more than a dozen deans Thursday morning, similarly slamming them for what the academics called interference in personnel matters.
"The violation of the independence of the University to manage its human resources and operations compromises the governance structure of the University, impacts our credibility and our ability to deliver the educational services for which we exist as a public land-grant institution," said the letter signed by Mary Ann Rankin, senior vice president and provost, and deans of various schools. "It has already damaged the trust of students and their families, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and supporters."
The academics said Loh's leadership is "critical" during this tumultuous time at the university, and they encouraged the regents and system chancellor to "publicly affirm its support for Dr. Lohās continued leadership of the stateās flagship university."
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Baltimore Sun reporters Talia Richman and Scott Dance contributed to this article.