Ineffective UT Administration.....
Donald K. Wedding, UT-AAUP Executive Board
and
Linda Marie Rouillard, UT-AAUP Executive Board
Below is a quote from Bruce Johnson, President of the Inter-University Council of Ohio. The Johnson quote appears near the end of an article in the February 23, 2011 issue of the Columbus Dispatch. The quote reads:
"If people knew about all of the processes that go on relative to Ohio's public sector collective-bargaining law, they would be offended by the time, energy and talent that is underutilized."
"...the University of Toledo, for example, estimates it spends $8 million extra in labor costs because of ineffective employees."
The Inter-University Council is made up of administrators from Ohio universities including The University of Toledo. UT administrators listed on the Council website include President Lloyd Jacobs and Vice President Scott Scarborough.
The $8 million allegedly spent on extra labor costs for ineffective employees is from a February 16, 2011 letter sent by President Lloyd Jacobs to Kevin Bacon, Chairman of the Ohio Senate Insurance, Commerce, & Labor Committee. Jacobs' letter was presented in UT-AAUP newsletter #35 earlier today. President Jacobs' letter endorses Senate Bill 5 and says that "as much as $10 million in potential savings" could result from the passage of statutory law based on Senate Bill 5. President Jacobs' letter also refers to a possible $1 million in savings.
President Jacobs gives no hint as to what metric was used to arrive at the $8 million, $10 million or $1 million. Such numbers are regularly fed by the Jacobs Administration to the UT Board of Trustees, The Toledo Blade, or in this instance, a politician, and go unchallenged.
If UT employees are ineffective, it is because the UT Administration is incompetent and ineffective. President Jacobs and his team of administrators have received millions in salaries and bonuses over the past three years. One would reasonably expect these generous salaries and bonuses to be a reward for effective administration. But instead President Jacobs and his bonus babies cry about ineffective employees.
The University of Toledo is an open admission institution with a 90% acceptance rate. Over 40% of UT students require remedial courses. The UT student retention rate is one of the lowest in Ohio. Forbes has UT ranked near the bottom of 610 colleges and universities, 589 in 2010 and 583 in 2009. UT is similarly positioned at the bottom of the US News & World Report rankings. The Jacobs Administration has responded with destruction of the UT library, reorganization of colleges, and the watering down of academic programs.
The ineffective Jacobs administrators ignore academics and fill their pockets with millions in high salaries, bonuses, foreign travel, and other perks - all paid for by Ohio taxpayers. If Governor John Kasich and the Ohio legislature want to cut public university costs in Ohio, let them look carefully at bloated administrative salaries, bonuses, and benefits starting with The University of Toledo. Let Governor Kasich and the Ohio legislature show their effectiveness by focusing on ineffective and high cost university administrators. The problems at UT start at the top, not at the bottom.
