In November, three news organizations moved to sue the University of Wyoming for keeping the names of the final candidates for UW president from the public.
The news outlets felt the public has the right to know who will be Buchanan’s successor, but the university has said that it hopes to attract more candidates who would be afraid of losing their current jobs if their names were publically released.
The BI staff believes that UW is shrouding the presidential search in mystery and is losing credibility by not releasing the finalists’ names.
According to a Casper Star-Tribune article, the Associated Press, the Casper Star-Tribune and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle all filed to sue UW in district court on Nov. 26.
The aim of the lawsuit is for UW to release the list of the final university presidential candidates.
The people of Wyoming and the university students have a right to know who is being considered to replace Buchanan after he retires at the end of the school year. Wyoming has only one four-year university, and the university president is in a unique position of power in Wyoming politics.
Our campus is still recovering from the issues of this semester. The Carbon Sink removal and Coach Christenson’s infamous “Mr. Howdy Fucking Doody” are national issues that Buchanan has had to deal with. His decision to remove the controversial Carbon Sink and Coach Christianson’s slap on the wrist sent a strong message to the rest of the state about the university. The people of Wyoming and the students of UW will be greatly affected by who is the next UW president. Knowing who the candidates are helps ensure that the future president will represent Wyoming in the best possible way and avoid future scandals.
A spokesman for UW told the Associated Press that the university is hoping more high-profile candidates will apply if they do not risk losing their current jobs. The message that is being sent is that there are some candidates who think they will be fired if their current employer finds out that they are job hunting or there is a favorite candidate who wants his or her name kept secret.
No one wants to risk losing a job, but UW could have told the candidates that if they made the finals, their name would be released. In the run for president of the United States, both candidates’ names and faces are well-known, not just the winner’s. The university is funded by taxpayer money and should not be allowed to make these important decisions in closed-door board meetings. There is no solid reason why the candidates for president of the university should get preferential treatment.
In this economy, jobs are hard to come by. UW argues that it is protecting the privacy of the candidates by not releasing their names, but in this job market, UW has the opportunity to cherry pick candidates. If the university tells the candidates their names will be released, the presidential hopefuls will have no choice but to comply or drop out.
This would also force candidates to decide if applying to UW is worth the risk of potentially losing their current job. Like the scandal with Coach Christianson’s immature behavior at the Air Force game, UW is once again in the national news and not in a good way.
The university has made unpopular decisions before. This is not the first time in recent UW history that the presidential search has caused uproar. During the last presidential search in 2005 and 2006, the finalists’ names were released, and Buchanan’s name was not on the list.
The public fought back, saying they wanted Buchanan. After the three other candidates dropped out, Buchanan became the president. The university is obviously trying to avoid another scandal and avoid the voice of public opinion swaying the decision of the presidential search committees. There are wild rumors that former UW president Dubois will come back, and, as unrealistic as it might be, with the secret finalist list he very well could.
With more transparency, the public will have the chance to do research on the candidates. Donors to the university and trustees want to make sure that the university is held accountable for its actions and that it will continue to be a well-respected university. Chances are high that most of the candidates being considered are qualified and respectable. If they have nothing to hide, then they should have no problem being interviewed and having their names known. Keeping the names private suggests that there is in fact something to hide.
Fortunately, UW students have a voice in the presidential selection. According to the presidential search website, ASUW vice president Brett Kahler and another student body member, Bryan Dugas, are on the presidential search committees, and have direct influence over who will be the next leader of the university.
Please write to Brett and Bryan. Make them listen to the students they are representing. Get involved any way you can: post on Facebook, comment on the Branding Iron website, etc. Fight to have the candidate names released before a lawsuit spoils UW’s reputation.
