Edinboro U. Chief Has ‘Irretrievably Lost’ Ability to Lead, Faculty Say

Michael F. McElroy for The Chronicle

In a confidential letter to Edinboro University’s governing board, professors argued this week that President H. Fred Walker has “irretrievably lost his ability to lead” the Pennsylvania institution.

Walker has been under fire since Sunday, when The Chronicle published an article in which he described an elaborate strategy for selling faculty members — whom he said he could never “reason with” — on a series of program cuts and the possible layoffs of tenured professors.

The letter, which The Chronicle obtained from a faculty member, provides the clearest indication yet that Edinboro’s faculty want him gone and that they expect trustees to make that happen.

“Clearly, Dr. Walker does not recognize as unethical his deceptive, manipulative, and bullying style of management; he has not articulated a plan to change it or addressed the damage caused by it,” the letter states. “His behavior and public statements indicate he will not and cannot change his approach to leadership.”

The letter is marked as a “draft” and labeled “confidential.”

Marc A. Sylvester, president of Edinboro’s faculty union, would not comment on the document. But he did not dispute its authenticity or suggest that the final version of the letter differed materially from the document that The Chronicle obtained.

Edinboro is under severe financial stress, and Walker, president since 2016, was hired to turn things around. But his tactics and rhetoric have alienated him from students and faculty members.

Sources close to the president told The Chronicle that Walker, on several occasions, had described his public-relations strategy for selling program cuts as a Wag the Dog approach, a reference to the 1997 film of the same name about a spin doctor who concocts a fake war. (Walker acknowledged that he had referenced the film to his staff, but he said he only did so to illustrate the powers of the news media in shaping public opinion).

“We now know that Dr. Walker’s supposedly objective and transparent planning process was designed to reach predetermined outcomes, with indifference to and in defiance of the views of stakeholders and the community,” the letter says.

The letter is directed to Edinboro’s Council of Trustees, which is considered the governing body of the university. But the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, known as Passhe, and its chancellor, have hiring and firing authority over the president. The letter calls on all of these players to act now.

“Every day Dr. Walker stays on as president, every day the Edinboro University Council of Trustees fails to specifically condemn Dr. Walker’s clearly inappropriate behavior, every day that the Passhe Board of Governors and the chancellor’s office allows Dr. Walker to remain on campus, the more we will implicitly endorse and therefore own Dr. Walker’s untenable behavior and attitude,” the letter says.

Angela Burrows, a spokeswoman for Edinboro, declined to comment on behalf of the council or the president. The university will also not answer questions about whether or when the council will meet (or even if it has already met) regarding Walker.

The chairman of the council, Dennis R. Frampton, did not respond to a phone message this week.

Karen M. Whitney, interim chancellor of the state system, declined an interview request. Alicia Brumbach, a spokeswoman for the system, said in an email that the chancellor could not comment on the situation.

In concluding their letter, Edinboro’s professors gave a call to action.

“With the right leadership and a truly collaborative, respectful, transparent, data-driven, and tradition-driven planning process, Edinboro can and will rebound from this PR and management debacle,” the letter states. “But first we have to demonstrate that Dr. Walker does not represent the values of the Edinboro University community, and we have to recognize that Dr. Walker has irretrievably lost his ability to lead Edinboro — and act on that fact.”

Jack Stripling covers college leadership, particularly presidents and governing boards. Follow him on Twitter @jackstripling, or email him at jack.stripling@chronicle.com.