Faculty members at Binghamton University have been circulating a letter that makes the case for a BU departure from Division I.

The letter was in anticipation of today’s release of SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s recommendations on the audit of the athletic department.

Those who signed the letter, including at least 34 BU faculty members, also wanted an increase in the level of input faculty have in decision-making that affects the University community.

The letter, titled “BU’s Opportunity for a New Model of Governance,” was written in response to the SUNY audit carried out by Judge Judith Kaye, which revealed scandals involving the men’s basketball team and the alleged misconduct of University officials.

FACULTY OPPOSES ADMINISTRATION

The letter emphasized its authors’ view that the administration did not take proper responsibility “for the harm that ensued from her [President Lois DeFleur’s] decision to move the men’s basketball program to Division I.”

The letter stated that withdrawal from Division I would send a strong message to Zimpher, the students and alumni that the University intends to “end the spirit of cover-up that was encouraged from the top, raise our academic standards, and restore BU’s reputation.”

Zimpher will make her recommendations today to the SUNY board of trustees on changes that should be made within BU or the SUNY system based on Kaye’s report. Calls to Zimpher’s office and the SUNY public relations office seeking comment on the faculty letter were not returned.

According to Ravi Palat, a professor of sociology who collected the signatures from his colleagues, at least 34 faculty members had signed the letter. The letter’s primary author, Herbert Bix, a professor of sociology and history, declined to comment.

“We want the people in charge of the University to acknowledge their mistakes, and would like to see Binghamton withdraw from Division I for now until we can fix the problems that have occurred,” Palat said.

ACADEMIC REPUTATION

Other professors have expressed a less critical view of the Binghamton administration.

On March 7, The New York Times published a Letter to the Editor signed by Nadia Rubaii-Barrett, a professor of public administration, Laura Bronstein, a professor of social work and 16 other unnamed BU faculty members that defended the University’s academic standards and stated that only a small minority of faculty question BU’s commitment to academic excellence.

“One needs to look at the totality of Binghamton’s record and the full record of each individual, not just a handful of bad decisions that may have been made,” Rubaii-Barrett said.

According to Rubaii-Barrett, a Feb. 28 article in The New York Times did not accurately reflect the academic standards of the College of Community and Public Affairs, in which several basketball players took classes, as it was based on the views of “one or two discontented” individuals.

She also thought a withdrawal from Division I would be too drastic.

“It’s important to look at this in a broader context,” she said. “The scandal will help the University to re-focus on academics, put safeguards in place for the future, and design a system to better support student-athletes.”

Palat said that he did not know how much support there was for BU to leave Division I athletics among the faculty as a whole because no discussion took place at the Faculty Senate meeting March 16.

FACULTY SENATE MEETING

During the meeting, the Faculty Senate formed a temporary committee to address the Division I question. This “Ad-hoc Committee on Division I” would be charged with gathering information on the actual status of all 21 D-1 sports at BU.

The committee is composed of four faculty members and chaired by Patrick Madden, an associate professor of computer science, who said that the committee would try to complete its findings before the end of the spring semester.

“There is a lot of respect for Professor Bix, who has expressed valid concerns,” Madden said. “The decision to move from one division of the NCAA to another is a very complex one, and we are going to have to look at it very carefully.”

Madden expressed uncertainty, however, about the weight of his committee’s report, saying that “the Faculty Senate voted against the original move to Division I after all, and we were not heeded.”

Adam Amit, president of the Student Association, was present at the Faculty Senate meeting to speak on behalf of the student body.

“I think that students should reaffirm and recommit to being a Division I school,” Amit said. “We have plenty of students who have done great in other sports besides basketball and who should not have to be punished.”

Amit said that instead of giving up, the University should assess its mistakes and determine how to correct them.