Faculty response

Here is a nice example of the kind of feedback that can be provided by the faculty:

Dear Chancellor Pernsteiner and members of the State Board of Higher Eduction,

I am writing to express my deepest concern over the decision to terminate the employment of the University of Oregon's president, Richard Lariviere.  I have been a faculty member here for 24 years and I have never been more alarmed by anything that has happened to the university than I am by this decision.  If the decision stands, it will likely have devastating consequences for the university and the State of Oregon.  Those consequences go far beyond removal of an effective leader who has gained the confidence and support of the campus community.  It will send  a powerful message across the country that Oregon will not tolerate anyone who makes a creative effort to reverse the continuing whittling away of our university.  The story of the dismissal will be covered by every serious newspaper in the United States, and it will likely have a disastrous impact on the national and international reputation of the university that many of us have struggled to build over the years.  It will also likely reverse the trend of growing student interest in the UofO across the United States and beyond, and it will virtually assure that we will be in a poor position to recruit quality applicants for the presidency in the near future.  I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to reconsider this decision, which represents a major blow to the university and to the State.

Sincerely,

Alec Murphy

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Alexander B. Murphy
Professor of Geography
Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Geography
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1251