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Professor: OSU operating in 'opaque ways.' Public deserves to know why president resigned

Ohio State University President Kristina Johnson greets alumni during a Homecoming gathering outside of the Russ College of Engineering before Saturday's NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Maryland Terrapins at Ohio Statdium in Columbus on October 9, 2021.
Ohio State University President Kristina Johnson greets alumni during a Homecoming gathering outside of the Russ College of Engineering before Saturday's NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Maryland Terrapins at Ohio Statdium in Columbus on October 9, 2021.

Judson L. Jeffries is a professor of African American and African studies and former chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate at The Ohio State University.

Over the course of my nearly 30-year career, I have held faculty appointments and fellowships at Purdue University, Morehouse College, Virginia Tech, Harvard University, and Tufts University, to name a few.

Of those schools, I can’t think of one that operated in more opaque ways than Ohio State University.

On Monday afternoon, I received text after text from colleagues here and around the country informing me that my president, that is Dr. Kristina Johnson, had resigned, effective at the end of the spring term.

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According to initial news reports, members of the board of trustees requested she step down. That is, if I can believe the news. No sooner was that reported, a retraction followed.

Unless a president has misappropriated or embezzled funds, engaged in some sort of sexual misconduct, bullied employees who work under or alongside her, or incompetently run the university into the ground in the mere two and a half years the president has occupied that office, I’m at a loss as to explain this particular development.

Having said that, if Johnson’s resignation stems from a personal matter that is unrelated to her job performance that she’d rather not divulge, then that is a privacy to which she is entitled.

However, if her resignation is not of her choosing, but comes at the behest of the board of trustees, it would seem to me that taxpayers might believe themselves deserving of an explanation, no matter how generic.

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At none of the schools at which I have taught over the years are students brighter, more industrious, and more inquisitive than those at OSU. Not surprisingly, some of my current students are confused, somewhat dazed, and have looked to me to talk intelligently about the developments that have transpired this week.

I can’t, because I have nothing to work with, and therein lies the problem.

Far too often, in academia anyway, decisions are made by those who don’t understand that with power comes responsibility, accountability, and an obligation to the people who may be impacted by certain decisions, both directly and indirectly.

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Just because a body or committee is empowered to make certain decisions without having to explain its actions does not mean it should.

If the board of trustees is responsible for Johnson’s resignation, such a decision may indeed impact the future of the people she brought in.

During my 16 years at OSU, I have noticed that all too often decisions have been made here at this world-class university that adversely impact the lives of its university citizens, for which there is little recourse.

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In other words, there is often no internal appeal process, and when there is, those offices are little more than a rubber stamp for the university, not an advocate for the aggrieved. I would need more than two hands to count the number of times some administrator has used Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or HIPPA (erroneously I might add) as cover when confronted about a questionable or supposed wrongful termination or demotion of a colleague.

When decisions are made that impact the vitality and direction of a university, stakeholders have a right to know why those decisions were made.

In defending the public’s right to know, the venerable Judge Damon Keith once said, “Democracy dies in the dark.” Truer words were never spoken.

Judson L. Jeffries is a professor of African American and African studies and former chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate at The Ohio State University.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State professor: Tell us why President Kristina Johnson resigned