Sandra Hughes O'Brien: 'It is not a growth strategy'
The writer is on Wayne State University's Board of Governors.
By Sandra Hughes O’Brien
Because Wayne State University President Roy Wilson knew that this budget did not meet the values of Wayne State as set forth in our mission, and he knew he didn’t have board support for his budget, he pulled his budget from consideration.
With only a 29-percent overall approval rating from the Wayne State faculty, I would expect that the budget Wilson is currently proposing would further hurt his approval rating.
There are clear policy directions that we disagree with.
There are budget priorities by Dr. Wilson, such as cutting medical school faculty salaries by 50 percent.
That will have a chilling effect on all of our faculty, and especially on the recruitment and retention of Black and Brown medical faculty. Therefore, it is not a growth strategy for the school or the university.
Many on the board do not agree with this.
Black enrollment at Wayne State University has declined over the last 10 years by 57.3 percent, and there is nothing in Wilson’s budget to correct this.
Wilson’s budget does not reflect our values nor does it support the educational and economic interests of Detroiters.
