Personally, we feel that Steve Tyrell and Deb Putnam need to go on the list as well because of their incompetence and willingness to roll over and play dead on command from Gupta. However, at this they are small potatoes compared to Gupta and Albrecht.
We have absolutely no doubt that from the faculty perspective, Albrecht is the bigger evil. For years we've seen him bully those who disagree with him, but never has he had the power to bully so many and do so much harm as he now has. Nor has he ever had the level of responsibility he currently has as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs.
It is clear that he is hopelessly incompetent at the job. He has no interest in dealing with the administrative, financial or personnel issues that go with the job. All he is interested in is the title, the salary and the power to push people around.
His "skunk works" is a joke...an effort by a man of limited imagination and ability to divert attention from his incompetence and failures and inability to distinquish visionary from dillusional.
For the last few weeks, the man's faults and failures have been well chronicled on this blog.
Unfortunately, Gupta has choosen not to pay attention to what is being said about her latest choice for VPAA. Not that we are surprised...
The faculty senate made it perfectly clear in late April and early May that they wanted Albrecht gone. It couldn't get much clearer than a resolution, but Gupta's written response basically told the faculty senate (and the faculty of this college) to go to hell. She made it clear that Albrecht would be gone when she was ready to have him move on.
There may be those who have gone to Gupta and told her things she didn't want to hear without being demoted or fired. We have an opportunity for them -- take the message to Gupta that Albrecht has to go and go now. Make it clear to her that Albrecht has no place in a leadership role at Alfred State. Tell her point blank that she made a bad choice and now needs to send Albrecht back to his "first love" -- the classroom.
And please, let us know how the conversation went.
Gupta has made it clear what that she has no respect for Jeff Johnson or Bob Rees or the faculty senate as a whole -- or the faculty for that matter. She's made it clear a number of times she believes the faculty leadership at ASC is weak.
And she's made it clear through her actions that she believes that if she hangs on long enough, the faculty leadership will give up and stop bothering her.
If the postings and poll results on this blog are representative of the faculty of ASC (and we believe they are), it is clear that a large number believe Albrecht has to go and go now.
Gupta, on the other hand, is prepared to drag things out as long as she can and keep Albrecht in place until he is ready for retirement in a year or two.
And we are sure Albrecht's plan is to hang onto power as long as he can, screw as many of his enemies at ASC as possible in the time available, and then walk away and disappear into retirement.
It is going to take time to find a new VPAA -- at least a year assuming a search starts sometime in the fall. And that assumes we get lucky on the first round. Given the current administrative, financial and enrollment problems at ASC -- and Gupta's abysmal track record at holding onto VPAAs -- we have serious doubts that any highly qualified candidates will take up a posting in Alfred.
Then there is the whole question of how Gupta and the faculty will be able to come to an agreement on a truly competent candidate. The last think she wants is a VPAA who has the experience and skills to do the job required and the guts to say "No" when her bizarre behavior threatens to damage the college.
The most likely result of the whole process is a failed search, a number of months of delay, then a second search (also a failure), more months of delay, and then...you get the picture.
And while the search process is going on, Albrecht gets to play at being VPAA and picking his enemies one by one and making life miserable for them.
The critical question is: "What are we going to do about it?"
We propose:
- Gupta remove Albrecht from the position of VPAA immediately and request SUNY provide a qualified interim
- that the day classes start in August, Albrecht is back in the classroom fulltime practicing his "first love"
- any delaying tactics in removing Albrecht from the position of Interim VPAA be viewed as sufficient reason to call for an immediate vote of no confidence in Gupta
Admitting she made a mistake and getting Albrecht out of the VPAA's office is an opportunity for Gupta to show that she is willing to change, that she is willing to listen and willing work in partnership with the faculty and staff of this college.
The big question is whether she will take the opportunity to do the right thing.
