Averting Our Eyes Won't Make the Evil Disappear

A few comments over recent weeks have urged caution or been critical of the pace of change advocated by this blog and many of its readers.

Most of those comments have been anonymous, one was not. We thank Diane Martin for stating her opinions on the record and with her name attached to them. We respect her for sharing her opinions with us, although we disagree almost completely with them

Our experience is that the airing of problems with any institution -- be it a college, corporation or government -- is generally far better than stifling communication in the name of protecting the reputation of that institution.

Too many evils perpetrated by those in positions of authority are too easily buried if the majority willingly averts their eyes because they believe it is unseemly to reveal what is going on. Certainly the information on this blog is unpleasant. We would rather have Alfred State be a college in which unpleasantness is unknown, but the reality is that people like Uma Gupta and Bob Albrecht feed off the generosity, consideration and good will the vast majority of people have.

They consider generoristy, consideration and good will as weakness and those who display these characteristics as ripe for exploitation. Consider the case of Jeff Johnson -- a good, kind, well-meaning, considerate man committed to the well being of this college and its faculty -- who Gupta has repeatedly screamed at, belittled and called weak.

Until confronted directly and in terms they understand, people like Gupta and Albrecht take advantage of generosity, consideration and good will, grabbing everything they can get and treating those around them with disrespect and contempt.

The anonymity of the blog is a choice that we as the initiators of the blog felt necessary because of the vicious nature by which dissent under Gupta and Albrecht has been handled. All those who comment on this blog have a choice – they can do so anonymously or they can reveal their names. Most have decided to remain anonymous, a few have decided to reveal themselves. We applaud all of them for taking the time to read, think and respond to the issues raised.

That so many people feel it necessary to remain anonymous speaks to the truly terrible leadership of Gupta and Albrecht. Had diverse opinions been handled with respect and dignity, this blog would have been unnecessary. But the unfortunate fact is that the leadership of Alfred State College has created a poisonous environment that discourages -- in fact, punishes -- those with different opinions.

Gupta and her treatment of senior leaders in this college in over the past couple of years has been a lesson in repression. If there were any with doubts before, there were very few who missed the lesson when Gupta demoted Grillo and Back for daring to ask questions and seek the guidance of SUNY in averting a host of problems that faced ASC because of Gupta's abysmal leadership. Albrecht did his best to condemn and belittle Grillo and Back as soon as he was installed on his throne, and he did nothing to foster an environment of openness.

The picture at Alfred State is not pretty whether painted in broad stokes or fine detail. We have an institution in trouble -- an institution that was basically sound when Gupta arrived and which, as a result of two years of her incompetent leadership, is in serious trouble.

While some may see this blog as painting a bleak picture in broad strokes, we have consistently attempted to add the fine details of how poorly Gupta has managed this institution. That, we believe, is what is so upsetting to the senior administration and the few in the faculty and staff who support the status quo. Were it just the broad strokes, the information on this blog would be easy to dismiss. But as piece after piece after piece of information about the incompetence, mismanagement, and dishonesty of Gupta and her minions is revealed for all to see, the broad picture has become increasingly clear and detailed.

In just over eight weeks since our first post was published, Gupta and gang have gone from seeing this blog as a something to be ignored to a major concern. It is the clarity and the detail of the information published here – information that Gupta and Baghdad Bob and Tyrell and Putnam wanted to keep quiet – that has caused such concern in the president's cabinet.

It is not the airing details of incompetence and misconduct by Alfred State's leadership that damages the reputation of this institution; it is the incompetence and misconduct of the college's leadership and the willingness of so many to tolerate it for so long that does the damage.

The measure of an institution is not whether or not it makes mistakes; it is whether or not that institution is willing to acknowledge those mistakes, correct them, learn from them and move forward.

Diane Martin suggests we let the faculty senate handle this situation “in its own way, on its own terms”. We are merely suggesting measures that would help resolve the current crisis in a timely manner, rather than letting it drag on indefinitely.

We believe it important that the faculty through its senate take the first steps in bring forward the resolutions that are necessary to move Albrecht out of the VPAA's office. We also believe that Gupta should be required to comply with ALL points of earlier faculty senate resolutions, including beginning a national search for all the vice presidential positions she appointed following Grillo and Back's demotions and, should she refuse to do so, a vote of no confidence immediately be put forward for all faculty to vote on.

We believe the faculty through its senate should set a firm timetable for action so that Gupta and Albrecht do not drag out the process of a national search and effectively nullify the faculty's resolutions.

Too often we have seen the words “caution”, “deliberation”, “dignity”, “responsibility”, “calmness” and similar terms used as synonyms for “maintain the status quo”, “don't rock the boat”, and “ignore it and it will go away”.

There is no question that the vast majority of the readers of this blog believe Albrecht needs to go, and that a good many think Gupta should be tossed as well. We believe that these readers and their comments are representative of a majority of the faculty and staff at Alfred State .

But we can not and will not attempt to portray this blog as speaking on behalf of the Alfred State faculty and staff.

We believe it is vitally important that the faculty acting through its senate debate the issues, draft the resolutions and hold the voting to resolve the leadership crisis at this college.

We all know we have a problem at Alfred State . The only question is whether we will continue to tolerate it in hopes that things will somehow get better, or whether we take decisive action to begin the healing process now.

In our view, not acting because we fear that somehow the reputation of Alfred State will be damaged is negligent. Not acting because we believe doing so is undignified or unseemly or inconvenient is negligent. And not acting because we want others to take care of the situation for us is also negligent.