Arizona State to Implement Furloughs

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ASU financial meltdown

ASU is among the most visible examples of the “university as business” model that has been gaining momentum in the U.S. over the past two decades or so. ASU president Michael Crow is a corporate style manager who is focused on growth and power and has little interest in scholarship or education. He is a superb salesman who captivated the state board of regents with his vision of making ASU into the New American University – a model for what he believes U.S. universities should be in the coming century. Even his strongest critics generally do not deny that he has moved the university out of a phase of relative stagnation presided over by his predecessor. Unfortunately, President Crow surrounded himself by yes-people by creating a massive and cumbersome administration that includes many cronies from his past positions and others who understand very well that disagreeing with him brings swift reprisals. By administration, I don’t mean administrative staff such as the person who disburses financial aid payments and makes a modest salary, but a vast array of very well-paid vice presidents, associate vice presidents, deputy vice presidents, deans, executive deans, associate and assistant deans, and directors of activities that are often much more relevant to promotion of visibility and money making than to the core missions of education and scholarship.

Many people with knowledge of the university’s operations believe that President Crow’s financial management of institution went beyond aggressive into the realm of recklessness and that a financial crisis at ASU was inevitable even if the state’s economy had not taken a nosedive. Some are even saying that the state’s decision to cut the university’s budget (along with the budgets of essentially every other state agency) is a godsend for Dr. Crow, who can place full blame for the university’s fiscal meltdown on the loss of state revenue. Few ASU employees will publicly question President Crow’s leadership; it is not a wise thing to do. But many believe the best silver lining to the current dark cloud over the university would be the replacement of Dr. Crow and much of the current senior administration.

ASU administrators

Michael Crow is using this crisis, many faculty feel, to cover his own mismanagement. He launched all kinds of ill advised initiatives and built all kinds of ill advised buildings. For example the Biodesign and Sustainability initiatives have been utter flops, to the tune of almost a billion dollars. He made outrageous projections for grants and private giving--the actual figures have been nowhere or vaguely close. We have initiatives around the university which cost significant monies but do not involve teaching and have brought miniscule grants. The North American Center for Transborder Studies has brought in one minor grant, for a heavily paid and expensive director and staff. The Institute for Social Science Research has been an unqualified financial disaster, has no teaching, and has the staff equal in numbers to the faculty AND staff of an academic department that does teach and does research. The university does need to be protected from catastrophic cuts; but the legislature has to be more involved in seeing that ASU is run properly and ethically--the problems here are severe--and the Board of Regents has to do its job much, much better instead of giving Crow a blank check. We have serious and many problems at ASU, both in terms of incompetency and ethics. And this administration may well be remembered for destroying a great university.