Lincoln University's faculty will be asked to vote "no confidence" in Said Sewell as LU's provost and vice president for Academic Affairs (VPAA) when the Faculty Senate meets Thursday morning.
The Senate's Executive Committee has proposed the no-confidence vote and - as required by the Faculty Senate's rules - circulated the proposal to LU's more than 150 faculty members seven days before the meeting.
"Dr. Sewell has repeatedly violated the principles of shared governance and has not responded in any substantive way to the concerns expressed by our members," the proposed action item reads. "We do not expect any improvement from the current VPAA.
"Since the Fall of 2015, the faculty - through the Faculty Senate - has alerted the administration to this problem. No behaviors have changed. If anything, even more violations of our shared governance principles have occurred since that time."
Lincoln's rules and regulations include a chapter on Shared Governance, which begins: "The faculty, staff, and students of Lincoln University shall share a role in the governance of the institution."
But a nine-page "No Confidence Rationale" explaining the proposed resolution argues: "Under Dr. Sewell, changes to academic programs have occurred that have caused the faculty to have significant concerns about their ability to maintain academic freedom at Lincoln University.
"We are also concerned about the impact these changes could have on the quality of education our students will receive."
The document notes the Faculty Senate has passed numerous resolutions expressing concerns with the VPAA's office, but Sewell failed "to take seriously the decisions made by the representative body of the faculty or to respond to them in any significant fashion."
The Shared Governance rule also says there should be university committees of various types involving university employees from all units to facilitate broad participation.
But, the "No Confidence Rationale" document outlines nine instances where Sewell has "regularly ignored committee recommendations or made decisions on his own without consulting relevant committees."
The document also notes faculty has had little oversight on the university budget after the administration "eliminated the Budget Committee," including faculty representatives.
Faculty members have grown increasingly concerned about the distribution of funds from a grant and federal Title III funding, the statement said. It presents five examples where Sewell appears to have used money in different ways from the original, intended purpose.
Finally, the document argues Sewell "has been unable to convey accurate information regarding our campus to the Board of Curators or the broader community," and cited several issues from the July 18 board conference call where the history degree was deactivated and the early childhood education degree and at least one music degree were eliminated at Sewell's recommendation.
"By repeating his unsupported claims concerning the above listed majors, the VPAA has done lasting damage to those programs even if they are reactivated or revived," the document said.
Faculty Senate Chairman Bryan Salmons confirmed the proposed resolution and document had been circulated among the faculty in preparation for next week's Senate meeting.
He said the faculty members can propose "minor, semantic alterations" to the resolution, but "amending the aim of the measure would not" be permitted during Thursday's meeting, by the Senate's rules.
A simple majority vote of the faculty members attending the meeting is needed to pass the resolution and send it to President Kevin Rome.
"The curators are, technically, the ultimate authority in the matter," Salmons explained, noting Rome has the direct hiring authority over Sewell and other administrators.
Rome and Sewell declined to comment for this story.
In addition to the "no confidence" proposal, the agenda indicates discussions and possible votes on proposals to:
Urge President Kevin Rome to complete the process of LU's faculty and staff joining Missouri Consolidated Health Care.
Amend the Faculty Senate By-Laws to create a Faculty Senate liaison to the Board of Curators.
Create a Faculty/Staff Informational Panel to be present and officially recognized at all future Board of Curators meetings.
Re-create a standing University Budget Committee.