Bloomington Faculty Council

Indiana University Bloomington Faculty declared no confidence in three university leaders: President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav and Vice Provost Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty.

Leaders of the IUPUI Faculty Council said because the campus is moving in the right direction, faculty do not need to hold a no confidence vote against administration.

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition announced the endorsement after a general membership meeting over the weekend. Its more than 1,000 members will now vote to approve a proposed three-day strike for this week.

The board’s opinion stated Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty did not act in accordance with Bloomington campus policy while pursuing severe sanctions.

Colin Johnson, president of Bloomington’s Faculty Council, announced the vote will take place April 16 between 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the IU Auditorium.

In March, the Office of the Vice President for Research announced a plan to centralize the budget for research, eliminating Bloomington’s Vice Provost for Research and shifting decision-making from campuses to the system administration.

For the first time in 17 years, faculty members petitioned the Executive Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council to convene the full Bloomington faculty for a meeting; 625 faculty members voted in favor of union recognition.

One of the measures would ensure shared governance, allowing faculty along with the provost to supervise graduate workers. Another resolution would make it so graduate workers couldn’t be fired for striking.

This is the first time since November 2005 that faculty members petitioned the executive committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council to convene the full Bloomington faculty for a meeting.