Published Friday, June 12, 2009 9:48 AM
Murano put on special agenda for Monday
By VIMAL PATEL
vimal.patel@theeagle.com
The future of Elsa Murano at Texas A&M University — the school’s first Hispanic and first female president — could be decided Monday.
Texas A&M University System regents have called a special meeting in which they will consider in closed session the following: “Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Reassignment, Duties, Discipline or Dismissal” of “A&M System Administration Officers and all employees; Texas A&M University President, Executive Level Officers and all employees; and other officers reporting directly to the Board.”
Murano was not mentioned by name in the board agenda, posted online at the regents’ Web site Friday morning. The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the regents’ board room at the Memorial Student Center.
The last item on the agenda involves Morris E. Foster — chairman of the board — discussing the structure of the executive administration at the system level.
A spokesman for the Texas A&M System, Rod Davis, did not immediately return a call Friday morning.
According to the agenda, regents also could take action on the following:
• Recommendations on and any and all other things involving shared services initiatives;
• Appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of executive level officers and/or employees of the Texas A&M University System; and
• Authorization for the chancellor to enter into agreements by and between the Texas A&M system and executive level officers of the Texas A&M System.
The meeting follows recent controversy sparked by System Chancellor Mike McKinney when he told The Eagle in late May that combining his and Murano’s job was one of several cost-cutting measures regents were considering.
Though McKinney said no solid plans were in place, the possibility of such a move drew intense and widespread criticism.
The extent of Murano’s precariousness became more obvious last week when a scathing February job review of Murano by McKinney was released following an open records request filed 11 days earlier by The Eagle.
In a hand-written review deemed unprofessional by many who read it in the academic and business communities, McKinney gave Murano poor marks for honesty and integrity and being a team player.
The review did not offer specifics and a page allowing him to write down goals for the president, as well as a summary of her strengths and areas needing attention, was left blank.
Murano rejected the review and sent a strongly worded letter to McKinney and regents.
Murano became president of the 48,000-student university in January 2008 after a presidential search process that itself was controversial.
A 14-member search advisory committee that included faculty, students, regents, administrators and alumni recommended three sitting university presidents to regents after a months-long search.
Regents instead approved 8-1 the selection of Murano, who wasn’t one of the three finalists or a handful of candidates interviewed by the board.
In a decision that members of the search committee say has never been explained, McKinney recommended Murano, who was then vice chancellor and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
For more on this story, read tomorrow’s Eagle.
Comments
15 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Saturday, June 13, 2009 7:31 PM
Comment Title: Aggie Code Forgotten
Have the Governor, Board of Reagents, Chancellor and cronies forgotten that Aggies don't lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do?
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Posted by:
On:
Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:03 PM
Comment Title: Texas A&M is a really big school
That is it. It is not a nationally, much less world ranked institution. Check it out, the school is not in top 25 in any undergraduate college in the country. So maybe this is why all we need is Perry and McKinney to be in charge.
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Posted by:
George55 On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 11:11 PM
Comment Title: The L Word
For the last time, Dr. Elsa Murano is NOT, I repeat, NOT a liberal. Do your homework, people! She does not fit the profile. Quite the opposite. Dr. Murano worked in the Bush administration as Undersecretary for Food Safety in the USDA. As most Cuban-Americans, she is vehemently anti-communist and cherishes the freedom that is so often taken for granted in the U.S. She launches one program to help disadvantaged students and all of a sudden she's a flaming liberal? Get a grip. What ever happened to compassionate conservatives? I suppose it's easier to label somebody than to get to know them.
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Posted by:
Sean Zealberg On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 10:01 PM
Comment Title: What will happen Monday
Nobody calls shots better than me so this is what is likely to happen in order of probability: 1) Murano is ousted. 2) Murano is reassigned to something in the agrilife area. There really are no other options on the table. "Discipline" and all the other bureaucratic jargons are rephrases of the only two options which are "stay or go." Don't forget my prior post on Patel's other article (keep up the good work btw). Quite simply it's a PROBLEM / REACTION / SOLUTION power play. A classic yet fading maneuver.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 5:36 PM
Comment Title: re: Betty
That 'liberal trash' isnt lying right to our faces like that shinging beacon of conservativism Mike Mckinney is. Yes its not a blatant power grab he's making here, he needs the Presidents power to save money! Its all being done for your sake you see. This is obscene and your comment is likewise obscene. It takes integrity, honesty, and intelligence to run a University. Not group think and belief in a political dogma. This is a public university and no political party or self-interested corrupt jagoffs can claim it as their own. Its ours and if they try to use it for themselves to hell with them.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 5:34 PM
Comment Title:
This was posted by the Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly on November 28, 2007, concerning the search process for the presidency of Texas A&M, and it bears reading (unfortunately) yet again. It is pretty clear that many of those in power at A&M care little for the reputation of this University outside their purview, which clearly does not extend outside this State........... http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=689
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 5:05 PM
Comment Title:
I certainly don't like being seen as a supporter of Murano, as I've found her administrative style to be blatantly to-down and not open to shared governance, but she's definitely being railroaded by McKinney. If the regents want to restore some dignity to the university and not have us remain one big Aggie joke, they need to extend to her a vote of confidence and fire McKinney. They also need to reassure everyone that there's no plan to hire Rick Perry for anything higher than septic tank cleaner. To do otherwise will just invite an exodus distinguished faculty.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 4:49 PM
Comment Title: How did other system Presidents fare
It would be of interest to read the performance evaluations for other system presidents to see if they were handled in the same manner as that for President Murano or if hers was an anomaly.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 3:59 PM
Comment Title:
I'm not a fan or critic of Murano, but the review by McKinney was a joke. He should be let go long before she is.
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Posted by:
Betty On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 3:42 PM
Comment Title: liberal trash
Watch the liberals cry when she is fired she just does not fit in a a&m it would be like a atheist being the president at baylor.
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Posted by:
Tom Arnold On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 3:28 PM
Comment Title: Good old boys doing bad
Disingenuity is a fancy word for lying. Having read what there is to read about the Chancellor's actions, and the infantile out-of-cycle "review" he gave Dr Murano, I believe the Regents and Chancellor are not worth what they are paid. Dr Murano's self evaluation and response/rejection of the review were full of documented, publicly-known issues. McKinney's was devoid of facts or justifications, leaving one to wonder whether he actually has any. I think not. That makes him a liar. Put up or shut up. They have single-handedly embarrassed the reputation of Texas A&M. They are apparently afraid to publicly defend their assertions and actions, hiding behind a PR mouth-piece who says nothing. Gene Stallings at least went public, but his message to Dr Murano was the equivalent of "just lie back and enjoy it". The cause of this furor is not Dr Murano. The recent article released in the Eagle pretty well debunks the official rationalizations - cost effectiveness - given by the Chancellor, who in his own words takes his marching orders from the Regents. Whatever is going on, it is not about cost effectiveness. It reeks of good-old-boys doing bad.
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Posted by:
Jamie@CS On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 3:14 PM
Comment Title: I hope she is fired
I hope she is fired she is lazy and incompetent and should have never been hired.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 3:00 PM
Comment Title:
since they are discussing "systems" administrators, maybe they are going to "discipline" the chancellor!
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Posted by:
Loser Police On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 1:19 PM
Comment Title:
Get rid of Elsa. She's a loser.
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Posted by:
On:
Friday, June 12, 2009 12:56 PM
Comment Title:
This is a sad, sad day for Texas A&M University. So many people have given countless hours, days, months, and years - yeah decades - to make Texas A&M a premier educational institution and this action by the BOR and Chancellor McKinney of humiliating and firing Dr. Murano will take the institution backward 30 years - and not in a good way!
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