A faculty vote of "no confidence" in Henderson State University President Glen Jones asks that members of the university's board of trustees remove him from his job, according to materials provided by a longtime faculty member to the Democrat-Gazette.
Board members last week agreed to meet Friday for the "sole" purpose of considering Jones' contract following recent cost-cutting measures for the Arkadelphia campus and a zero-interest loan of $6 million from the state that the school must repay by June 30 of next year.
John Hardee, a chemistry professor set to begin his 34th year this fall, said faculty were asked to vote via email through an anonymous survey tool. Out of 135 faculty who answered the question, 106 voted in favor of the resolution and 29 voted against it, Hardee wrote in an email sent Monday and addressed to each member of the seven-person board of trustees.
The resolution cited "mismanagement of the university's financial resources" and "a lack of transparency to constituencies" as reasons to "immediately remove President Jones from office 'for cause.'"
Jones, 49, the school's president since 2012, in a statement Tuesday said: "We continue to welcome incoming freshmen to campus for orientation sessions and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the summer. We are implementing changes for our financial processes in consultation with Faculty Senate and other campus constituencies. We remain committed to our shared mission of serving students and ensuring their success."