The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents voted to confirm the appointment of new Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Diana McGill at their meeting Wednesday morning, despite some trepidation from faculty about the process of the appointment.
“I promise to give everything to face our challenges, to solve problems together and to celebrate our successes,” said McGill, addressing the board and other meeting attendees upon her confirmation.
NKU President Cady Short-Thompson announced McGill’s selection early in January. McGill assumes the role from Matt Cecil, who recently transitioned out of the provost role and into a role as a special advisor for Short-Thompson. Cecil had been serving in the role since 2021.
A first-generation college student, McGill has two undergraduate degrees from Northern Kentucky University and a doctorate from Harvard in biochemistry. She joined NKU’s faculty in 1993 and had been serving in the role of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 2017.
Comments about McGill’s appointment were generally positive, even from the regent who expressed concern about how quickly McGill was moved into the role.
The objection came from Regent Sandra Spataro, an NKU professor of management who had been sworn in as regent that same morning.
She said that NKU’s Faculty Senate was not consulted during the transition from Cecil to McGill, which she argued contrasted with the university’s commitment to shared governance.
“I need, on behalf of the faculty, to object to the process used to arrive at the provost transition decision,” Spataro said.
Although the president did have formal authority in appointing provosts, the decision to do so without faculty consultation was a new precedent, one that confounded established norms, Spataro argued.
“Good faith consultation with faculty bodies is supposed to be routine,” Spataro said, citing the university’s faculty policy handbook.
“Given the unprecedented nature of the decision to appoint a permanent provost, the Faculty Senate deserves at least the courtesy of a consultation,” Spataro continued. “In this case, the faculty’s opinion was not sought, much less considered.”
She concluded her objections by saying that universities don’t operate like businesses and that “the process struck a blow to trust and confidence in leadership and provided a further hit to faculty morale. The process was indeed very unfortunate.”
In spite of these concerns, Spataro made it very clear that neither she nor other faculty she’d spoken with had any antipathy towards McGill as a professional or human being; their issue was with the process, not the person.
“I have heard a great deal of praise for Dr. McGill as our next provost,” Spataro said. “We have every expectation that she will be very effective. I support her fully and wish her every success in the role.”
“Is there a reason we didn’t follow normal procedures for this?” asked Regent Ken Perry.
Short-Thompson hesitated for a moment before replying.
“There’s a significant sense of urgency that I feel around meeting the needs of the upcoming fiscal ’25 year balanced budget,” Short-Thompson said, adding that an appointment allowed for the establishment of a permanent authority. She also said that there were additional reasons due to policy conflicts, but she did not offer details.
“How long does the process normally take?” Perry asked.
Short-Thompson said the process usually takes anywhere from six months to a year, depending on the circumstances.
“Given where we are in the year, in the fiscal year, I felt significant pressure to move swiftly so that we can realize the needed decisions to realize a balanced budget,” Short-Thompson said.
Perry agreed that the expediency was probably warranted and affirmed that he’d heard mostly positive things about McGill.
The board, including Spataro, then unanimously voted to confirm McGill.
“Every day we can do what we love at the place we love for the students we love, that’s a gift,” McGill said to the board. “I promise not to squander that gift.”
The next meeting of the NKU Board of Regents will take place on March 9, 2024 at 9 a.m. at the NKU Student Union.