Whereas,

The paramount mission of California State University, Sacramento, as set forth in the Education Code, statement of mission of the California State University, and the campus’ own mission statement, is the offering of quality educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels; and
 

Whereas,

Funding priorities and consequent allocations must reflect and support the University’s paramount mission; and
 

Whereas,

The issues raised in this resolution are local issues that relate to discretionary budgetary decisions made by President Gonzalez that are unrelated to Collective Bargaining and adversely affect the instructional program; and
 

Whereas,

It is the purview and responsibility of the University’s Faculty, as a whole or through the Faculty Senate, which is constitutionally authorized to act on its behalf, to develop, deliver, monitor, and protect the quality of the educational programs of the University; and
 

Whereas,

Over the course of President Gonzalez’ tenure as President of the campus, a period of increasing enrollment, the budget allocations for Academic Affairs to offer classes have been systematically reduced by a total of $3M; while over the same period of time, budgets to other divisions have been substantially increased (see chart at end of resolution); and
 

Whereas,

As the result of reductions to the Academic Affairs budget over the course of President Gonzalez’ tenure, the Student Faculty Ratio (SFR) has increased substantially; and
 

Whereas,

The University’s ability to offer high quality educational programs requires employment of a sufficient number of tenure track faculty; the ability to offer a sufficient number and variety of courses to enable students to make satisfactory progress toward their degree objectives, maintaining class sizes at levels appropriate to the curriculum and pedagogy of the disciplines, providing classroom environments that are conducive to learning; and providing adequate levels of academic support services, including advising and mentoring of students, and engagement of students in research and other extracurricular enrichment activities; and
 

Whereas,

The schedule of classes, which is funded by Academic Affairs, is the sine qua non of the University; and
 

Whereas,

The “March 2007 Budget Task Force Report” (“The Report”) clearly reveals that a significant source of the increase in “structural deficit” for 2006-2007, was the President’s approval of the use of $8.9M in new revenue to increase baseline allocations to divisions in a manner that (1) disregarded the existence of a carry-over deficit of approximately $2M and the existence of a substantial increase in “University Expenses” of $5.7M, (2) reflected priorities that placed increased funding of University Advancement efforts above the need to provide additional funding to offer an adequate number of courses with appropriate enrollment limits to accommodate student enrollment, and (3) increased expenditures by $13.6M, thereby adding $4.7M to the carry over deficit of approximately $2M to create a 2006-2007 total structural deficit of $6.5M; and
 

Whereas,

The President’s approval of a strategy for eliminating the newly created $6.5M deficit, which reduces newly created baseline division budgets by an amount equal to each division’s per cent of the total allocations to all divisions multiplied by the structural deficit amount, clearly demonstrates (1) that President Gonzalez fails to understand why the Academic Affairs budget must be substantially larger than the budgets of other divisions and that continued substantial reductions to budget of Academic Affairs at the levels planned will result in an inability of the University to offer a sufficient number of courses and maintain the quality of the instructional program; and (2) that President Gonzalez places a higher priority on preserving increases to University Advancement and other divisions than he places on ensuring that a quality instructional program can be maintained; and
 

Whereas,

Over the past year, President Gonzalez has approved substantial increases in the number of MPP positions(from 129 to 145) and salaries of MPP personnel, at an increased cost of 1.7M, while at the same time, there has been a substantial decrease in the number of tenure track faculty positions (from 807 to 788) and total dollars devoted to faculty salaries (tenure track and lecturers), at a decreased cost of ~1.6M, again reflecting priorities that are inconsistent with promoting the needs of the instructional program; and
 

Whereas,

The President, in oral presentations to the Faculty Senate and in written correspondence to the Faculty Senate Chair, misrepresented the causes of the 2006-2007 structural deficit and the timing of becoming aware of the deficit; and
 

Whereas,

The preeminent force that attracts students, retains students, supports students to graduate, and ensures that their lives are enriched by their education is the quality of the instructional program of the University, and not the signage, branding, nickname, radio and print advertisements, recreational facilities, and visibility of the University in the local media, which appear to be the hallmarks of President Gonzalez’ administration; and
 

Whereas,

President Gonzalez has failed to provide a vision for the quality or direction of the academic programs of the University and has made evident by numerous actions since the time of his appointment in 2003 that the quality of instruction provided for students is not preeminent among his priorities; and
 

Whereas,

President Gonzalez has signaled his intention to continue to erode the high quality of academic programs and further decrease class offerings for 2007-8 through the application of a deficit reduction strategy that places 76% of the cost of the reduction plan on Academic Affairs; therefore be it
 

Resolved,

That the Faculty of California State University, Sacramento express their lack of confidence in President Alexander Gonzalez’ leadership, interest in and willingness to preserve the quality of the academic program of the University, their dismay over his efforts to promote the University through means that are inconsistent with or detract from the core values of the academy, and its outrage over his placement of the interests of management, publicity, and cultivation of community favor over the needs of the instructional program; and be it further
 

Resolved,

Following adoption of this no-confidence resolution, the Faculty direct the Faculty Senate to develop a list which sets forth specific actions that the President must take with respect to the matters raised in this resolutions in order to restore the quality of the instructional program and the Faculty’s confidence in his leadership; and be it further
 

Resolved,

That the Faculty direct the Faculty Senate forward a copy of this resolution to President Gonzalez, the Chair of the campus’ Advisory Board, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, Governor Schwarzenegger, Chair of the State Senate Higher Education Committee, Chair of the State Assembly Higher Education Committee, and the media.