Faculty Senate condemns hiring of coach

by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff

pset by financial constraints on the academic area of the campus, faculty senators last week criticized the administration's approval of the Feb. 27 hiring of an assistant football coach. Tom Masella, formerly of Louisiana Tech, Boston University, and UConn, was hired as defensive coordinator at a salary of $83,500.

     Citing that the campus is "currently facing its greatest financial challenge of its history," that faculty and staff may be decreased by as many as 400 people, and that "the primary mission of the University is academic," a motion that passed nearly unanimously condemned the hiring.

     "I think [our] credibility...is going down the tubes when we turn around, and in the face of everything that we're facing, we go out and hire an assistant football coach," Biology professor Brian O'Connor said. "[We're] sending the wrong message at the wrong time. We have to somehow or other get the message out that the mission of the University is academic, not athletic."

     Interim Chancellor Marcellette G. Williams defended the move as both necessary for the team and within the program's budget, adding that she regretted the timing of the announcement.

     "The assistant football coach, as I understand this position, ... has been vacant for three months because the person who held the position before has gone to another University," Williams said. "With spring training beginning now, even with the three months' savings of the salary, we must ... provide something for a defensive coordinator for the student-athletes."

     The hiring passed the same tests that other hires are subject to, she said, including a check to see whether the position is affordable within the most recently discussed budget.

     "There are many people in this room who have had vacancies for three or four years and could not hire someone in that period of time," O'Connor said.

     History professor Jack Tager said his department had to suspend two recent searches for lack of funding.

     "We sent people to a convention [to conduct interviews]" Tager said. "We got some of the finest people in the world - I'm talking about internationally known people - who've applied for [these] positions. [And now] we don't have them.

     "And we're going to have a football coach? I don't care if we have a football team. This assistant coach is probably making twice as much as [each of] these two assistant professors that would bolster the academic line of this campus. This is ridiculous."

     Williams added that details of budget cuts in Athletics, likely to total about
$1 million, soon will be available. In response to a question, she pointed out that Athletics is being cut 10 percent, while Academic Affairs is fielding a 5 percent cut.