{"id":3292,"date":"2008-05-28T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-28T19:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/05\/martin-is-already-facing-controversy-at-lsu\/"},"modified":"2008-05-28T13:55:00","modified_gmt":"2008-05-28T19:55:00","slug":"martin-is-already-facing-controversy-at-lsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/05\/martin-is-already-facing-controversy-at-lsu\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin is already facing controversy at LSU"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

The controversy that seems to accompany New Mexico State University President Michael Martin<\/a> wherever he goes appears to already be plaguing him in Louisiana<\/st1:state>, where he hasn\u2019t even officially been offered the job of chancellor of the main campus at Louisiana<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

While I\u2019ve written extensively about the controversies Martin has faced at NMSU, the respected Chronicle of Higher Education<\/a> published an article late last week that included surprisingly negative comments from NMSU faculty members about the tenure of a man who is still their boss.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had concerns about lack of communication,\u201d Jamie L. Bronstein, an associate professor of history, told the Chronicle. \u201cThere has been a decline in morale over the past few years. I think there is more of a feeling that faculty members feel troubled about the way things are going.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Martin has been named sole finalist<\/a> for the chancellor job at LSU\u2019s main campus. The LSU system president is expected to decide in the coming days whether to recommend that LSU\u2019s governing body offer Martin the job, which could happen as soon as June 5.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Chronicle reported, on a recent visit to NMSU, finding \u201ca culture where professors and staff members are reluctant to speak about problems they see. Some professors described Mr. Martin as having a hair-trigger temper and being unable to take criticism well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t feel like they can speak up without some fear of retribution,\u201d one unnamed \u201clongtime professor\u201d was quoted by the Chronicle as saying. \u201cIt\u2019s just not as comfortable as it used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Then there was this zinger from Frank Thayer, head of the journalism department.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI have found it very difficult here with him. I don\u2019t think that he has been very helpful to our program, and most other faculty that I talk to have not been pleased with his leadership,\u201d said Thayer, who said he was speaking only because he believes Martin is leaving. \u201cHe has expressed his difficulties with journalism generally, and information that is critical of the university seems to make him angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Past controversies<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Chronicle article also detailed past controversies Martin faced in at schools Minnesota<\/st1:state> and Florida<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. For example, Martin paid a legislator in Minnesota<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> $12,500 in state money from a program the legislator helped create. By the time that story broke, Martin was already in Florida<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, where he worked for John Lombardi, the current head of the LSU system who is considering whether to ask the governing body at LSU to offer Martin the job.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In Florida<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, the Chronicle reported, Martin \u201ccaused ill feelings\u201d when he tried to close an agricultural-research center.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers in the area complained that Mr. Martin had not negotiated the closing openly with them. They got state legislators to block the plan, and they called for Mr. Martin\u2019s ouster,\u201d the article states.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Current controversy at LSU<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Perhaps more relevant to Martin\u2019s current potential job shift is the controversy into which he will be stepping if he is offered and accepts the job at LSU.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

An editorial from the Baton Rouge Advocate<\/a> expresses concern about the newspaper editorial board\u2019s belief that \u201cLSU officials are establishing a regrettable tradition of take it or leave it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The former chancellor of the Baton Rouge<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> campus, the editorial states, \u201cwas hired quickly, apparently with no serious thought given to other candidates. We believe the circumstances of (his) hiring compromised his credibility with the campus community and played a role in his eventual exit.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That was followed by a \u201clong and largely secretive search\u201d that led to Lombardi being named the sole finalist for the LSU system presidency. Then comes the recommendation of Martin as the sole finalist for the chancellor job.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAs in the previous searches,\u201d the editorial states, \u201c\u2026 the public doesn\u2019t have a clear idea of who else was considered for the job. But once again, we\u2019re being asked to assume that one publicly named finalist is the best fit for a position of great importance not only to LSU, but the rest of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of \u201ca culture of insularity at LSU that, at times, seems hostile to the ideas of transparency and accountability,\u201d the editorial states.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sound familiar? Many, including me, have said the same things about NMSU under Martin\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

While we\u2019re on the topic of Martin, you can find a couple more NMSU community members criticizing Martin in this article<\/a> from the Advocate headlined \u201cLSU chancellor candidate gets mixed reviews.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The controversy that seems to accompany New Mexico State University President Michael Martin wherever he goes appears to already be plaguing him in Louisiana, where he hasn\u2019t even officially been offered the job of chancellor of the main campus at Louisiana State University. While I\u2019ve written extensively about the controversies Martin has faced at NMSU, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}